Second time around the charm?

That’s what Governor Jerry Brown would like to think as he prepares to force a vote in the Legislature on four tax measures he wants to put on a special June ballot. He’s upped the ante by having cohorts such as State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson warning county school superintendents that, without the tax extension, the state’s school children would suffer dire consequences.

The Governor, who has stated his favorite strategic guidebook is the 2,500 year old volume entitled “The Art of War” by Chinese philosopher and general Sun Tzu, has apparently taken to heart two of the general’s most famous tenets: “He whose ranks are united in purpose will win,” and “All warfare is based on deception.”

The truth is the governor is trying to bamboozle us. The Governor is touting his proposal as an extension of four tax measures currently “on the books” but the truth is two of the four former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tax measures he’s referring to expired on December 31, 2010 e.g. the Personal Income Tax increase of 0.25% and a reduction in the tax credit for dependents, from $300 to $99.

To maintain credibility in his attempt to win this battle, the Governor needs to stop referring to his proposed ballot measure as a “tax extension” and call it what it really is – a tax increase!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 12th, 2011 at 2:47 pm and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.