Mostly a Symbolic Gesture

So yes, I got my butt over to town hall to make sure that I was registered to vote (MA deadline is October 15th):


As I said in a previous post on the topic, given the electoral college, and living in a non-swing state, it is mostly pointless for me to vote:

Yes, I know due to the inane setup of the electoral college and my being a Massachusetts resident/expatriate, my vote is completely irrelevant. It still gives me some satisfaction to know that, to paraphrase a friend, I did my part to "poke George W. Bush in the eye with a sharp stick."

But still, I encourage all of you to do the register, if you have not already done so.

Actually, there is a bit more of a reason to register in Massachusetts: there are three Ballot Questions to be decided. For those who don't know, they are:

Question 1 Massachusetts State Income Tax Repeal: Would repeal state income tax
Question 2 Massachusetts Sensible Marijuana Policy: Decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana
Question 3 Massachusetts Greyhound Protection Act: Aims to prohibit (professional) dog racing

For me, two and three are yes ($100 fine for under an ounce of marijuana) and yes (ending greyhound racing), but I don't feel terribly strongly on them.

But the fact that Question 1 is on the ballot makes me worry about the concept of representative democracy: If the measure passes, it will end the state's current 5.3% income tax on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains. If that happens, Massachusetts will join Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming in not taxing income.

Although I have a hint of a libertarian streak at my core, this initiative smacks of irresponsibility. The folks who are in favor of the question note:

It will take $11 billion away from "Big Government" every year and give to the workers.

It will force the Massachusetts legislature to cut the waste out of the state budget and get rid of government programs that don't work.

Note that this reduction, according to information that I've seen, is 40 percent of the state budget. To me, it comes across as more of a protest vote of "blah blah big government sucks," as opposed to any real solution. I agree that they're loads of painful waste in the state government, but it feels like they're of the mindset:

I want no income taxes. And I want my government services--but who cares about the other guy. And yes, I want a pony too.

Look--I'm a person that would not be hit that directly by this initiative passing--I don't own property (so I wouldn't get clobbered by the jump in property taxes that would result; only indirectly by rent increases), and I have no personal investment in the school system, which would also get screwed. And I still think it's a seriously dumb idea.

Huh... interesting... according to an article I could find on the current polling status, it seems like the majority is skewing in line with all of my positions. Cool.