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2012's MA Ballot Questions
Nov. 5th, 2012 11:19 pmThere are three state ballot initiatives up for vote in 2012 (and one local initiative for Somerville), so since tomorrow is election day, I'll discuss those briefly now. (Ballotpedia is under heavy load right now, so Google cache links are also provided for convenience.)
Short version: YES on 1, NO on 2, YES on 3, (in Somerville) YES on 4.
Question 1 (Right to Repair) (cached version): Requires car manufacturers (starting with cars of model year 2015) to provide vehicle owners with the same information about their diagnostic systems they provide to their own dealers and repair shops. The AAA is in favor of this measure. I think it will be good for consumers, and I plan to vote YES.
Question 2 (Assisted Suicide) (cached version): Suicide is usually a tragically permanent solution to a temporary problem. There are extreme cases where one could argue that it is justified; I would not argue for a principle that encourages needless suffering to no benefit. However, people are often more resilient than they anticipate, and allowing doctors to prescribe fatal drugs is certainly more of a moral risk than proscribing it. I am not at all confident this measure provides adequate protections against abuse. I think this editorial has it right, and I plan to vote NO.
Question 3 (Medical Marijuana) (cached version): There may be some drugs that are so dangerous to society that total prohibition (and the jailing of those found in possession) is a sane response (or anything close to a sane response). Marijuana is clearly not one of those drugs. But criminals benefit tremendously from prohibition driving up the price of something that is in great demand and incredibly easy to produce. I think it's also foolish to deny that option to those suffering from chronic (no pun intended) pain or nausea; it's hardly perfect, but neither are other treatment options. I think this measure isn't that significant in the big picture, but I think it's clearly a move in the right direction. I intend to vote YES.
Somerville Question 4 (Community Preservation Act): This one is a little confusing. Basically, the MA CPA allows communities to agree by ballot initiative to pass a property tax surcharge up to 3%, selecting whether or not to include certain exemptions. Somerville is proposing a surcharge of 1.5%, with the first $100,000 of property value and low-income families exempt from the surcharge. Communities who implement this measure get matching funds from the state for projects related to public space, affordable housing, historic preservation, and outdoor recreation. (That is, the state is investing in communities willing to invest in themselves.) 42% of the towns in MA have adopted the measure so far. Here's some discussion from the Somerville Patch and Somerville News. I plan to take Mayor Curtatone's recommendation and vote YES.
Short version: YES on 1, NO on 2, YES on 3, (in Somerville) YES on 4.
Question 1 (Right to Repair) (cached version): Requires car manufacturers (starting with cars of model year 2015) to provide vehicle owners with the same information about their diagnostic systems they provide to their own dealers and repair shops. The AAA is in favor of this measure. I think it will be good for consumers, and I plan to vote YES.
Question 2 (Assisted Suicide) (cached version): Suicide is usually a tragically permanent solution to a temporary problem. There are extreme cases where one could argue that it is justified; I would not argue for a principle that encourages needless suffering to no benefit. However, people are often more resilient than they anticipate, and allowing doctors to prescribe fatal drugs is certainly more of a moral risk than proscribing it. I am not at all confident this measure provides adequate protections against abuse. I think this editorial has it right, and I plan to vote NO.
Question 3 (Medical Marijuana) (cached version): There may be some drugs that are so dangerous to society that total prohibition (and the jailing of those found in possession) is a sane response (or anything close to a sane response). Marijuana is clearly not one of those drugs. But criminals benefit tremendously from prohibition driving up the price of something that is in great demand and incredibly easy to produce. I think it's also foolish to deny that option to those suffering from chronic (no pun intended) pain or nausea; it's hardly perfect, but neither are other treatment options. I think this measure isn't that significant in the big picture, but I think it's clearly a move in the right direction. I intend to vote YES.
Somerville Question 4 (Community Preservation Act): This one is a little confusing. Basically, the MA CPA allows communities to agree by ballot initiative to pass a property tax surcharge up to 3%, selecting whether or not to include certain exemptions. Somerville is proposing a surcharge of 1.5%, with the first $100,000 of property value and low-income families exempt from the surcharge. Communities who implement this measure get matching funds from the state for projects related to public space, affordable housing, historic preservation, and outdoor recreation. (That is, the state is investing in communities willing to invest in themselves.) 42% of the towns in MA have adopted the measure so far. Here's some discussion from the Somerville Patch and Somerville News. I plan to take Mayor Curtatone's recommendation and vote YES.
