.
.
.
First, apologies to all those folks who are just trying to make a living out there collecting signatures for initiatives to go on November’s ballot. I know it’s rough out there for all of us and I hope you can still manage to make ends meet somehow, but I’ve gotta think of the good of California. Here’s something to feel better about – only a few hundred people read my stories, and half of them will do the opposite of what I tell them anyway, so this shouldn’t hurt you too much really.
Second, there are a few good initiatives that should be floating around soon for signatures and I hope they get enough to qualify – there will hopefully be one for an oil extraction tax, and maybe even a public option in health insurance for Californians. But the ones I’ve been approached for so far are ones that we’ll be better off strangling NOW in their cradle, before they qualify and the multi-million dollar campaigns to confuse the voters have a chance to commence.
And the main reason I’m providing this service here is to let all you OJ readers know the generally vast distance between what the guy with the clipboard will tell you to get your signature and what the initiative will actually do. Here goes:
- What they’ll tell you: “This one will save you money on car insurance.” Or, “This one will make it easier for automobile
insurance companies to lower your rates.” Or, if you inquire further, “This allows auto insurance companies to charge you less if you keep your insurance for a certain period of time and don’t let it lapse.”
- What the initiative would do: Jesus, this zombie returns so quickly? We just shot down Mercury Insurance last time they tried this, in June of last year, with Proposition 17! Remember, back when I wrote the popular and successful “Friends Don’t Let Friends Vote For Proposition 17.” Even at that time, folks were already comparing Mercury to Captain Ahab for their tireless pursuit of this “reform,” hence the illustration I chose. And they’re already at it again!? For all the arguments making the case that this initiative would actually RAISE most of our rates, go to my story from last year. But also, ask yourself logically – why would a company plow so many millions of dollars into a measure year after year just to save LITTLE OLD YOU money? Enjoy the video below (from last year) – and save us all a lot of trouble and confusion (and save Mercury lots of propaganda money as well) by NOT signing this one!
- What they’ll tell you: “This one will stop POLITICIANS from drawing their own district lines!”
What the initiative would do: Damn, talk about pretty close to the opposite of the truth! This is a Republican initiative. So, MAYBE, if you’re a Republican, you want to sign it, but even if it does qualify and win, it’s not a sure thing your Party will come out any better. The Republicans grew to hate the old lines, ACTUALLY DRAWN BY POLITICIANS in 2001, which were made to protect incumbents of both Parties with “safe seats.” Republicans came to convince themselves that those districts gave them short shrift, and so most of them, like I myself for other reasons, supported 2008’s Proposition 11, which led to this year’s redistricting by a balanced commission using criteria other than Party and incumbent – geography, lines of cities, ethnic and other “communities of interest.” Well, things turned out EVEN WORSE for the Republicans, and now they want another shot – using the initiative process to send redistricting to the courts so that Republican-appointed judges can re-do them again. But that probably won’t help either. The problem that they can’t accept or solve is that less and less Californians want to vote Republican. Give it a shot, but most of us shouldn’t sign this pathetic thing.
As I get approached by more clipboard-toting strivers, I’ll keep adding to this list. I can tell you, these guys get $1 a signature, which ain’t a whole lot. But a month or two ago, when the legislature had passed a bill to make Amazon pay sales taxes like actual “brick and mortar stores” do, Amazon took to the clipboards, hoping to qualify and triumph in a referendum to overturn that law – and THEY WERE PAYING OUR FRIENDS 3$ A SIGNATURE! Sadly, that gravy train’s over, as the leg and Amazon have reached some sort of compromise.
Stay tuned, and remember – what the signature-takers tell you is generally not really what the initiative will do; these are also not knowledgable people so they probably don’t even understand what the initiative would do if you asked them; and in any case there are ALWAYS too many of these things on the ballot!
*
What they’ll tell you:
What the initiative would do:
What they’ll tell you:
What the initiative would do:
Last month I was at a car show in Tustin and saw a guy soliciting signatues with the opening question of “are you a registered voter?” When he had a lull after a man was done signing a petition, I asked this guy if he was a paid signature gatherer. He proudly said yes and volunteered a view that only paid signature gatherers can get the job done. He then showed me five different ciipboards for signatures regarding five different issues and said there was an issue in this group that would interest most anyone. I did not bother to ask him what those issues were nor to comment on his chosen profession. I believe there have been bills in the State Legislature recently to outlaw paid signature gathering but they have been strongly opposed by people claiming such a ban woudl violate free speech rights. Guess the old axiom Caveat Emptor is the thing to remember.
Actually that bill passed, but was vetoed by Governor Brown, who feels that paying signature gatherers is a perfectly valid exercise of political speech. I think I agree with him. It’s good that they at least tell you, when asked, that they’re being paid – they’ve been admitting that to me as well. After knowing that, caveat emptor – and keep reading this series!
I know it’s impossible (probably), but the initiative should be put quietly to sleep. As a product of the Progressive Era, in California it was enacted to counter the influence of big business (mostly the Southern Pacific Railroad) on our state legislature. Now it’s a tool used by big business and ideological cranks to circumvent the legislature. With enough money (that’s all it takes), you can buy all the legislation you please. The best and last initiative would be the one to repeal Proposition 13.
“But also, ask yourself logically – why would a company plow so many millions of dollars into a measure year after year just to save LITTLE OLD YOU money?”…… Hmmmm
Yes!
They want to steel my identity and empty my checking/ debit/ credit accounts.
In contrast, ask yourself logically – why would a liberal unions plow so many millions of dollars into a measure year after year just to save LITTLE OLD YOU money?
The bill did not outlaw paying petitoners only paying them by the signature, it would have required each different group or corperation to hire a seperate set of people to gather signatures.
THe effect would have been to increase the price of putting something on the ballot and instead of one petitioner for 5 or 10 issues you would have one petitioner for each seperate on, more people trying to get your attention to sign something, if it does not sometimes irritate you now, it sure would with 10 or more people each one trying to get you to sign something different.
The average volunteer signature person gets about 5 good signatures, to do a sucessful all volunteer effort you would need 160,000 to 200,000 volunteers, go luck with that.
Where can you find out about the real prop’s needing to be signed?
I was at a Wall-Mart and someone asked if I would sign. Some how I think some are fake, to get you in the signing mood and then hit you with the BS ones.
hm… hadn’t heard that … that doesn’t make much sense.
I imagine they get paid for every signature. And also that the average person will sign one or two, and then insist on getting on with their day.
PS.
1. Why are you going to Wal-Mart?
2. What Wal-Mart where? I need to find some more of these guys, to continue this story.
I’ve seen them at the Wal mart in Orange and the one in Santa Ana. And doesn’t everyone go to wal mart?
Nope, lotsa good reasons to not go to Walmart. But I don’t want to get off on a tangent.
I WILL hang out in a Walmart parking lot to find out what petition signers are saying though…
Speaking of petition gathering…I am having breakfast on Monday with Judge Jim Gray. I will be asking him questions about the competing cannabis initiatives and when they will be circulating.