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07.01.2008 0

Three Times is the Charm

  • On: 07/29/2008 15:47:47
  • In: Term Limits
  • Apparently, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try – and try – again. Undeterred by repeated failure at the ballot box, the California Legislature is once again trying to turn “public service” into a tenured profession.

    U.S. Term Limits today blew the whistle on yet another attempt by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez to roll back California’s term limits law – this time by reintroducing the very measure that Californians defeated at the ballot box just three months ago. And USTL’s president, Phil Blumel will have none of it.

    In a stern letter to all 80 members of the California lower house, U.S. Term Limits president Phil Blumel warned of dire consequences should the Assembly “join Mr. Nunez in disdaining the ballot box and disenfranchising those who went against his grasping will.”

    “Please know that should the members of the Assembly concede to Mr. Nunez’s nefarious scheme,” Blumel warned in a letter to legislators, “U.S. Term Limits will spare no time or expense in exposing and opposing those who participate in such a transparent attempt to subvert the people’s will.”

    This would be the third time since 1990 when California’s term limits law was enacted by a 52%-48% margin that the State Legislature has attempted to roll back term limits law and increase its job security:

    In February, voters defeated a Nunez-backed ballot measure that would have allowed him and other termed-out officeholders to run for reelection. That measure, defeated by a 54-46 margin, marked the third time in the past 18 years that California voters have voted in favor of the state’s highly popular term limits law.

    In 2002, the voters again supported term limits when California State Senate president pro tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) sponsored an effort to rollback the provisions of 1990’s Proposition140 by putting Proposition 45 on the March 2002 ballot. Voters rejected the proposition by a margin of 42-58%. Had it passed, legislators would have been allowed to serve for four years beyond the limits allowed by Prop. 140.

    The February 5 measure backed by Nunez, Proposition 93, would have extended the terms current legislators may remain in office. The new measure Nunez is now proposing would do the same. Nunez has said, “It is going to materialize.”

    Having been repeatedly denied at the ballot box, Nunez and his cronies, whose cushy political sinecures are threatened by term limits, are in a mad dash to once again put their anti-term limits measure on the ballot. Apparently they hope that the good people of California will finally “grow weary in well doing” and surrender their state to career politicians.

    And that’s why U.S. Term Limits has called upon every member of the Assembly to sign a “Term Limits Pledge to the People.” We’ll keep you posted on who signs up – and who, in the words of Blumel – “joins Mr. Nunez in disdaining the ballot box and disenfranchising those who [in February] went against his grasping will.”

    ALG CTA: ALG News would like to commend U.S. Term Limits for its aggressive stance in supporting term limits throughout the nation. Politicians need to be sent the message that they are not entitled to their jobs, and we urge you to encourage your audiences to send that message to the California State Assembly.

    Lets Make a Deal!

  • On: 07/29/2008 15:12:22
  • In: Entitlements
  • What do you call it when a political insider undermines the freedom of choice of citizens to scam the system to make a huge return on investment? In America, it’s called theft. In Washington, it’s called a bargain.

    Once again proving that Big Government really does believe it should control every last cent the American people make and that favored special interests are running the show, the House of Representatives recently passed legislation requiring that every dollar spent from private Health Savings Accounts (HSA’s) be verified as a “legitimate” medical expense by – you guessed it – government bureaucrats.

    But, as the Wall Street Journal notes in its April 19th editorial, “Health Savings Sabotage”, this massive power grab is really creating a “solution” where no problem exists:

    “[T]his is a nonproblem: Any withdrawal from an HSA is already subject to a federal tax audit, just as individual tax returns are. In any case if people cheat on their HSAs, they are only cheating themselves. When a medical expense arises below the insurance deductible, they will be the ones paying for it, whether from their HSA or another bank account.”

    So, why then are the Democrats in Congress trying to restrict the average citizen’s freedom to choose how to spend their own money on medical costs around? At their core the Democrats in Congress simply do not like the power of choice. They think it’s their money, and they’ll tell the average American how, when, where, and why to spend it – or they won’t allow him or her to spend it at all.

    But the real story here is Congress selling out to a special interest! As the Journal notes:

    “A key player here is Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark, whose main purpose in politics is to give the U.S. a government-run health-care system. He is a known opponent of HSAs – once comparing them to ‘weapons of mass destruction’ – because they introduce more individual choice into the health-care marketplace.

    “Pushing for the provision was a company called Evolution Benefits, which has patented a system for the substantiation of health-care expenses. Evolution’s lobbyist, John McManus, was the former staff director of the Health Subcommittee under Republican Bill Thomas. The company first lobbied for the HSA provision, then withdrew its support when Republicans began to focus on its role. But Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel helped make sure the provision was in the bill, which passed largely on partisan lines.”

    So, in other words, the 4.5 million Americans covered under HSA’s could soon have their freedom of choice restricted by bureaucratic boondoggling so that Evolution Benefits can increase its bottom line. This is an example of an insider rigging the system to make millions while killing options for the citizens. And it is bipartisan theft. Mr. McManus once worked for Republican Bill Thomas, and now he is getting special favors from Democrat Charlie Rangel to profit from his insider status.

    In Washington, you can make big money in the political class by killing options and expanding the government’s reach, such as Mr. McManus and Evolution Benefits are doing. This is more than simply a sabotage of HSA’s by Big Government. This is a window into the sewer of corruption that our government has become.

    ALG CTA: The political class in Washington is picking the bones of the American people to line the pockets of their favorite special interests. Like the scavengers that they are, they will not stop until the bleached bones are all that is left. It is still not too late to save HSA’s from death by political insider trading. We urge journalists to encourage your audiences to contact members of the U.S. Senate before it is too late to tell them that they like their freedom of choice when it comes to healthcare, and that they do not want Evolution Benefits to profit from this politician-backed rip off.

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