How to fix California Other Issues, posted by Kevin Crispie, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Aug 8, 2009 at 7:39 am
California's budget woes can be partially fixed for the future with a series of constitutional amendments, which the people have the power to vote on. The first amendment would eliminate the super majority needed to pass budgets. The second would eliminate pay for lawmakers for every day a budget is not passed past the deadline. This would encourage lawmakers to actually make a decision, for the are working with no pay. The third would allow open primaries and the people themselves to draw the districts so that the most liberal and most conservative people, the ones who can't agree, get kicked out. With these constitutional amendments, in the future budgets will be better and passed quicker.
Posted by Mike Laursen, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Aug 9, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Wouldn't lowering the current 2/3-majority requirement make it easier to get in fiscal trouble? In general, not being able to get 2/3 of a group to agree to something is a strong indication its because bad ideas are being proposed.
Posted by Kevin Crispie, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Aug 10, 2009 at 9:10 am
It may, maybe we could compromise and do a 60% majority so there is a safeguard but it is easier to get a budget passed within a million years of the deadline