By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 Commentator
Dallas, TX – The Lege (as Molly Ivins likes to call them) faces the problem of crafting a new school finance plan. By now, everyone hates the so-called "Robin Hood" plan. The substantial districts hate giving money to other parts of the state. The self-described "poor" districts still aren't getting enough.
So the legislature has hit on the idea of - get this - a voluntary income tax. It's actually a clever idea. A taxpayer could choose to pay state income tax instead of state sales tax, and that payment would go entirely to fund schools. The taxpayer can credit the income tax payment against what he owes in federal income tax and get a refund in what he pays in state sales tax.
My point isn't to wade into the details of this - which are complex - nor to talk about whether the schools need more money. I'm out to make a deal. The Texas constitution prohibits an income tax unless the voters approve, so this requires a constitutional amendment. And some people have gone ballistic - thinking, quite correctly, that this is the proverbial camel's nose under the tent to introduce an income tax, and then the rebate of the state sales tax goes bye-bye.
Here's my deal. I, Merrie Spaeth - rock-ribbed anti-tax conservative - I will pay that "voluntary" income tax if the legislature will let the citizens vote to establish what's called initiative and referendum. Many localities let citizens put a referendum on their local ballot. That is, the elected officials don't totally control things. Many states let voters do this (California is one of the better-known), but Texas doesn't. And it should.
So - if the legislature will allow us to vote for - or against - a constitutional amendment establishing initiative and referendum, I'm on record as supporting this - ho, ho - "voluntary" income tax.
Why initiative and referendum? Voter participation increases dramatically in those elections, and that's because people feel their vote makes a difference. Let me give you an example. California established term limits for the legislature last year. This year, they took effect. The professional politicians put on the state-wide ballot some very twisted words. They said they only wanted to "clarify" term limits. But the politicians were really trying to create a way to keep themselves in power. Of course, all the elected officials supported this attempt to get rid of term limits. Virtually every big interest group - shame shame - supported the politicians. They outspent the citizens group 20 to 1. And guess what? Their attempts were soundly defeated. Term limits stayed. The people spoke. And that's what we need in Texas.
So - what do you think? Is this reasonable? Do we have a deal? Put the voluntary income tax amendment to the constitution on the ballot, and I'll lead the charge - with the initiative and referendum option.
Let me know what you think. For KERA, I'm Merrie Spaeth.
Merrie Spaeth is a communications consultant in Dallas.