The Governor of Arizona and her associates have decided that it s Very Important to put more money into the state s public education system. Fortunately, Gov. Jane Hull proposes that Arizonans vote on the tax in a public referendum, a prudent move in a state that has seen a Republican-controlled legislature gleefully slash taxes over the years. Spending money is an easy decision to make, and makes the voters who benefit from it very happy. Coming up with more money is hard, and is generally not well received by those voters whom you take it from. As a voter, when I hire elected officials, I want them to do all of their job, not just the easy parts.
All plebiscites do is give elected officials deniability.
They can blame bad appropriations on the voters who sanctioned them. The answer is simple. Make elected officials do the job they were hired to do, or find another line of work. I liked Chris Weinkopf s Courrier Electronique and Other Signs of Cultural Decay . I have often been troubled by French people acting like Americans are so horrible for being prudish.