This was originally printed Oct. 13.
Santa Clara County residents should vote “no” on Measure A, the 5/8ths-of-a-cent sales tax for a variety of reasons.
First, this tax was conceived behind closed doors with no public discussion about whether it’s needed. The tax was rolled out two days before the Board of Supervisors voted to put it on the ballot, which isn’t enough time to let the public digest the pros and cons of the measure.
Second, the county should have commissioned an outside independent audit to see if there’s any fat in the government, and if so, how much can be cut. We’re not talking about the typical annual audits which rubber-stamp normal spending, but an in-depth look by an outside accounting firm like Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young or KPMG. The audit should be released publicly without the county editing it to remove embarrassing information.
Third, the Board of Supervisors is pulling some sleight of hand by putting a tax on the ballot that only requires majority approval. The county doesn’t have to designate how the $330 million raised by the tax over five years will be spent with a 50% tax. (A tax requiring two-thirds approval would require the county to say how the money would be spent.) So even though the supervisors claim the money will be going to Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California), it could actually go anywhere.
Fourth, a sales tax is regressive, meaning it hits poor and middle-income residents the hardest because they spend a higher percentage of their money on taxable goods than the wealthy. Sadly, our elitist politicians believe in taxing the poor and sparing the rich. Why not tax the valley’s biggest corporations like Google, Apple, Nvidia and Adobe?
We can’t recommend Measure A. Too many problems. Too risky. The county’s leaders need to spend a year rethinking this tax and, if it is really necessary, putting it on the November 2026 ballot.
If this tax passes I’m going to stop buying anything other than groceries in Santa Clara County.
I just got a flyer in the mail from “SaveOurLocalHospitals”. NOWHERE on it does it say it’s a sales tax increase. This is extremely immoral. These people aren’t moral and don’t deserve anything. I can only pray that eventually they will suffer for this deception.
The liberal politicians love to raise taxes on the poor. And then when they give a speech, like at yesterday’s No Kings event, they talk about how they want to help the poor. It’s hypocrisy. The dumb audience just nods their heads, failing to connect something like Measure A with No Kings Day.
The measure is a general tax, meaning the county can allocate the revenue to any purpose without specific restrictions.
If, like most people, I never ride BART or Caltrains, wouldn’t forcing a tax on me to help pay for it be the same as taxation without representation? And when train cars are empty, wouldn’t they be more efficient if they were kept in the barn? The transit system needs real leadership. Definitely vote NO on this one.
Another lie: the proponents have sent countless expensive, glossy mailers threatening the closure of hospitals. Just in case you thought we were all going to die unless you forked over 10% plus in sales tax, you can relax. Because now these crooks are sending out mailers (I got two) stating how Measure A is needed for public safety including more county lawyers to help the county, with the County DA Jeff Rosen endorsing this. What a scam.
What about the $800,000 spent over the last four years on Daniel Chung to not work?
What about all the money spent on fighting his lawsuit?
All because he forgot to put in his op-ed that he was writing it in his personal capacity. Now Rosen wants the taxpayer to give him more money when he wasted so much of it. Lets not forget that he also altered time sheets to gift money to his top 15 attorneys.