State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) has left the voters in his senate district and the state a number of legislative presents over the course of his tenure in office.
Instead of breaking his own bank, Senator Lieu used our state's time and money and decided to go the "boutique" route, and thus he bestowed on this state a unique coterie of crafted laws.
Here's a song to celebrate his generosity, based on "The Twelve Days of Christmas", since "'tis the Season":
On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Senator Lieu gave to me:
12. Twelve Landlords Leaping (since they must be willing to receive rent by check instead of online)
11. Eleven car salesmen hopping mad (since the interest rate cap will drive them out of business)
10. Ten Frustrated therapists (they can no longer offer gay-aversion therapy to teenagers, who really need academic counseling because of school cuts)
9. Nine Sallow and Pale Ladies dancing (since minors can no longer use tanning salons)
8. Eight (and more) Special Interests a-Milking (the state dry, since the legislature pushes tax increases instead of spending cuts and budget reform)
7. Seven Microchips for Fido, Sparky and Mittens (for our pets, since they may pose a national security threat)
6. Six Pooches from the Pound (since we cannot purchase them in parking lots or in any other private venues, either)
5. Five Happy Sharks (because no one can have shark-fin soup)
4. Four Labeled Birds (since every restaurant must tell us if the food we eat is real or not)
3. Three times the Car Tax (Oh, wait, Lieu changed his mind on that one, for now)
2. Two Happy Bears (since a hunter's micro-chipped bloodhounds can no longer hunt them)
1. And a State on the Brink of Chronic Collapse (complete with public sector unions serving their private interests at the expense of the public interest, higher taxes which cripple job growth and scare job creators, no movement toward a voucher program for our inner city youth, coupled with no comprehensive pension reform, and a still very prolix tax code which provides an unsteady revenue stream for our anemic economy)
This year, when I look under the Sacramento Christmas Tree (or perhaps I should say "festive creature of an arboreal nature" so as not to offend activists in Santa Monica), I will pretend to have a happy face. I do not want a table lamp that looks like a leg, nor I do not want a BB rifle (not because I’m afraid to shoot my eye out, but rather because I fear that Sen. Lieu will draft a ban on "assault weapons for kids”). Still, I wish that someone would shed some light on the waste and fraud in Sacramento and take a gun to the fiscal problems facing our state.
In the face of the upcoming 2012 Christmas Blues, I can smile and wait for two more years, when the voters of the 28th Senate District can give ourselves a better present: throwing out Sen. Lieu and replacing him with a legislator who will tackle serious issues for our state.
--Sen Ted Lieu
I am glad that I finally have gotten your attention. I would like you to start listening to the small business owners in this state, too. They are hurting because of all the high taxes and regulations. The sharks do not need protection, we do! As far as "whittling down" the budget deficit, sir, that is based once again on fanciful tax projections, much of which have not materialized yet. Frankly, the legislature should not be having deficits in the first place, sir! And what about SB 1530? Have you resurrected that bill? What about limiting the power of collective bargaining rights in the state of California, so that our public workers and private citizens can earn more and expect more for our public services? Our kids should not have to sue in court to get a proper education -- when are you going to move on a voucher program for school choice? Or are you afraid of the teachers unions, just like Betsy Butler? Keep in mind that her loyalty to one interest instead of the public interest cost her the 50th assembly seat. I noticed how you backed up on the car tax. That's a good start. . .now you need to back up that "bullet train to nowhere" so that our state's economy can go "somewhere". Even your colleague Fran Pavley has signaled that someone needs to stop and dismantled that caboose which we did not choose.
To the voters in the state of California. Stop waiting for the legislators to do what they should. Tell them what needs to be done for the better interest of all, and do not let them coast on "rosy projections" which have not yet materialized. There must be lower taxes, less spending, limited government, local control. Our cities can administer our needs better than Sacramento! They still have lingering budget deficits, and they expect taxpayers to pick up the tabs for their spending mistakes. Senator Lieu is without excuse, going after the most inane of issues while allowing the state to continue on this insane crash course of tax and spend, as more people leave the state.
Just because a slim majority of voters approved a tax increase on the few remaining "wealthiest among us" does not mean that the state will see any of that money. Just look at all the people leaving the state. How about all of those tax shelters? H and R Block says "Thank You", but how about pension and medical insurance reform which would not hurt public school teachers or the students, yet free up money for districts to actually teach our kids. Wisconsin did it, and so can the state of California. Stop insulting the voters of your district with "rosy, unreal" projections. Start delivering real reform. ...
I stand with Dwight D. Eisenhower and the tax rate he used to build our interstate highway system and other improvements we're still using over 50 years later. (Most so-called conservatives don't know that the income tax rate used to be 90% on top earners during the Ike nifty 50s and into the JFK and LBJ years - the years they typically cite as the "good old days.") Cutting the tax rates for the richest among us didn't work during the Bush years and wrecked the economy. Good thing the vast majority of Californians and Americans have rejected the tea party-like stance of unpatriotic citizens like Arthur and have overwhelmingly voted for the opposite of what he proposes - a fact he is in denial over. Arthur and Grover Norquist can both hope to shrink government down to the size that they can drown in a bathtub but that ship has sailed and they were losers at the ballot both statewide and nationwide. Democracy works and that's why 2-time losers Huey and Romney are home pounding sand while their opponents are in office working. I think Arthur would be happier in Somalia where they have the kind of government and tax deal he prefers.
I Like Ike, too, but I am certain he would not like (nor do I) the growth of the military-industrial complex. For this reason, I want to "shrink government", but not "down to the size that they can drown in a bathtub." Government has a role to play, but with the way they spend money (including Lieu's time wasted on boutique bills instead of entitlement and tax reform), the state government is already drowning in its own red ink. "Democracy works and that's why 2-time losers Huey and Romney are home pounding sand while their opponents are in office working." Democracy based on respect for the constitution and the limited taxpayer dollar: that kind of Democracy works. Billions and trillions of debt and deficits: that does not work. We have yet to see "democracy taht works" in Sacramento or Washington. To claim that Senator Lieu is "working" by legislating regulations for domestic pets -- that is a notion with no basis in sense or respectability.