Taxing the Rich: Lessons Learned from Proposition 63, Proposition 82, and Measure 66‪.‬

I. INTRODUCTION No one likes paying taxes. At the same time, however, voters have come to expect a certain amount of government spending on public services such as public schools, transportation, and health care. While finding the balance between government spending and tax rates is generally a question for legislators to resolve, in states where ballot measures arc popular, voters have a large say in where government money should be spent and how much they should be taxed. In states where "[t]he making of fiscal policy has become largely contingent on the demands of the public, voters have become "the de facto tax policy-makers."(1)This presents a dangerous situation where voters, who want both lower taxes and more services, lock in the budget and constrict the ability of legislators to properly craft an annual budget. (2)