Realizing we were about to be overcome with the holiday season, extreme weather, and taxes, my husband and I took a quick road trip to Oregon to refresh and take advantage of tax-free shopping. Every time I pay that Measure H penny in Chico I feel like I’m being shaken down, it’s demeaning to be over-taxed and then get nothing for it.
So I buy my sundry taxable items at in various Oregon towns, at the usual chain stores – Target/Walmart/Lowe’s/Tractor Store. Boring stuff maybe – clothes, personal hygiene, household goods, building supplies and a 35 lb bag of dry food and two cases of canned food for our rescue kitties. But there’s plenty of other stuff to buy in a state that still values farms and Ag at many farmer’s markets and “antique malls” – I got homemade goat milk soap, jam, apples, honey, and one last summer tomato about the size of a baby’s head. Ate the last of that yesterday with bacon, lettuce and some bread we picked up at a bakery in Medford.
In one town there was a lady selling WHOLE PIES at a gas station, blackberry, apple, peach – who could walk away from the Pie Lady? We got a blackberry pie, hacked out a whopping chunk with my husband’s pocket knife and ate it with our bare hands on the tailgate of our car. It’s the little things, you know, like licking blackberries off your fingers and picking seeds out of your teeth hours later to remind you how much you enjoyed it.
Friendly people, every where we went they fawned on our dog and offered him treats. Vendors gave us free stuff. And it’s not just the sales tax – stuff is just cheaper, the economy seems to be much stronger, and there are more people shopping and WORKING.
But I love California, so we came home. You won’t get rid of me that easy, get used to it.
I know California is a mess right now and people are angry. Colleen Jarvis (look it up) once told me, “you have to pick your battles Juanita!”. She was right. I got a battle for you – the battle for your right to have more to say about being taxed. Support the Taxpayer Protection Act – you’ll be in good company. Other supporters include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, as well as groups like Reform California. Our former state senator Jim Nielsen just joined the board of HJTA.
Former Governor Pete Wilson has sent an “amicus letter”, correctly pointing out that ” Nothing in the Petitioners’ brief constitutes an emergency, especially one that would require this Court to take the extraordinary step to grant preelection review, ” and that Newsom’s lawsuit would “disenfranchise more than one million voters who chose to put the TPA on the ballot.” Thanks Pete!
I just received a notice about a Southern California group called “The Two Hundred for Home Ownership”, saying they “filed an amicus letter opposed to the governor and Legislature’s lawsuit to disqualify the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act from the November 2024 ballot.” THFHO is “a statewide coalition of founders of civil rights organizations, community and business leaders, housing advocates, former state legislators, and cabinet members dedicated to mitigating the growing wealth gap in California through homeownership” I don’t know much about this group, but I know California has a tremendous wealth gap and that’s not a strong economy.
What is an “amicus letter”? From Wikipedia, “An amicus curiae is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an amicus brief [letter] will be considered is typically under the court’s discretion.” These letters can have a lot of impact on a case. I’ve signed similar letters, like the one that stopped the city of Chico from instituting an illegal Pension Obligation Bond.
Get involved, it does pay off. Go to https://taxpayerprotection.com/ to learn more about the TPA and brazen efforts to stop it from making the ballot – stopping the voters from having any say-so. Don’t just sit there gaping while they take your rights – if my husband and I and other members of the community had just sat on our hands, you’d be paying a monthly City of Chico tax on your cell phone (a percentage of your bill!) and a Chico Area Recreation District parcel tax on your house (a tax that would have gone up annually with the Cost of Living Index).
If you live in Chico, you are a member of the Chico Taxpayers Association. Exercise your rights. Send letters to the local papers, speak to your friends, don’t be shy. This is too important.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
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