STEVE POIZNER FOR GOVERNOR
Call
Maureen Johnson, West L.A. Campaign Coorindator to volunteer @
(310) 486-5735
Demand Fiscal Accountability First
It is astounding to me that while the Obama White House is proposing a tax cut for 95% of all Americans, the Sacramento politicians approved a tax increase for 95% of all Californians. Either raising taxes in the middle of a deep economic recession is good public policy or it is bad public policy, but it cannot be both.
For years, the legislature has spent money it did not have in utter disregard of the facts and without proposing one dime in actual year-to-year cuts. We cannot continue to shake people’s confidence in our system. Californians have every right to demand fiscal accountability first.
Economic Growth
California is a nation state – home to the eighth largest economy in the world. If we are to remain a global leader, our success will largely be determined by our ability to recognize and respond to the changes taking place around us.
Our competitors in the global economy are fierce, nimble and motivated. This is evidenced by the continuing decline of California’s status in the world economy. Today, many of the governments of our newest competitors – China, India and many of the countries in Southeast Asia – have a singular focus on growing their economies and gaining competitive advantages. Contrast this with California, where in a recent survey of more than 1,000 business leaders, only 1 percent expressed the belief that our state government recognizes and is responsive to the needs of business.
The Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation reports that California has the third worst business climate in the nation. The cost of doing business in California is, on the average, 30 percent higher than in other Western states. More alarming are California’s regulatory costs, which are 105 percent higher than other Western states.
If California is to remain an economic power in the 21st century, we must increase our ability to compete in a rapidly changing global marketplace.
This will require a complete overhaul of our current tax structure and regulatory policies. We cannot compete globally when we are saddled with a system that was largely created during the Cold War and before the Internet. Our competitors have modernized; we must too.
We must also create an economic climate that allows us to compete for every job. It is not enough to just try to keep jobs here; our economic policies must actively attract capital and encourage businesses to locate and grow in California. High-quality and high-paying jobs stimulate the economy and provide a solid tax base to finance necessary government services such as education, transportation and public safety.
By removing barriers to business growth and encouraging Californians to continue to invent and produce, we can put our state on the right track to remain a competitive force in the world economy.
EDUCATION POLICY
Parents, business leaders and educators have lost faith in our public schools. For example, 25 percent of the teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District send their children to private schools. There is no more telling statistic than this. Ironically, California’s public schools were once the standard by which other state systems were measured.
California’s future is dependent on a highly-educated and trained workforce. To provide this we must once again have the best public school system in the nation – it’s that simple.
As someone who spent a year teaching in the public school system, Poizner has a first-hand understanding of the problems that our schools face. Over the past 20 years the control of public schools has shifted from the local level to Sacramento. Teachers and administrators today have almost zero control over the facilities, the classroom and the budget. This must change. The control of our public schools must be returned to the local level. Parents, teachers and locally-elected school boards have a far greater understanding of the unique needs of their schools than do politicians in Sacramento. Returning control to the local level will improve accountability, better ensure that students achieve grade-level proficiency in core subjects, and see that school facilities are adequately constructed and maintained.
Our colleges and universities are also an important part of this picture. Given the increasing complexity of modern technology and modern society, it is imperative that our higher education system produce more undergraduates with engineering and business degrees every year. But our universities must play a role that goes beyond education. We must partner with them – and this includes providing the necessary resources – to make sure that we are well-positioned to lead the world on cutting-edge industries of tomorrow such as bioengineering, information technology, clean energy and nanotechnology.
Our economic future requires a massive investment in education and scientific research. Failing to make this investment is not an option.
BACKGROUND
Steve Poizner was elected California Insurance Commissioner on November 7, 2006 and took the oath of office on January 8, 2007. Poizner has been described as “independent” (Modesto Bee), “a man of integrity” (LA Times), someone with “an impressive command of the issues” (SD Union-Tribune) and having a “reformist bent” (Sacramento Bee).
A highly-successful businessman/entrepreneur, Poizner founded several technology companies. His last company, SnapTrack, pioneered life-saving technology that put GPS receivers into cell phones. This technology is now the industry standard and can be found in more than 700 million cell phones around the world. Poizner also founded and served as chief executive officer of Strategic Mapping Inc., a company that assisted police departments, utilities, transportation companies, banks and retailers with selecting new locations and plotting distribution logistics.
Poizner has long been active in public service and civic affairs. From 2001-02, he served in the White House as the director of Critical Infrastructure Protection in the National Security Council. Starting one week before the September 11, 2001 attacks, Poizner was responsible for issues such as emergency communications planning for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and protecting Internet/banking system/power grids from cyber attacks. In 2006 he was elected as a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations (nominated by former Secretary of State George Shultz).
Poizner is also a strong advocate for education reform. He was a co-founder of the California Charter Schools Association, the state’s leading charter school organization. Since his involvement began, the number of charter schools in California has doubled. Poizner has also served on the boards of several organizations committed to assisting disadvantaged children in K-12 public schools.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Why We Need Across-the-Board Tax Relief in California
by Steve Poizner
With the Obama stimulus bill destined to go down in history as a dismal failure, Americans across the political spectrum are waking up to what conservatives have known for generations: government spending doesn’t help the economy, tax cuts do.
It’s a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the Obama Democrats are afraid to embrace across-the-board tax cuts, one of the crown jewels of the Reagan legacy. Instead, they’re calling for limited or targeted tax cuts that they claim will help the economy. But President Reagan was right, it is broad-based tax relief, not targeted tax tweaks, that fuels economic growth. Across-the-board tax cuts are straightforward: everyone who pays taxes will pay less.
Targeted tax cuts are credits or exemptions that apply only to particular people or businesses, often under complicated rules. These targeted tax cuts increase the complexity of the tax system. Targeted tax cuts are often referred to as “tax expenditures” because they are viewed by many economists as the economic equivalent of government subsidies.
That’s why calls for targeted tax cuts most often come from the left. Targeted cuts keep the tax structure intact and allow money to be directed to interests favored by politicians and lobbyists, while keeping the same rates on everyone else.
With the 2010 gubernatorial primary on the horizon, California Republicans will have the opportunity to choose between the Reagan vision of across-the-board tax cuts or the Obama plan for limited and targeted tax relief.
California’s tax structure is a problem, and tweaking the system won’t fix it.
Californians pay the highest sales tax in America. Our top personal income tax rate is the fourth highest in the country, and the corporation tax rate is the highest in the West. California’s overall business tax climate ranks 48th, meaning that only two states have tax systems worse for economic development. We won’t change that with targeted tax cuts that apply to some and not to others. How can tiny credits for a select few revitalize an entire economy? They can’t.
And with California facing its worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression, it’s not enough to rebuild a few sectors here and there. We need to reduce the tax burden on every Californian and every business in the state. Only across-the-board tax cuts will do that.
My tax plan includes rate reductions in every major category of taxation. That’s a straightforward recipe for growth. Specifically, I want a 10% reduction in personal income tax rates, the state sales tax rate, and the corporation tax rate, and a 50% reduction in capital gains tax rates. Our analysis demonstrates that when other states have implemented tax rate reductions of similar structure and magnitude, government revenues have actually gone up, driven by increased economic activity and growth. The government shouldn’t micro-manage the economy by picking winners. It should make everyone a winner. That means lowering tax rates to jumpstart economic growth and new job creation. The lower rates in my plan will let everyone keep more of their own money, and increase the incentives to work and invest.
Whenever conservatives call for major tax reform, we expect Democrats to argue that we can’t afford it. But it’s dismaying to hear some Republicans arguing for this..
There are Republican candidates in the California gubernatorial primary who have argued that California can't afford across-the-board tax cuts. But can California families afford to keep paying the highest sales tax in country? Can California businesses afford to keep paying our high taxes? Can California afford to lose more jobs?
These questions aren’t just for Californians. Our state is a lesson for rest of the nation. So far we’ve set a bad example. We’ve shown what comes from a tax system that’s one of the most liberal in the nation: an unemployment rate more than two points above the national average. As governor, I will lead the charge for broad-based tax cuts that I am confident will lead to an explosion in economic growth and job creation.
The bottom line is this: targeted tax cuts redistribute wealth; across-the-board tax cuts create it. That’s why President Obama is making targeted tax cuts part of his economic plan, and President Reagan made lower rates a cornerstone of his.
Any serious, conservative plan to create jobs in California must include meaningful changes to the tax system. Please join me in sending a message to both Republicans and Democrats: targeted tax cuts aren’t enough. We need real across-the-board tax cuts that reduce the tax burden on every individual and business in California.
Steve Poizner's Biography
Steve Poizner is a successful businessman and Silicon Valley entrepreneur. After 20 years in the private sector he dedicated himself to public service, first becoming an advisor to the White House on cyber-security issues, then a public school teacher and presently serves as the California's insurance Commissioner. Steve Poizner is currently running for Governor of California. He can be reached via Twitter @StevePoizner or www.StevePoizner.com
