Governor Jerry Brown, one of the most masterful politicians of the last two generations, has spent the last few weeks trumpeting the momentum behind his five year, multi-billion dollar tax increase. He’s personally traveled to Los Angeles and the Bay Area to meet with and collect the alleged support of various “pro-business” groups.
In recent days, the Brown Administration has announced the “support” of the LA Chamber of commerce, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) and the Bay Area Council. Just yesterday, he added the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce to the list.
But there are two problems with this view.
First, a close examination will reveal that no business groups support Jerry Brown’s proposed tax and spend budget as it is currently written.
The Los Angeles Times has done a great job of piercing Jerry Brown’s Sacramento reality distortion field. They have revealed that support for Brown’s taxes are “lukewarm” and with added “caveats.”
In fact, none of these business groups fully back Jerry Brown’s tax plan. Each has added conditions to their support – conditions that Jerry Brown has thus far opposed. The LA Chamber of Commerce said regulatory reform and pension reform must be included in any package. According to the Senate Republicans, Jerry Brown has either rejected or watered down each of these exact reforms. VICA has only endorsed putting Brown’s package on the ballot, but is silent on whether it is good public policy.
Second, those businesses groups who publicly support Brown are probably doing so under duress.
We have to wonder why these business groups would go through all this trouble to show lukewarm support. Are they being threatened? What type of pressure is the Governor and his friends applying?
Sources tell me that Jerry Brown and his Democrat allies are actively threatening businesses and business groups. Their message is simple: Show support and help us get these taxes passed, or you’re next. If we can’t increase the sales tax, income tax and car tax to fuel our bottomless appetite to grow the size of government, your business is next.
To oil companies, they talk about adopting a so-called oil severance tax. What this really means is that to get more money for bigger government, Democrats would be willing to add more taxes on top of our current $4 per gallon gas prices.
To service companies, they threaten to impose sales taxes on accountants, mechanics and others who provide services but don’t sell a physical product.
To small businesses, they threaten to gut Prop. 13 and raise property taxes – the so called "split roll" tax.
You don’t have to take my word for it. According to the LA Times, the California Chamber of Commerce finds Brown’s taxes “palatable…because they do not solely target specific businesses.”
Well, I have a message to these business groups who are trying to save themselves by supporting Jerry Brown’s taxes. Your plan of appeasement won’t work. After they come for us, they’ll still come for you.
They won’t stop at these taxes. Even in boom years, Sacramento Democrats propose tax after tax to fill the state’s coffers at the expense of taxpayers.
If we are going to stop these taxes, then you must stand firm with us now to defeat these and every other proposal to raise taxes. Whoever would be impacted the most, we must stand together to fight each and every attempt by Democrats to raise taxes.
For the future of California and our economic recovery, Republicans and job creators must stand united in our opposition to fund reckless overspending. We can’t let Jerry Brown succeed in his divide-and-conquer strategy to feed a bloated state government. If Jerry wins, we all lose.