Experts Expound

No, no, no. Trying to sell one tax increase is hard enough. Trying to sell two at the same time is a recipe for sure defeat.

Munger’s proposal to have Brown campaign for her measure too is as ridiculous as Cruz Bustamante trying to convince Gray Davis to campaign on his “No on Recall, Yes on Bustamante” slogan in 2003.

Yes they should. The dueling tax plans will kill each other.

Think this one through, John. Will it help Jerry to endorse a hugely unpopular massive income tax increase, while trying to push his own sales tax increase with its regressive impact on working folks? Count on them both going down, they have become a murder suicide pact.

The best thing they can do is ignore each other. As soon as they get together, the negatives multiply and each proposition will be hurt. It’s too late anyway to rewrite the ballot initiatives.

If Munger truly is worried about kids, she’ll drop her rival effort. Doing otherwise, she puts at risk any efforts to help schools.

Jerry Brown has the governor’s bully pulpit and attracts media coverage like white on rice. The only way that voters won’t say a “pox on both your houses” and reject both tax plans is to join hands.

The answer is heck no.

They can get together or not. Both taxes are going down. If they combine forces, both measures will die anyway.

Selling tax increases is difficult at the best of times, and this isn’t the best of times.

They should hit the road together the day after the Legislature hits the road for the year.

The real tragedy is that it takes ballot initiatives to wake people up about the dire condition of our schools.