Read your ballot closely
Once again, the Democrats are out to tax Californians. Attorney General Xavier Becerra got a major property tax on the ballot for 2020. It is an attempt to raise our property taxes and repeal Prop. 13.
It is misleading and under the radar. Instead of presented as the repeal of Prop. 13, it is relabeled “Education and Local Funding.” Unlike the original taxpayer protection of 1978, this year’s Prop. 13 will put taxpayers on the hook for $27 billion. “The politicians plan to borrow $15 billion from Wall Street and then make taxpayers pay it back plus 80% in total interest,” says the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Why don’t they spend the state’s $21 billion surplus on upgrading school facilities and providing higher education? Then too, a hidden provision of this proposition will encourage local school districts to increase their borrowing by more than 60%. Local school debt is paid back with higher property taxes.
On March 3, vote no on this Prop. 13 ballot. Fool me once, your fault. Fool me twice, my fault.
Diana Thorn
Carpinteria
Vote based on qualifications
Voting for the winner is always a good feeling, for both the winner and the voter. But what’s tough is voting for who you think will make the best president. So it boils down to whether you simply want to beat simply Donald Trump or have a good president.
Joe Biden has been my favorite because I think he’s the best qualified by experience and political inclination. We’ve already tried a president without experience in government.
I have an old friend who is a lifelong Republican, and he thinks Mr. Trump is a great choice. So I asked him, when you were in business, and you wanted to hire someone, would you choose a guy who has had experience in the business or one who does not.
Same applies to hiring someone to run the government.
They say politics makes strange bedfellows. Certainly our current POTUS is strange.
Bill Livingstone
Goleta
Sanders should focus on reality
Bernie Sanders has his head in the clouds, talking about ludicrous issues like open borders, sanctuary cities, doing away with nuclear power and fracking, or forgiving debt for college students and worrying about criminals getting to vote.
It doesn’t matter what you think about that or if they are good ideas. People couldn’t care less about these distracting issues. They have lives to lead, kids to care for, sick parents, rent issues, keeping or getting their health insurance. They don’t want to hear about this stuff.
These and Bernie’s other unaffordable socialist ideas will never pass Congress, and if he’s elected, all we can look forward to is his screaming into the mic about “the revolution” for four years.
J.W. Burk
Santa Barbara
So much paper in the mailbox
One can only wish that my medical insurance company, which sends me “reams” of paper monthly (in several languages, too), is obtaining the paper from the trees cut down under the dangerous power lines.
Michael C. Schaumburg
Santa Barbara
A heart and a brain required
Re: “Assuming you have a heart” (Voices, Feb. 3): Joe Armendariz writes that schools in North County need more income from oil revenues. In fact, oil revenues are a very small portion of the total tax revenue for Santa Barbara County. Over the past 20 years, the annual portion of school funding from oil, mineral and gas property taxes has averaged only 1.5% of total revenues.
Much of the income to our county is a result of the riches of our natural environment. Our clean ocean economy, including tourism, recreation, construction and fishing (not including oil and gas) generates $2.4 billion and provides 42,833 jobs. Our clean energy economy provides $2.1 billion in renewable energy and clean transportation, as well as 17,972 jobs. These jobs and income are under threat from drilling, while companies like ExxonMobil reap profits and put our families at risk.
The extreme extraction methods used in North County employ known carcinogens. A large and growing body of research implicates everyday exposure of toxic chemicals in increasing the incidences of cancer, especially among children. The families who live closest to these wells are among the low-income working families to whom Mr. Armendariz refers.
Assuming you have a heart, you would not see this as good news.
Note that Armendariz Partners (Mr. Armendariz and his wife) have served as strategic consultants with ExxonMobil. Mr. Armendariz is also director of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association, founded in 1956 by several of the largest oil companies in Santa Barbara County. Assuming you have a brain, you will able to put two plus two together.
Rachel Altman
Santa Barbara
