Word: antitax
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Atiyeh, the son of Syrian immigrants, will be the nation's first Governor of Arab descent. In a vigorous grass-roots campaign, he traveled 40,000 miles, relentlessly calling for tax relief for homeowners. Straub apparently misread the antitax mood until very late in the campaign. Said Atiyeh after his victory: "I think the phrase from the movie Network covers what I've been hearing during this campaign: 'I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more...
...government-spending questions dominated the plebiscites. Almost everywhere, the antitax forces won. Idaho and Nevada placed constitutional ceilings on property taxes, and Arizona limited state spending to 7% of its residents' total personal income. Texans not only cut property taxes by about $500 million, but also barred their legislators from increasing outlays faster than the state's economic growth. Massachusetts overwhelmingly approved a complex measure designed to prevent sharp boosts in residential property taxes. Declared Arizona State Senator Ray Rottas, the G.O.P. sponsor of his state's winning proposal: "The message is simple. Taxpayers want rampant spending brought under control...
Indeed, the antitax spirit often seemed strong even where measures were technically defeated. Michigan voters refused to okay a 50% rollback in property levies, but approved a modest limit on state spending. Tax relief failed in Oregon, but only because voters split their support almost equally between two anti-tax amendments; as a result, neither polled the simple majority required for passage. Only in Nebraska, Colorado and Maryland were antitax and spending proposals clearly rejected...
...with less than a month left, a whopping 40% of the voters surveyed, including 62% of the independents, say they are still undecided. Perhaps the uncertainty stems from the voters' skepticism about the current gale of antitax rhetoric: two-thirds think the candidates' tax-slashing promises are just "a lot of talk...
...bill, moreover, contains few of the reforms that the President had originally proposed last December. Missing, for example, are cuts in deductions allowed for medical costs and for business entertainment, such as club dues, first-class travel and the much maligned three-martini lunch. Tuned finely to the antitax and more conservative mood of the electorate, Congress was mainly interested in axing federal levies and encouraging investment. Although the congressional bill falls short of the Administration's original goals, it seemed certain that Carter would sign...