Proponent Arguments for A, C, E, and G [1 Attachment]

Activists List
1

Hi All! Here are the official proponent arguments. Please pick a proposition to write a rebuttal to and let us know which one you have chosen. That way we know who is working on what, so we're better organized and not duplicating each other's work in the short time available. I will pick up the slack and work on what is not chosen. Starchild has indicated that he wants all the great ideas that you guys have, and he will be happy to incorporate them into the final rebuttals submitted on Monday morning. Since he is the pickiest of us all when it comes to words, I think it best to let him finish them up. If you prefer to write the rebuttal and not have it tampered with, then just write and post it, and we'll go with that. For me, the only important goal here is to come up with 4 strong rebuttals that will bother the government lovers in this city who will end up voting for these 4 measures anyway.

As to the question of what to address in the rebuttal argument, Marcy's question is pertinent. I think that a rebuttal should address specific nonsensical points made in the proponent arguments, independent of what we wrote in our opposing arguments. It's also our opportunity to make points that we may not have addressed in our opposing arguments. Many times I have read the arguments in the voter pamphlet, and to me it seemed like they said exactly the same thing in both their regular argument and rebuttal. Aside from being boring to the reader, that tells me that their reasons to vote for or against their measure weren't that strong that they couldn't think of something additionally convincing to put in their writings. When you get up to 550 free words to potentially reach hundreds of thousand people, why repeat your argument? Of course I always feel that the pro-big government folks do this more than the mini-government folks!

As for E, since we have two great arguments with two very different styles, I suggest that you (Mike) write the rebuttal taking your argument and just tailoring it down to 250 words addressing the proponents' silly claims. That way we have an argument that pokes fun at the politicians and then one of pure Libertarianism. The best of both worlds.

Lastly, unfortunately I do not have the actual arguments we wrote that will be published in the pamphlet right now. With 167 versions floating around, I'd also like to see which versions actually got selected. The version of E that Starchild posted yesterday actually looked a bit different than the ones I submitted because Les had a reworked version that I thought looked a bit stronger than the original one so I conjured up 25 versions of the reworked one. I will try to hook up with Starchild tomorrow (Saturday), and we will try to get the selected versions posted so you can see the actual selected opposing argument.

Thanks again to all for your hard work!
Aubrey

2

Hi Aubrey,

You asked for me to post the ballot argument on A that I wrote and was approved at the last meeting. Here it is:

Marcy

City College serves more than 90,000 students, and its survival benefits us all. However, raising your property taxes to provide CCSF with money will do nothing to save it. CCSF's troubles do not arise from cuts in funding. The Accreditation Commission Evaluation Report of 2012 (http://www.accjc.org) has pointed to the college's lack of planning, failure to live within its means, ignoring growing costs of retiree liabilities, clinging to "shared governance" which precludes effective decision-making, spending 92% of its budget in salaries and benefits, failure to allocate funds to technology and other infrastructure, lack of effective assessment of student learning. These are structural failures, not funding challenges.
California has 112 community colleges; except for two others besides CCSF, all have planned for the difficult economic times we are all experiencing. CCSF continues on the same unsustainable profligate path, aided by voters' willingness to bail them out with tax dollars. CCSF did not correct the serious shortcomings indicated in 2006; and CCSF's immediate response to the scathing Accreditation Commission report of 2012 leads us to anticipate the same inaction. Hiring a crisis-management team and a public relations consultant, and attempting to throw money at long-standing leadership failures does nothing to address the Accreditation Commission's concerns.
We have consistently urged voters to insist on efficiency at all levels of public instruction, instead of assuming all problems are caused solely by lack of funding. City College leadership needs to face the new economic realities that we are all experiencing. It needs to remove barriers to effective and sometimes painful decision making. Or it needs to step aside and allow a reconstruction team to save CCSF. Vote "No" on District Measure A.

3

Hi Aubrey,

You asked for ideas that Starchild can incorporate on the LPSF rebuttals. Here are mine.

Prop A. Lack of funds is not the primary reason for City College's threatened closure, structural, long-standing lack of good leadership is. California has 112 Community Colleges, most are not being threatened with closure.

Prop C. Why do we need the City to be the investor in the construction of new housing. Remove the endless rules and impediments to new housing, and private developers would be glad to build, providing housing and jobs. Why should the City be involved in mortgage lending? Why should taxpayers provide interest-free loans to anyone? The City seems to be anticipating the large number of defaults in its City-provided mortgage program, since this proposal calls for bail out funds

Prop E. With the payroll tax, every time a business hires an employee, the tax increases. With the gross receipts tax, every time a business makes more money to enable it to hire another employee, the tax increases. No difference.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need my help cutting and pasting, etc.

Marcy

4

I'm working on E....do we have a 300 word limit here too?

Mike

5

Rebuttals have a 250 word limit, also counting names of authors.

Marcy

6

OK....I'm at 500...trimming now

Mike

7

Here you go....Word doc attached.

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, HIGHER Prices, FEWER Jobs and MORE Waste at City Hall

When a $28.5M tax increase taking 60 pages to explain is submitted just before election deadlines, you know it's time to grab your wallet and run for cover. City Hall supported payroll taxes for decades. Why this sudden concern about its unfairness and jobs?

Bloated City Hall always supports tax increases and this is HUGE. Anyone believing E will improve employment and our economy needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

All business taxes are passed to buyers. Proponents saying E is better than sales taxes should study basic economics or stop lying.

Consumer spending is already at an all time low. The logical response to higher taxes and prices is LESS spending, LESS business, FEWER businesses and jobs....plain and simple.

Proponents say payroll taxes are unfair, discourage job creation, economic growth and lowers wages. It's true. Tax payroll OR receipts and get less of them. Pandering for votes, E exempts those with receipts less than $1M suggesting E will only tax the rich. But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan. That means YOU!

Proponents say the payroll tax "provides an unstable revenue stream." Ah...now we get the truth. All who signed on to support Proposition E obtain direct PERSONAL benefits from increased taxes on YOU. Tell City Hall you want REAL reform with less taxes and spending...and not this sneaky imposter.

Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party of San Francisco

252 words minus 6 for 6 uses of San Francisco and City Hall
It should be 246 words

Mike

8

Revised....sounds better now.

Mike

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, HIGHER Prices, FEWER Jobs and MORE Waste at City Hall

When a $28.5M tax increase taking 60 pages to explain is submitted just before election deadlines, you know it's time to grab your wallet and run for cover. City Hall supported payroll taxes for decades. Why then this sudden concern about its unfairness and effect on jobs?

Bloated City Hall always supports tax increases and this is HUGE. All taxes on businesses are passed to buyers. Proponents saying E is better than sales taxes and will improve employment and our economy should study basic economics, stop lying or wake up and smell the coffee.

Consumer spending is already at an all time low. The logical response to higher taxes and prices is LESS spending, LESS business, FEWER businesses and jobs....plain and simple.

Proponents say payroll taxes are unfair, discourage job creation, economic growth and lowers wages. It's true. Tax payroll OR receipts and get less of them. Pandering for votes, E exempts those with receipts less than $1M suggesting E will only tax the rich. But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan. That means YOU!

Proponents say the payroll tax "provides an unstable revenue stream." Ah...now we get the truth. All who signed on to support Proposition E obtain direct PERSONAL benefits from increased taxes on YOU. Tell City Hall you want REAL reform with less taxes and spending...and not this sneaky imposter.

Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party of San Francisco

252 words minus 6 for 6 uses of San Francisco and City Hall
It should be 246 words

9

Slight revision again

Mike

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, HIGHER Prices, FEWER Jobs and MORE Waste at City Hall

When a $28.5M tax increase taking 60 pages to explain is submitted just before election deadlines, you know it's time to grab your wallet and run for cover. City Hall supported payroll taxes for decades. Why then this sudden concern about its unfairness and effect on jobs?

Bloated City Hall always supports tax increases and this is HUGE. All taxes on businesses are passed to buyers. Proponents saying E is better than sales taxes, will improve employment and our economy should study basic economics, stop lying or wake up and smell the coffee.

Consumer spending is already at an all time low. The logical response to higher taxes and prices is LESS spending, LESS business, FEWER businesses and jobs....plain and simple.

Proponents say payroll taxes are unfair, discourage job creation, economic growth and lowers wages. It's true. Tax payroll OR receipts and get less of them. Pandering for votes, E exempts those with receipts less than $1M suggesting E will only tax the rich. But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan. That means YOU!

Proponents say the payroll tax "provides an unstable revenue stream." Ah...now we get the truth. All who signed on to support Proposition E obtain direct PERSONAL benefits from increased taxes on YOU. Tell City Hall you want REAL reform with less taxes and spending...and not this sneaky imposter.

Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party of San Francisco

10

Here you go….Word doc attached.

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, HIGHER Prices, FEWER Jobs and MORE Waste at City Hall

When a $28.5M tax increase taking 60 pages to explain is submitted just before election deadlines, you know it’s time to grab your wallet and run for cover. City Hall supported payroll taxes for decades. Why this sudden concern about its unfairness and jobs?

Bloated City Hall always supports tax increases and this is HUGE. Anyone believing E will improve employment and our economy needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

All business taxes are passed to buyers. Proponents saying E is better than sales taxes should study basic economics or stop lying.

Consumer spending is already at an all time low. The logical response to higher taxes and prices is LESS spending, LESS business, FEWER businesses and jobs….plain and simple.

Proponents say payroll taxes are unfair, discourage job creation, economic growth and lowers wages. It’s true. Tax payroll OR receipts and get less of them. Pandering for votes, E exempts those with receipts less than $1M suggesting E will only tax the rich. But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan. That means YOU!

Proponents say the payroll tax “provides an unstable revenue stream.” Ah…now we get the truth. All who signed on to support Proposition E obtain direct PERSONAL benefits from increased taxes on YOU. Tell City Hall you want REAL reform with less taxes and spending…and not this sneaky imposter.

Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party of San Francisco

252 words minus 6 for 6 uses of San Francisco and City Hall

It should be 246 words

11

Siri is having trouble listening to me but the following I think still makes the point it's like the magician pulls a rabbit out of his hat he gets you to watch the left hand on the right-hand stuffs the rabbit underneath to get you to pay attention to the left-hand supposed tax stamps all they really raising taxes with the right-hand

12

Excellent Phil…another improvement suggested and added

But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan buying everything from Giants tickets to milk. That means YOU!

“Just keep walking, nothing to see here…we’re just taxing the rich.”

Mike

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, HIGHER Prices, FEWER Jobs and MORE Waste at City Hall

When a $28.5M tax increase taking 60 pages to explain is submitted just before election deadlines, you know it’s time to grab your wallet and hide. City Hall supported payroll taxes for decades. Why this sudden concern about unfairness and effects on jobs?

Here’s why. Bloated City Hall always supports tax increases and this is HUGE. All business taxes pass to consumers. Proponents saying E is better than sales taxes, improves employment and our economy should study economics, stop lying or wake up and smell the coffee.

Consumer spending is already at an all time low. The effect of higher taxes and prices is LESS spending, LESS business, FEWER businesses and jobs….plain and simple.

Proponents say payroll taxes are unfair, discourage jobs, economic growth and lower wages. It’s true. Tax payroll OR receipts and get less of them. Pandering for votes, E exempts those with receipts less than $1M suggesting E will only “tax the rich”. But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan buying everything from Giants tickets to milk.

“Just keep walking, nothing to see here…we’re just taxing the rich.”

Proponents say payroll taxes “provide an unstable revenue stream.” Ah…now the truth. All who signed on supporting Proposition E PERSONALLY benefit from higher costs E imposes on YOU.

Tell City Hall you want REAL reform with lower taxes and spending…not this sneaky imposter that insults our intelligence.

Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party San Francisco

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, HIGHER Prices, FEWER Jobs and MORE Waste at City Hall

When a $28.5M tax increase of 60 pages is submitted just before election deadlines, you know it’s time to grab your wallet and hide. City Hall supported payroll taxes for decades. Why then this sudden concern about unfairness and effects on jobs?

Bloated City Hall always supports tax increases and this is HUGE. All taxes on businesses pass to buyers. Proponents saying E is better than sales taxes, improves employment and our economy should study economics, stop lying or wake up and smell the coffee.

Consumer spending is already at an all time low. The logical response to higher taxes and prices is LESS spending, LESS business, FEWER businesses and jobs….plain and simple.

Proponents say payroll taxes are unfair, discourage jobs, economic growth and lower wages. It’s true. Tax payroll OR receipts and get less of them. Pandering for votes, E exempts those with receipts less than $1M suggesting E will “tax the rich”. But make no mistake; this is a tax on EVERY San Franciscan buying everything from Giants tickets to milk. That means YOU!

“Just keep walking, nothing to see…we’re just taxing the rich.”

Proponents say payroll taxes “provide an unstable revenue stream.” Ah…here’s the truth. All who signed on to support Proposition E pocket direct PERSONAL benefits from increased taxes on YOU.

Tell City Hall you want REAL reform with less taxes and spending…and not this sneaky imposter.

Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party of San Francisco

13

Hi All! Thanks, Mike, for taking care of E. Also thanks to the others who contributed additional thoughts. I will write the rebuttal to A today (and post it later in the day), and I assume that Starchild will write the rebuttals to C and G. Please confirm, Starchild.

Thanks!
Aubrey

14

Here you go Aubrey and Starchild....exactly 250 words.

And Rich Text format...

Another thing about this tax we probably can't get into....but it really opens the doors for a much more intrusive tax collection process. The tax is only on receipts generated in SF. So a multinational would only have to pay based on actual receipts in SF. That requires a lot more auditing and more meddling to get that number than a simple payroll review....but that's for another day.

Mike

Prop E Means MORE Taxes, MORE City Hall Waste, HIGHER Prices and FEWER Jobs

Proposition E, a 60-page, $28.5 million tax increase rushed onto the ballot just before the deadline, proposes a gross receipts tax as "fairer" (as if government taking more money is fair).

Proponents are correct; the current payroll tax discourages job creation. When you tax something, you get less of it. Proposition E acknowledges this by exempting businesses with under $1 million in gross receipts. We want more of them.

But medium and large companies employ thousands of San Franciscans. Yet E wants to tax receipts so companies pay ever higher percentages as they succeed. By this City Hall effectively says it doesn't want businesses to grow and stay.

The mayor and Supervisors complain the current tax "provides unstable revenue" But rather than replace the flat payroll tax with a flat gross receipts tax bringing in equal revenue (a measure we wouldn't oppose) City Hall got greedy with Proposition E. If E passes they might be surprised how unstable revenues can be if businesses leave rather than sticking around to be fleeced.

Taxes on business don't just affect rich people. They are passed on to the public in the form of higher prices, lower wages, and fewer jobs. That means people buying everything from Giants tickets to milk will pay.

Politicians benefit from distributing funds to their friends, letting YOU pay the bills. Tell City Hall you want REAL tax reform, not an imposter. Vote NO on E.

Libertarian Party of San Francisco

15

Cool, Mike, thanks -- but MS Word says 256 words, and I only count four instances of "San Francisco" and "City Hall" (I'm not even sure the Elections Dept. counts "City Hall" as a single word -- hope you're right about that).

  If the word count ends up being over, are you okay changing "But medium and large companies represent huge economic activity and employment here" to "But medium and large companies employ thousands people in San Francisco"?

Love & Liberty,
                                ((( starchild )))

16

Count again...there's on San Franciscans too and the Libertarian Party of San Francisco....all count.

Mike

17

Oops, never mind, I see you already changed that. We may have to find a couple words elsewhere then.

Love & Liberty,
                               ((( starchild )))

18

I believe "San Franciscans" counts as two words, but I could be mistaken.

Love & Liberty,
                                ((( starchild )))

19

If that's right....just cross it out and pencil in "people".

Mike

20

Okay, Aubrey just got here, so we'll be heading down to City Hall. If you think of anything else, call me, don't email -- (415) 625-FREE (3733).

Love & Liberty,
                                ((( starchild )))