Sam (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
l33tminion) wrote2014-11-03 09:36 pm
l33tminion) wrote2014-11-03 09:36 pm
Entry tags:
Election Day Tomorrow
MA ballot questions and my positions:
1 - Stop indexing gas tax to inflation - strong NO
If you want to cut the gas tax, vote to cut the gas tax. There's some sense in a gas tax that's a fixed surcharge instead of a percentage tax, maybe it doesn't make sense for the tax to go up when gas in particular is expensive. But at whatever level, fixed taxes need some way of keeping up with general inflation, and having to pass tax levies all the time is not as smooth a process for dealing with routine maintenance expenses as indexing to inflation.
2 - Extend bottle deposit to all bottled beverages - YES
I can't think of any sane policy reason for having a 5-cent recycling deposit for beer and soda but not for bottled water or juice or energy drinks. And there is a big difference in overall recycling rates for bottles with the deposit.
3 - Casino re-ban - weak YES
Some part of me is against yanking the rugs out from under business owners after allowing them to make these plans in the first place. On the other hand, I was opposed then, I'm opposed now, and shouldn't they have seen this coming?
4 - Minimum paid sick time for employees - strong YES
Paid sick time should be part of the minimum standard of decency for how employers treat employees. Sick employees create a classic externality, if a sick employee is incentivized to work anyways and a customer gets sick as a result, the customer bears that cost and likely won't know the cause. This is also a pro-family policy, it requires that sick leave can be used to care for a sick child, spouse, parent, or parent-in-law.
(Similar reasoning from LJ friends here and here.)
The other electoral stuff is less exciting. MA governor race is between Coakley (a lukewarm Democrat of "losing to Scott Brown" fame) and some Massachusetts Republican (with a far-right running mate). (I could vote third-party, I guess.) And the Republicans are likely to win a victory (though we'll see what they do with it) in the Senate.
1 - Stop indexing gas tax to inflation - strong NO
If you want to cut the gas tax, vote to cut the gas tax. There's some sense in a gas tax that's a fixed surcharge instead of a percentage tax, maybe it doesn't make sense for the tax to go up when gas in particular is expensive. But at whatever level, fixed taxes need some way of keeping up with general inflation, and having to pass tax levies all the time is not as smooth a process for dealing with routine maintenance expenses as indexing to inflation.
2 - Extend bottle deposit to all bottled beverages - YES
I can't think of any sane policy reason for having a 5-cent recycling deposit for beer and soda but not for bottled water or juice or energy drinks. And there is a big difference in overall recycling rates for bottles with the deposit.
3 - Casino re-ban - weak YES
Some part of me is against yanking the rugs out from under business owners after allowing them to make these plans in the first place. On the other hand, I was opposed then, I'm opposed now, and shouldn't they have seen this coming?
4 - Minimum paid sick time for employees - strong YES
Paid sick time should be part of the minimum standard of decency for how employers treat employees. Sick employees create a classic externality, if a sick employee is incentivized to work anyways and a customer gets sick as a result, the customer bears that cost and likely won't know the cause. This is also a pro-family policy, it requires that sick leave can be used to care for a sick child, spouse, parent, or parent-in-law.
(Similar reasoning from LJ friends here and here.)
The other electoral stuff is less exciting. MA governor race is between Coakley (a lukewarm Democrat of "losing to Scott Brown" fame) and some Massachusetts Republican (with a far-right running mate). (I could vote third-party, I guess.) And the Republicans are likely to win a victory (though we'll see what they do with it) in the Senate.
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That said, go out and vote tomorrow!