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Taxes Still Pack Punch at Pollsby
Peter J. Sepp Nov 14, 2001 The ballots had hardly been counted in last Tuesday’s state and local elections when pundits gleefully began sounding the final bell for taxing and spending issues at the polls. The Washington Post, for example, called New Jersey Gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler’s loss “a body blow to the tax-cutting wing” of his own political party. However, a closer look behind the headlines shows that far from being down for the count, pocketbook issues still pack a powerful punch with voters.
Although both GOP candidates in the New Jersey and Virginia Governor races put tax cuts at the top of their campaign agendas, they were hampered by missteps among their fellow Republicans that seriously undermined the credibility of their pledges. Schundler was forced to fight not only his Democratic opponent but also acting Republican Governor Don DiFrancesco, over plans to abolish tolls on New Jersey’s roads and a tax hike for a Newark sports arena. This public feud further turned off voters who were already fed up with years of gasoline and other excise tax increases proposed by the once-proud tax-cutting Governor Christine Whitman (now serving in the Bush Administration).
Meanwhile, Virginia standard-bearer Mark Earley could not overcome the blunders of country-club Republicans in the State Senate, who, in search of more revenues to satisfy their spending appetites, attempted to undo GOP Governor Jim Gilmore’s immensely popular plan to phase out the state’s personal property tax on automobiles.
Four years ago Gilmore’s candidacy was virtually written off until he crafted a plan to rid the state of its hated “car tax,” which cost some households more than $1,000 per year. As George W. Bush’s father learned, voters of all stripes appreciate a promise kept, even if they are skeptical when that promise is first made.
Yet, the most important tidings for taxes this November didn’t even involve candidates. By a whopping 59%-41% margin, citizens in Washington State “elected” Initiative 747 – a ballot measure that limits the growth rate of property taxes there to 1% annually. Property tax increases beyond this limit would require approval by a majority of voters in the affected jurisdiction.
The fact that I-747 prevailed in a politically liberal state is even more remarkable considering the other forces arrayed against the proposal. Teacher and government employee unions contributed heavily to the $1.7 million campaign to kill I-747, outspending proponents of the measure by a 3 to 1 ratio.
The big-spending elite’s effort to sabotage tax limits sank to a new low, however, when opponents launched a slick ad campaign depicting I-747 as a slap in the face to firefighters – the heroes of September 11th. Even though I-747’s supporters didn’t spend a dime on counter-advertising, the voters still saw through this scheme to wrap big government in the American flag.
Past history should have shown I-747’s opponents that the public won’t fall for these scare tactics. Frustrated with lawmakers’ empty pledges to “do something” about rising property taxes, Californians passed Proposition 13, amidst warnings that “drastic staff cutbacks” were in store for local governments. Instead, government’s share of Californians’ personal income just grew more slowly after Proposition 13, leading one San Jose newspaper that railed against the measure to later write that “Armageddon is not exactly upon us.”
In Colorado, two limits enacted by the Legislature did nothing to hobble double-digit government growth, prompting citizens to propose a voter approval requirement for tax hikes in 1992. Sheriffs predicted lawless streets if the tax limit took effect on local governments, and one investment banker warned it would increase the chances for the Pope’s assassination during a planned visit to Denver.
The limit passed, and according to Governor Bill Owens, “has proved its worth” in helping the economy grow without catastrophic cuts in government services. This year, Colorado voters turned down a variety of state and local measures that would have raised taxes or diverted funds for everything from monorails to jails.
Since Proposition 13’s adoption 23 years ago, nearly a dozen states have enacted tough new limits on taxes. Yet, not a single one of the gloom-and-doom predictions by the political establishments in these states came true. In fact, most of them have experienced better rates of personal income growth than their non-limited counterparts.
Rather than push the electorate headlong into the arms of big government, the recent terrorist attacks reminded many voters of the principles that make our great nation worth fighting for – chief among them personal economic freedom. Even after September 11th – not to mention November 6th – the great American tax limitation movement is alive and well.
Pete Sepp is Vice President for Communications with the Alexandria, VA-based National Taxpayers Union, a nonpartisan 335,000-member citizen group founded in 1969 to work for lower taxes and accountable government.
This commentary first appeared on National Review Online. |
