VOTE ON TAXES IN CALIFORNIA

Gov. Jerry Brown wants to hold an election to ask the voters to extend some taxes. Without the election, the taxes will automatically decrease, which will require us to further cut funding for police, fire, schools, colleges, etc.

I think the election is a good idea, but the Republicans are opposed to an election. You need to call the Republicans state legislators and tell them to vote for an election.

Of course, the state legislators and the governor could always just vote for and sign the taxes into law. Thanks to a new proposition, they can do this without the Republicans. Jerry would not even have to break his promise about no new taxes, as these are not new taxes. It would even save on the costs of an election.

However, I voted for Jerry as I think he is smart, educated, experienced, and wise. If he thinks the election is the best way to go, then I am in favor of the election.

But isn't it nice that the last election gave the governor options?

BTW, the pension issue should NOT go before the voters. It is easy to fix pension plans, you just have to raise the age at which the pension starts. This seems fair, as life expectancy has increased. We may need a plan for those who need to retire due to illness.

We are in this pension mess because arbitrators decided to let the future pay for current salary demands. In other words, the workers asked for a raise, but they were given extra pension benefits instead.