Government at its best is a necessary evil, and at its worst, an intolerant one. – Thomas Paine
George Rebane
The contradictory, self-defeating, and citizen oppressing behavior by government at all levels just added two more battle ribbons of stupidity to their banners.
The first is the latest outrage by the feds who deem marijuana consumption illegal across the country in contravention to 17 states which have pronounced it legal. California is one of the 17, and Nevada County is currently in a white heat debate over its recently passed ordinance prescribing the cultivation of marijuana.
The ordinance is quite draconian, with sufficient measures of all hues in it that 99.44% of the county’s growers can be busted at any time at the discretion of local authorities. And, of course, they can be arrested and indicted by federal authorities regardless of what California and our county permits. Our local supes assure us to not worry about the ordinance; that unless you’re really really bad, no one will enforce it. No such guarantees can be given about the feds.
Our congressman Tom McClintock joined with two other House members to introduce a bill that would remove funding for federal marijuana raids. The bill failed miserably (262-163) with most Dems in favor, and only one in eight Repubs willing to back states’ rights (H/T to reader, more here). Go figger, but don’t take too long, the problem is not that hard. As I have long noted, the two cohorts in our society that would have the most to lose if marijuana progressed toward legalization are the drug traffickers and the drug enforcement authorities. The trade is a cash cow for both, and neither wants the cops and crooks game to go unfunded and, God forbid, stop. (History buffs will recall that for the same reasons the repeal of prohibition was equally opposed by the police and organized crime.)
Here in California our Governor Moonbeam made the easily predicted announcement today that none of the state’s past tax/fee increases, regulatory additions, green industries, …, none have produced the projected revenues needed to balance California’s so-called budget. In fact, revenues have plunged enough to increase the recently announced $9B deficit to its current level of $16B. Enough people have bailed and continue to banzai out of here to make a bad situation worse.
But the pullet pucky politicians in Sacramento are not done. They have put their cross hairs on those wealth producers still here, and have decided that another round of tax increases is required to finally fix things. Not having the character or courage to pass such an increase themselves, they have again thrown the measure into the referendum mill, hoping that we would be dumb enough to pass the increase this November. One of the big lies, reported here before, is that some of the money will go to maintaining classroom services for our kids’ education. Actually, the new tax money will go to shore up the egregious under funding of teachers’ union pension funds. The kids will see no benefit.
Anybody willing to do a little wager on the amount of revenue shortfall the new tax increase will create if it passes?
So, dear reader, here is more conclusive proof that the fix-all remedy for government is simply to starve the beast while revising its legal code, abolishing rogue agencies, rewriting its tax code in toto, and returning rights to the states as exquisitely prescribed by our Founders.
rebanesruminations.com 
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