California’s Ballot Initiative Disaster
Every election cycle, there are substantial issues at play in California. Rent Control. Death Penalty. Drug Prices. These all come up through ballot initiatives, at times more important and substantial than any legislation passed that year in the state legislature. Ballot propositions have always been a hallmark of “direct democracy” making each and every one of us our own lawmaker. If there’s an idea we like or don’t like, we get a simple up or down vote.
Since 1912, ballot initiatives have had a large role in California. Much of California’s own problems can be traced back to propositions from the late 70s and early 80s. One of the key props this year, Prop 15, is about reversing part of Prop 13 from 1978, that changed property taxes to base on the purchase price rather than current market value. This has given California a revenue problem ever since. And in the recent past this was only made more difficult when a 2010 ballot initiative made it so any new tax could only be passed by the legislature if they had a 2/3rds vote rather than a simple majority.
Some may say that this is a good system, if our legislators are bought off and beholden to various corporate interests, then the people should have a greater role in creating the society they want. In a vacuum this is true, but in practice it has had disastrous consequences. A regular person, is not simply capable of getting a proposition on the November ballot. Over half a million to a million signatures are required depending on the type of initiative. If you have a lot of money and resources available to you, this is incredibly possible to accomplish. So only the most established and powerful groups in California are capable of putting things on the ballot. You do get Uber and Lyft trying to repeal regulation aimed at them passed by the legislature, but you don’t get something from the other end of the spectrum like California deciding to publicly own PG&E, or a California Green New Deal type proposal.
Despite being in “blue” California, make no mistake that massive corporates reign here. Chevron, Uber, Lyft, the Chamber of Commerce, and the interests of capital play a heavy role in California’s ballot initiatives with this year not being any different. When there is an issue that they are invested in, they will put large amounts of money towards defeating a proposition or pushing it to victory with a wave of ads. Good luck trying to pass a ballot initiative that would have California getting greater control over prescription drugs when the entire pharmaceutical industry is cutting checks to flood the airwaves.
Politics is not something that most people see as central to their lives. It is a hobby, it is auxiliary, it is something that is annoying and bothers people. Of those that do “engage” in it, it is mostly through showing up to the polls every 4 years, and for a smaller set every 2 years. Ad on these propositions that most people have not heavily researched are effective. Buying TV adspace in California is also incredibly expensive. Add in that electorate tends to always be wealthier, whiter, and older than the total population, you see plenty of meaningful defeats at the ballot, as more and more people are unplugging themselves from a politics they don’t think is of material meaning to their lives anymore.
What we see in California is far-fetched from direct democracy at this point. It is yet just another institution that has been captured by the forces of capital no different than the legislature. I wouldn’t say all these outcomes are predetermined and I’ll be writing about some of the important ballot propositions and what each says about the political environment of California right now.
