Yuba County residents continue to get bad news on the California bait and switch, tax and spend front. The No on Measure K Facebook site is tracking the approximate $8,000 a day in taxes being taken from citizens by the illegal sales tax that began in April 2019. As of October 8th the approximate take is $1,544,000.
Each day that opponents of Measure K wait for the county’s appeal of Judge Stephen Berrier’s ruling, the citizens lose another $8,000. It is thievery.
The supervisors couldn’t even conduct a public meeting to discuss the appeal of Judge’s Berrier’s decision against them. They discussed and voted in closed session to spend more county funds so they can take more from taxpayers.
Remember Proposition 6 (2018) to repeal SB 1 (2017) that raised fuel taxes and DMV fees to repair our roadways? SB 1 is taking an estimated $52.4 billion from us over ten years. Yuba County officials argued against the repeal though we already had the highest road taxes and Assemblyman Gallagher maintained that there were plenty of funds to care for roads in the state budget. The Prop 6 repeal lost.
A June 2017 poll showed that 58% of California residents opposed the increase in fuel taxes, while 39% of all respondents stated they "strongly opposed" the increase. SB1 also imposed a vehicle registration fee increase. The annual increase ranging from $25 to $175 is based on the value of the vehicle.
Voters passed Prop 42 (2003) and Prop 1a (2006) creating safeguards and mandates to force government to spend fuel taxes for roads. However, liberals disregarded voters by moving $1.8 billion of fuel tax funds in 2010 to the General Fund.
The June 2018 ballot included Proposition 69, an amendment that directed fuel revenues for transportation-related purposes. Voters approved this proposition. However, the SB1 car registration fee increase and all older existing fuel tax revenues before SB1 were still appropriated to the General Fund.
Liberal politicians in California have proven repeatedly to be thieves and tyrants. And Caltrans can’t manage the state’s transportation needs. Caltrans spends 2.5 times as much money per mile as the national average to care for our highways.
Now, Governor Gavin Newsom signed executive order N-19-19 moving $5 billion from transportation funds to railway and other expenditures to begin removing people from their cars to curtail greenhouse gases. The governor wants to reduce fuel consumption.
Caltrans then immediately suspended plans to add lanes north and southbound on Hwy 99 in Tulare and Madera Counties diverting the funds to fight climate change. This aligns with the governor’s desire to reduce traffic and congestion by eliminating automobiles.
Road funds will also be redirected to support housing production near jobs and to further the state’s ‘smart growth principles’ otherwise known as ‘stack and pack,’ restricting where people can live in order to ‘save the planet.’
Monies will be used to move people out of their automobiles to other modes of transportation. Options would include “transit, walking, biking and other active modes.” The funds will also “mitigate increases in transportation costs for lower income Californians.”
The state wants to eliminate all fossil fuel vehicles in favor of railway and electric vehicles. In addition, only wind and solar energy will power the state by 2045 according to Newsom’s order.
Yuba County borrowed $9 million (with $1.1 million interest repaid over 10 years) from Yuba Water Agency to leverage SB 1 dollars to expedite and expand road projects this year. Will the repayment of this loan now be hindered by Gov Newsom’s robbing of road funds in his contrived crisis to ‘save the planet?’
The will of the people means nothing to liberal legislators. The many propositions passed by voters have intended to rein-in arrogant and deranged politicians.
So far, it hasn’t worked.
(Get Lou’s podcast at “No Hostages Radio” and his articles at nohostagesradio.com)
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