Hi All. Here's an interesting one--I'm going to attend. Marcy, if you could list it on Bay Area Events, that would be great.
Thanks!Aubrey
Thanks, Aubrey. Will post on Bay Area Events and Facebook. If I have time, I will write a blurb for the LPSF website also.
If it were not so far, I would attend also. This is hosted by the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association, where Mark Hinkle is the current president.
I am wondering how much is Trish following the San Francisco housing food fight. I will send her a link to the BARF panel discussion video, where one of the panelists mentioned that Plan Bay Area's Housing Increment Plan is "not working very well," so cities need to up the ante. In other words, housing bonds in the next election ballot is a certainty. LPSF should be getting ready for this fight.
Hope you will take notes and share with us Trish's update on our beloved Plan Bay Area.
Marcy
Hi Marcy. Well, Trish was certainly a whirlwind of information tonight. She came in with her books and maps and swept us off our feet covering everything from the origin of the plan with the Rockefellers in the 60's to the current plan to construct a mountain lion corridor across Highway 17 at the cost of $13 million. She has special disdain for JPA's, which reminded me of the attempts to get SF and the City of Richmond to collaborate on that eminent domain business last year. I could barely take notes fast enough--Trish was rattling off facts, figures, and trends at a feverish pace. Trish also talked about the importance of going to local meetings and holding your elected officials accountable, but she indicated that she felt the focus should be on what's going on in Sacramento, because that's where the real power is. One of the more interesting facts I hadn't heard of before was the outrageous idea of having fines and tickets automatically being deducted from your Fastrak account without notification or having a chance to contest them. Another tidbit was regarding the Coastal Commission, which originally was only supposed to cover the first 100' or 1,000' of land, but now they dictate what can be developed up to 5 miles inland. Literal governmental overreach.
As an aside, at the beginning of the meeting, Mark Hinkle talked about another doozie floating around the State Senate: SB8. With the excuse that they need a stable source of "revenue stream" that doesn't go up and down with the economy, SB8 would tax all services in addition to materials which are currently subject to sales tax. Interestingly enough, this new and improved sales tax would not tax the services of doctors and lawyers. The proposed sales tax increase would extract an extra $10 billion per year.
After the meeting I stood around and gabbed with several of the Santa Clara LP folks and compared notes regarding local events and outreach. Also let everyone know about our Tax Day event and distributed your flyer. Elizabeth noted that Randal O'Toole used to be associated with The Independent Institute.
All in all--worth schlepping down there tonight!Aubrey
Good job Aubrey….thanks for the update.
Mike
Hi Aubrey,
So glad you went to Trish's event. Thank you for the report. I agree that legislation coming down from Sacramento is certainly enabling regional and local taxing and spending for all kinds of nonsense. Yes, sales tax on services will probably be on the ballot soon, possibly in connection with funding for affordable housing. This plan was mentioned during Sonja's first panel discussion on housing.
Marcy