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...there a solution to California's dilemma? A number of reforms are receiving attention. On the tax and budget side, these include eliminating the need for a two-thirds majority vote on budget and tax matters and instituting a split-roll for property taxes that would allow homeowners to continue to pay according to the low rates mandated by Proposition 13, but require commercial property to be assessed at market value. To relieve the logjam in California politics, momentum is growing for an open primary system, in which the two top vote getters in the primary, regardless of party, would...
...behind the idea of a constitutional convention. That, of course, could be a can of worms. Erwin Chemerinsky, a leading constitutional scholar and dean of the University of California Irvine Law School, argues that advocates for budget sanity should first try a ballot measure to change the two-thirds vote requirement on budget and tax measures. "If a statewide initiative to eliminate the two-thirds majority requirement can pass, that will solve a lot of the problem," Chemerinsky says. "And then it makes sense to move on to a constitutional convention...
...real estate tax on a parcel of property would be limited to 1% of its assessed value and this assessed value would only increase by a maximum of 2% per year, until a change in ownership. Voters responded and Proposition 13 scored a dramatic victory with 65% of the vote. Property tax rates dropped an average...
...clash in the nation as a whole, there are two Californias. Historically, there was the liberal north versus the conservative south. Since the days of Governors Pat Brown and Ronald Reagan, the clash has been between older, predominately Anglo voters, living in the suburbs and rural counties and largely voting Republican, and younger voters, more likely to be Asian or Latino or black or Middle Eastern, who are more prevalent in California's urban centers and hip suburbs and who predominantly support Democrats. As the state's population has become diverse and Anglo voters have seen their own children grow...
...country's problems on the rich. Amid rising crime and a spluttering economy, the establishment turned on Zelaya. The flashpoint came in June, when he called for a nonbinding referendum on changing the constitution to allow Presidents to stand for a second term. The Supreme Court ruled the vote illegal and soldiers whisked Zelaya away before it could take place, leaving Congressman Roberto Micheletti to be sworn in as the new President. (Read "Castro and Chávez: The Evil Twins for Florida...