Governor Brown & High Speed Rail
I think Governor Brown should face a recall over his continued support of the High Speed Rail project. The state has a continuing large deficit and supposedly can't pay for what many consider essential government services, yet he steadfastly supports HSR.
He'll try and mitigate concerns over its cost by saying he'll use so called Cap- and- Trade fees to pay for at least part of the funding. Without getting into of Cap- and Trade fees themselves, suffice it to say they're a new tax.
I might not object to new or increased taxes if they were being used to close the budget deficit. In the case of funding HSR, however, he's essentially using new taxes to fund not only increased, but new spending.
It's one thing to support new taxes to close the deficit and provide essential government services. Using those taxes to raise the level of spending- as he proposes for- is over the top, especially given the financial shape California is in.
This is nuts, and with 2/3 of the electorate now turning against this HSR boondoggle, a recall of the Governor for his support of it might just be successful.
The Los Angeles Times' Steve Lopez has a fairly even- handed look at the HSR issue.