PANORAMA CITY, Calif., April 7, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Libertarian Party of California (LPC) today announced that it opposes Propositions 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E on the May 19 special election ballot. It supports the passage of Prop. 1F.
"The May ballot offers phony solutions to real problems," said Kevin Takenaga, the chair of the LPC. "Democrats and Republicans are chasing headlines while refusing to face up to the fact that they created a budget deficit that they are incapable of resolving. The proposed solutions simply continue the same shell-game budgeting efforts that got us into this situation in first place. Therefore, voters should reject Props. 1A through 1E and then, at the next election, reject current office holders in favor of Libertarians who trust that private citizens are much more capable of managing their finances than the state is."
The following is a summary of the LPC's position on each proposition:
* Prop. 1A - If Prop. 1A passes, the recently enacted tax increases will be extended for two more years and could remove an additional $16 billion from taxpayers' wallets. In exchange, the people would get a poor spending cap. Taxpayers shouldn't have to trade higher taxes for fiscal responsibility. The legislature and governor should give citizens a reason to trust that they will reduce spending and the size of government before demanding that taxpayers hand over their hard-earned money. Vote NO. * Prop. 1B - Prop. 1B creates massive new spending at a time when we can least afford it. Adding $9 billion per year in new liabilities creates massive upward spending pressure on future budgets that are already projected to be out of balance. Vote NO. * Prop. 1C - Prop. 1C is a shell game gimmick, robbing Peter (state lottery proceeds) to pay Paul (the general fund), and the California Lottery would become a $5 billion reserve fund for more money-shuffling without doing anything to reduce overall government spending. Vote NO. * Prop. 1D - This is another shell game gimmick. If Prop. 1D passes, $1.7 billion of Prop. 10 money would be redirected to pay for another program that was cut in the general fund. In the process, Prop. 1D would create more auditing and reporting mandates on the counties that are required to implement the program. Prop. 1D is not borrowing but a direct taking. It will do nothing to reduce overall government spending. Vote NO. * Prop. 1E - Like Prop. 1D, if 1E passes, it will create a shell game where one fund (Prop. 63, the Rob Reiner-supported Mental Health Services initiative from 2004) will be gutted to pay for another program (Medi-Cal) that sustained cuts in the general fund, in another direct taking. It will do nothing to reduce overall government spending. Vote NO. * Prop. 1F - Prop. 1F would have no significant fiscal impact, but it would make statewide elected officials and members of the state legislature feel some pain as a result of their failings. This is worth supporting because currently politicians suffer little more than bad publicity from their ineptitude. Vote YES.
"If propositions 1A through 1E pass, there will be increased obligations on the general fund to pay for these accounting gimmicks, and it will come at the expense of other programs," Takenaga said. "There will be no overall reduction of state government. Taxpayers will naturally be made to foot the entire bill.
"To the Libertarian Party of California, the May ballot looks like the opposite of a solution. It will set up California for even bigger problems than we have now."
About the Libertarian Party of California
The Libertarian Party is America's third largest political party, founded in 1971 as an alternative to the two main political parties. The Libertarian Party of California fields candidates at the local, state, and federal level each election cycle. It also publishes the weekly Libertarian Perspective, an op-ed column authored by writers who strongly believe in freedom and individual liberty. Libertarians are socially tolerant and fiscally responsible, believe in personal freedom in both social and economic spheres, and in government small enough to protect those freedoms. For more information, visit www.ca.lp.org.