Enough Excuses, this Recall is Newman’s Own Fault

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The Tax Bear Cometh

Here’s a thought experiment for you.

Let’s say you bought a house in Fullerton at the peak of the housing market. The market has mostly recovered but the house is only worth what you originally paid. However, when you receive your tax bill, the Franchise Tax Board assesses it higher, so there is more than a $1,000 difference in what you think you should pay and what you are actually charged. So you send a letter to the Franchise Tax Board disputing the charge and explaining why you believe your bill should be lower.

According to our State Senator Josh Newman, what you just did was costly and unnecessary. You see, that letter disputing the $1000+ charge cost 49 cents to mail, and the letter isn’t guaranteed to get you that refund you want.

That’s pretty much the takeaway from this recent editorial from Mr. Newman, which ran on Page 2 of our local Fullerton Observer Newspaper. Senator Newman’s response to the anger over his vote to raise taxes by over $52 billion over ten years in an already overtaxed state is pure misdirection, asking his supporters to instead ask recall proponents “why they’d waste $2.5 million on a recall petition rather than put 34 more teachers in our schools, 16 more firefighters in our communities, or 13 more cops on our streets.”

Of course the answer is really simple: Because $52 billion is more money than $2.5 million. About $51.9975 billion more.

Don’t think about the $1000 tax you shouldn’t have to pay. Think about the two bubble gum balls you could buy with this money instead.

Elsewhere in the editorial, Senator Newman does get around to justifying his vote and that the increased spending on roads was necessary due to the poor condition they are in. Nobody in Fullerton would dispute that, but the reason for the problem is grossly out of whack spending priorities, not a lack of revenue.

Take the examples Newman cites himself. He bemoans the fact that the alleged $2.5 million recall cost could put 13 more cops on our street and not the fact that, by his own admission, putting a single police officer on our streets costs over $192,000 per year in the first place due to the grossly unsustainable public employee benefits we dole out. He bemoans the horrible condition of our roads and not the fact that the 18 cent per gallon tax we already pay has been diverted into the fiscal vortex that is high speed rail – and even when Caltrans does spend money on roads, overpayment and delays have come to be accepted as inevitable.

This is why your constituents are angry, Senator Newman, and this is why they are listening to (as you put it) “shock jocks” and signing the recall petition in droves. We are tired of excuses and we are tired of politicians who choose to represent the interest in Sacramento that want to keep this unsustainable benefit machine chugging along at the taxpayers’ expense.

In the event you are reading this yourself, Senator, I don’t say any of this with rancor and I still like you personally, but you are working against my interests and those of hundreds of thousands of your constituents in Sacramento and it has to stop. And babbling about millions while your policies are costing tens of billions isn’t going to save you.

31 Replies to “Enough Excuses, this Recall is Newman’s Own Fault”

  1. The reason I signed the recall petition is because I know that the next step the leaches in Sacragetto are going to take is to repeal Prop 13. That means they will triple my property tax I will not be able to afford my retirement. I don’t get annual cost of living raises and lifetime health insurance whether I do a good job or not. But government slugs get those unlimited benefits guaranteed whether it bankrupts the City or not. Power to the Recall. Kick the bums out!

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  5. Great article. Also, go to the FULLERTON WATCH blog and read the article titled: The Newman Recall Has Collected More Then Half The Signatures Needed. I responded to it on June 6 under and you will find out some more VALID reasons why people of ALL political parties (Independents, Conservatives, Liberals) are signing the recall and are NOT ignorant to the facts OR “FREELOADERS” as our Gov. Brown called ALL of us who oppose to NOT only the way this Gas Tax got CRAMMED through without all of our input, BUT also it has become to NORM to put down those who do NOT agree with how he is running our state without listening to ALL the people. Even his own party are voting against some of what he is doing so this is NOT about politics it is about silencing OUR collective voices. Had this Gas Tax been brought to light prior to the vote you better believe that people would be calling our local and state representatives and Gov. Brown’s office opposing this for ALL the reasons listed in this article and the other article on the FULLERTON WATCH blog. To give you a little recap on my June 6 response (to the article I referred you to read also, that compliments this great article with additional detail ) GOV. BROWN insults ALL of us (regardless of party affiliation) by calling ALL those who disagree with him on what he is doing pushing this Gas Tax bill through fast and behind our backs and calls us ALL “FREELOADERS” if we do NOT roll over and agree with it AFTER the fact. It does NOT consider the low income, young families, middle class people who are already being taxed the heck out of and seniors on fixed incomes. It is pathetic that we are very large state and wealthy compared to most and yet our roads are a disgrace and should never been allowed to get like this. We the voters of ALL political parties have the RIGHT to give input, to agree or disagree and even cross party lines when we disagree with the status quo and vote accordingly. Here we go again with Gov. Brown’s medical bill that will force companies and ALL of us to one single payer (disaster) that takes all of our choices away if it goes through. We have all heard in the news and on blogs and websites all over the state, that certain people leading our state are wanting California to break away from the rest of the states which is alarming in itself and at first most thought it was a joke. If we ALL look at this recent Gas Tax shoved through BEFORE we could ALL blink and eye (so that we as hardworking taxpayers are forced to pay the bill for the infrastructure) regardless of poor management of our taxes, and now consider this new California Medical One Payer bill (see Fullerton Watch June 8, 2017 article on it which is excellent) it sure strongly appears like Gov. Brown is looking to become President Brown and his nation will become California since this single payer medical bill sounds like Brown Care if we want it or not. THIS IS NOT ABOUT POLITICS SINCE ALL POLITICAL PARTIES INDEPENDENT, CONSERVATIVES AND EVEN LIBERALS ARE FED UP BECAUSE THIS GAS TAX BILL AND MOST RECENTLY MEDICAL BILL SHOULD NOT BE PUSHED THROUGH WITHOUT ALL OF OUR VOICES AS VOTERS BEING HEARD. IF GOV. BROWN FELT THIS GAS TAX BILL WOULD BE WELL RECEIVED AS I MENTIONED IN ANOTHER BLOG HE WOULD HAVE INSISTED THAT BEFORE OUR LOCAL AND STATE REPRESENTATIVES PASSED IT TO GIVE US ALL A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT TO SUPPORT OR OPPOSE SINCE IT IS OUR RIGHT AS VOTERS. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND WHEN THE VOTERS VOICES ARE IGNORED REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICAL PARTY THEY WILL BE HEARD AT THE BALLOT BOX AT REGULAR OR SPECIAL ELECTIONS. PEOPLE CAN TRY TO FIGHT COMMONSENSE AND LOGIC BUT FIGHTING IT IS FUTILE, BECAUSE HAD THE VOTERS BEEN GIVEN A VOICE TO OPPOSE OR ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE THE VOTING TOOK PLACE THE BILL WOULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED AND THAT IS WHY IT WAS SHOVED THROUGH SO QUICKLY. THE SILENT MAJORITY OF ALL POLITICAL PARTIES CAN BE NAMED CALLED OR EVEN THREATENED WHICH IS UNFORTUNATE AND WRONG, BUT IN A TRUE DEMOCRACY IT ALLOWS ALL OF US TO BE HEARD AND TO MAKE INFORMED “CHOICES” WITHOUT CALLING US “FREELOADERS” REGARDLESS IF WE ARE LIBERALS, CONSERVATIVES AND INDEPENDENTS WHO HAVE VOTED DIFFERENTLY THEN WHAT GOV. BROWN “CHOOSES”. WE ARE NOT STUPID AND CAN SEE WHERE ALL OF OUR MONEY IS GOING (LOOK AT THE NEWS AND PAPERS) AND ROADS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A FIRST PRIORITY FOR YEARS AND IT HAS NOT. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND PEOPLE OF ALL POLITICAL PARTIES WHO REFUSE TO BE BULLIED, NAME CALLED OR BECOME VICTIMS OF FAKE NEWS BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE GUTS TO VOTE FOR WHAT IS RIGHT AND FAIR EVEN IF THAT MEANS THEY GO AGAINST THEIR OWN PARTY. THANK YOU.

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      1. No one wants to read ALL CAPS comments Cindy. God bless your illiteracy.

        ..says the same blogger who misspells the previous bloggers name ; – )

        …but hey what’s a couple of vowels between friends?

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        1. I intentionally misspelled it because Candi sounds like a stripper name. Cindy sounds much nicer for an inbred.

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  6. Thank you Jon Stewart or John Oliver or Sean Paden, if that’s the name you’re going by now. Your bubble gum balls/postage stamp analogy gave me my first (and only) out-loud genuine belly laugh of the day. So good it hurt. Your wit and wisdom much appreciated.

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  7. Yes, Newman’s fault for having the temerity to get elected as a Democrat in a longtime Republican district. Face it, demographics are changing. You might recall one legislator, using out-of-district money, but the GOP is going to have to fight for votes here now, instead of relying on the automatic support of knee jerk conservatives for their brainless candidates.

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    1. No, Newman’s fault for supporting a REGRESSIVE tax. That’s not very progressive, is it, even for a big tax junkie like you.

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    2. I don’t know who you think you’re fooling . Newman got elected because the illegals wanted to keep Trump out and the DMV gave them all drivers license and voter registration that’s the same reason that dummy Silva got elected

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  8. I’d like to know where Newman pulled that $2.5 million number from. I think it was a body cavity.

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  9. This recall is funded by disgruntled campaign donaters who helped fund Josh Newman’s election. .. shame on you for having buyer’s remorse

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  10. No. You cannot speak on behalf of Millennials and the youth. You can only speak for your dino self. Climate change will wreak havoc on Southern California, let alone Fullerton. It’s in OUR best interests to reduce fossil fuel consumption by any means necessary. What Newman did was add to the pressure people will have to face: American overconsumption, addiction to fossil fuels, and love of convenience is killing our planet. Any fool who is scientifically literate has already realized this. Newman represented young constituents who know this all too well.

    If you’re not aware that the impacts of climate change will have on my generation and future generations to come, then get out of our way.

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    1. Newman said the money was to fix the roads. There are plenty of ways to reduce fossil fuel consumption without taking money from poor people and giving it to government pensionists.

      Newman is gone. Defending him is a waste of time.

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    3. Global warming is complete b***** . Carbon dioxide is plant food. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere the better the trees grow you moron. I can’t believe you believe all this b******* you learned in school. Talk to any grower these days especially those that work inside and ask them what CO2 does for their yield. His friends science climatologist morons scientologists or whatever they are that’s their religion and they want you riding public transportation next to some guy with hepatitis and AIDS with a switchblade in his pocket don’t fall for it

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    5. Good Evening Actual Scientist, do you think you could stop the name calling of the bloggers using words like dino, inbred and illiterate and just stand on the strength of your argument? You have no idea how old any of these people are and I have to add that not only did you spell one bloggers name wrong as was pointed out by another blogger, but you made another mistake it was not all cap’s either. You distract from your argument when you name call is the point. Hope this helps in your future blogs.

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    1. The death nail for the Dems. Voters are now more pissed than ever. Good job putting the noose around your own necks Newman & Co.!

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    2. Now Newman wants recall rules altered to increase expenses and slow a time-honored voter process that’s been in effect and effective for decades because he arrogantly claims, without proof, that his constituents lack the mental capacity to correctly self-determine whether or not they want to sign a petition? Newman nauseates.

      And what a sick abuse of power to suddenly sneak this unsubstantiated opinion-driven policy change into a budget bill so that it’s enacted immediately. Worse yet, the recall edits ask for retroactive enforcement–again with sole intent of helping Newman try and derail the effort that’s already successfully underway to oust him.

      I get that Newman’s desperate and unprincipled but I don’t get how a rewriting of the constitution’s recall protections can pass without a ballot measure–don’t constitutional amendments require a vote of the people? CA Constitution, Article II Voting, Initiative and Referendum, and Recall (see Section 13 and on):
      https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CONS&division=&title=&part=&chapter=&article=II

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  12. So based on some of the comments it appears it does NOT matter if your an Independent, Liberal or Conservative or have NO party affiliation at all, if any political party voter “chooses” to go against Gov. Brown’s agenda (concerning the gas tax as “informed” voters) then they will be attacked as a traitor, “freeloader”, financial supporter of other parties or name called which is sad. When all else fails attack the style or the blogger but ignore the way this gas tax was shoved through, and ignore that the poor, young families, middle class and over taxed tax payers, and seniors on fixed incomes were all “left” out in the dark! If this was such a great idea and it was done in an “open” and “transparent” manner then there would have been an all out effort by Gov. Brown to give all the taxpayers the chance to review and give their feedback before it was crammed through as we all know it was. So if we all read or hear the news we know that the recent polls California polls say only 35 percent back the gas tax and the rest do not. So what is Gov. Brown’s solution to silence all “freeloading” political parties whose voters are not in favor of his gas tax bill? Let’s show all those “freeloaders” who is boss and cram through (see the LA Times article) another bill at the last minute knowing the polls are showing the majority of California is not favoring our gas tax decisions! That will only add fuel to the fire of the majority of California taxpayers who are not stupid, not uninformed, not supporters of any particular political party when if comes to different bills (in this case the gas bill) and see if that will stick. We all are wise enough to realize there are “countless” voters who are “independent” decision makers regardless of what political party they are signed up to and regardless if there your family, friends, acquaintances or even strangers regardless of what political party they are involved in. They will have the guts to vote “independently” of their own political party at times on issues that they believe in. In regards to the name calling and judging going on, remember stick and stones may break our bones, but names and false putdowns from strangers will never hurt those who have confidence in themselves. Lesson learned at a young age from my family, friends who belong to all political parties and believe in voting “independently” on any given bills regardless what party they are registered to. To go along with a bill, just to get along is selling out if you do not believe what was done was open, transparent and left the voters completely out. It is not like this gas tax was not going to be highly controversial, so what would one expect. Senator Newman never bothered to get input from all registered political parties in his district before he cast his vote on this highly sensitive gas tax bill. Regardless if he had been an Independent or Conservative when it comes to this gas tax bill, he would be facing the same situation he finds himself in now not letting us know. He could have voted no, and most of California would have backed him not just his district. That is based on the recent polls 35 percent for and 65 percent against the gas tax bill mentioned earlier and the fact that the poor, young families, middle glass families and seniors are honestly sick and tired of having things shoved down their throats when it comes to gas taxes, medical care and seeing their hard earned money go to support others things then our infrastructure.

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  14. No matter what political party one is involved in it can also be considered “misleading” by the “voters” IF their representative does NOT first consider their beliefs about any bill before voting to help pass it. “Misleading” can go both ways as we have read in the news that voters would have not voted for certain elected officials had they had known how they would vote. We have all have heard in the media about how some lawmakers were given perks if they voted for the gas bill. So did anyone twist our elected official’s arm to vote yes? If our representative had been in touch with the people before voting, regardless of political party then the vote would have been NO in this district for valid reasons. Voters of ALL parties are smarter then we are being given credit for and do their homework and look at the track record of spending in California. Yes, all of us can read in the papers, watch on the news, do research when time allows and actually see by looking at our roads and infrastructure where everyone’s hard earned money is going. Rather then confusing the gas tax issue and making it a Conservative versus Liberal thing, let’s be clear and tell it like it is. What is “really” upsetting most California’s voters of all political parties and statewide is not only the way this bill and others were pushed through, but finding out after the fact on the news how some of the votes got to “yes” as mentioned above. For our district it is obvious that all people running for this position last year had to have done their homework ahead of time and knew going in that there is a large degree of political diversity in this district alone. There is a good degree of Conservatives, Liberals and some Independents and no party affiliation living here. If anyone who ran regardless of political party and won by only a little over 2,000 votes, would it not be prudent to consider that when voting on any bill and on behalf of this district? Do we not need strong leaders who will not cave into any political party pressure especially if new and who will hear us first out before voting? That is what is not being mentioned because it is makes to much sense and people like to argue or be right at all costs, rather then consider that at least 65 percent of California’s are against this gas tax, feel ignored by their elected officials who voted “yes” and now see them as trying to spend money to block their voices again. We can all agree upon one thing and that is no one wants to pay more taxes in a highly taxed state, a wealthy and very large state that can not explain why the money that has been collected by all of us has ALLOWED the roads and infrastructure to get so bad? Sorry, but it is hard to swallow for most of us hardworking and honest taxpayers in California when we see where the money has been going over the years and it sure has not been on our roads or infrastructure but for OTHER things that are NOT even half important. We are not all blind.

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