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Contributors
Bill Leonard - Contributor
Bill Leonard is a Member of the State Board of Equalization
 A
Week Under the Dome...
Values, economics, taxes and generosity...
[Bill Leonard] 11/17/04
Confronting the Moral Values Agenda
On election day voters
in 11 states rejected legalizing any marriage but that between
a man and a woman. California voters
did this several years ago. Despite that clear message, a California
Assemblymember is already planning on introducing a bill to change
the meaning of marriage when the new session of the legislature
convenes in December. The bill will make marriage a contract “between
two persons.”
A couple of other legislators have announced their intentions
to legalize suicide in California and provide legal protection
to those who assist people in taking their own lives.
These extremist proposals
put great political pressure on moderates, particularly the
moderate Democrats in the majority caucus. Rank
and file voters may seem to be silent, but as shown in this month’s
presidential election, once they perceive a clear difference
between candidates on moral values their vote is decided even
if it means crossing party lines. Do not let silence presume
consent: get your pens and typing fingers ready to communicate
with your legislators in a few short weeks.
Economic Vitality Questions
Governor Schwarzenegger
has declared himself to be a man of action. One of the ways
he is demonstrating this is by asking
his advisors to think about what California should look like
in 20 years and what policies can lead to the capital investment
necessary to get us there. To help answer these questions, the
Governor’s cabinet secretaries are touring the state, holding
conversations with business, political, educational and community
leaders to get their input on each region’s priorities
for economic vitality. The cabinet secretaries are posing three
questions to participants in these discussions and I want to
ask those same questions of Leonard Letter readers. Please share
with me your answers to these questions:
1) What actions will have the most immediate impact on California's
economic recovery?
2) What state actions will result in the most significant long-
term improvement to California's economic competitiveness and
comparative advantage?
3) How do we best structure an effective partnership between
the regions and the state around economic strategy?
Tax Test
When people buy cars,
trucks, boats or planes, the sales tax on those items are substantial.
It is perhaps human nature to
seek to avoid paying that extra amount and some people will go
to great lengths to make it appear that their truck was not subject
to California sales tax. Mostly this occurs by having the dealer
deliver the vehicle to the buyer outside the state and then operating
it for a few months elsewhere. This year, the legislature changed
the law to make this harder to do. Senate Bill 1100 replaced
that “90-day test” with a “12-month test.” It
became effective October 2nd. If you are a seller of such vehicles,
or you are considering a purchase, review http://www.boe.ca.gov/news/pdf/L129.pdf
for the new information.
Generosity – Blue
States vs. Red States
I saw an
interesting Blue State/Red State comparison on Michelle Malkin's
blog last
week. She
linked to work done by a group called The Catalogue for Philanthropy.
This organization compiled data to create what they call a Generosity
Index. It is computed by taking each state's average income and
average charitable contribution, then subtracting the contribution
rank from the average income rank to get a single number for
each state. For instance, Mississippi is last in average income
(50th), but they are fifth in average giving, thus 50-5 = 45.
By this measure, Mississippians are the most generous Americans
on average. Below is a table that shows each state’s ranking
along with which presidential candidate won in each. Notice how
far you need to scroll down before you see a blue state.
GENEROSITY STATE ELECTION RESULT INDEX
1 Mississippi Bush
2 Arkansas Bush
3 Oklahoma Bush
4 Louisiana Bush
5 Alabama Bush
6 Tennessee Bush
7 South Dakota Bush
8 Utah Bush
9 South Carolina Bush
10 Idaho Bush
11 Wyoming Bush
12 Texas Bush
13 West Virginia Bush
14 Nebraska Bush
15 North Dakota Bush
16 North Carolina Bush
17 Kansas Bush
18 Florida Bush
19 Georgia Bush
20 Kentucky Bush
21 Montana Bush
22 Missouri Bush
23 New Mexico Bush
24 Alaska Bush
25 Indiana Bush
26 New York KERRY
To see the complete list, go to: http://www.catalogueforphilanthropy.org/cfp/db/generosity.php?year=2004
Tuesday's Wall
Street Journal “Best of the Web” says
this comparison may not be totally fair because residents of
the highest income state, Connecticut, could give all their income
to charity and still not be listed as the most generous under
this system. So instead a WSJ reader offers another look -- the
percent of adjusted gross income people give to charity-- and
found an even stronger correlation between red state citizens
and generosity: here - then scroll
down to “The Selfish Party III.”CRO
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