"Soak the Rich" Initiative Makes The Ballot

Rob Reiner's latest lunacy has found enough fellow lunatics to qualify for the ballot, and frankly, it's going to be hard to stop because there aren't enough victims of this bill to vote it down:

An initiative sponsored by director and Democratic activist Rob Reiner that would fund preschool for all California children has qualified for the June primary election ballot, the secretary of state's office says.

The Preschool for All Act would pay for a year of preschool for all 4-year-olds by increasing income taxes by 1.7 percent for individuals who earn at least $400,000 a year, or couples earning at least $800,000. The taxes would produce an estimated $2.4 billion a year for the program, which also would increase training and pay for preschool teachers.

Parents would pick which preschool their children would attend, although attendance wouldn't be mandatory.

For many years it's been sexy to fund all kinds of social programs through sin taxes against smokers and alcohol users. Reiner has decided to change that tack and instead target a small number of wealthy Californians and make them responsible for fixing the state's social ills. I guarantee you that if this initiative is successful, it will just be the first in a long line of bills which will victimize those who have done well financially.

Of course, many of the people who will have to fork out big bucks for this legislation will be Reiner's own Dem Hollywood lefties. That part of it I kind of enjoy. But to be fair, punishing the rich, no matter how they got it or what their political beliefs are, is just another form of discrimination, though one which will surely be acceptable to the left, and another reason why there is a flight of wealth out of California. Companies are leaving every day for cheaper locations elsewhere, and California retirees can't wait to sell their inflated homes and pay cash for something in flyover country.

With bills like this coming down the road, why would successful people wish to stay in California? With the communication abilities we have these days, I'm sure many will decide to run their businesses and ventures from somewhere else and avoid the Reiners of the world who live to pick their pockets.

I don't have the loathing for the rich that is so often expressed by the lefties (including rich lefties) because I'd like to think that one day, through hard work and maybe even a little dumb luck, I might get there myself. If that happens, I don't want to be considered some sort of ATM for every lefty who comes along with a new social program.

UPDATE: HolyCoastMom reminds us that this initiative could also spell the end of Christian preschools. Here's her comment which I've moved up to the front page:

There are some other things to be concerned if this legislation goes through. The state will want to have all preschool teachers credentialed. They would then have to be paid wages on a scale with public school teachers. This would eliminate most Christian preschools who cannot pay their teachers on a public school scale. It will also mean that the state will determine what your child is taught from a very young age.