May 23, 2006
Layers and layers of Chutzpah
(c) copyright, View from Silicon Valley, 2006. All rights
reserved.
We really try not to comment on politics. We like to
talk about Silicon Valley businesses and housing and, someday, where we see strong investment opportunities. Until then, the college nickname of one of staff may continue
to apply-- "Ragman."
The title of this missive sprung to mind sitting in the car the
other day listening to Carl Guardino, head of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, taking advantage of a free political
announcement on local talk radio. Let me see if all, or at least some, of the chutzpah involved can be described:
10) "Silicon Valley Leadership Group" (SVLG) used to be "Silicon
Valley Manufacturing Group." In the early stages of the off-shore death march for manufacturing jobs in 2001 or
2002, they dropped "manufacturing" in favor of "leadership."
9) Not content at having invented a new gig to
avoid having to find a job where the P in the P&L is not tax money, SVLG complained they never really wanted
to be use "manufacturing" in the first place. They apparently never sat through our Happy Hollow Zoo's puppet
show rendition of Aesop's, "The Fox and the Grapes." Otherwise, they would recognize the origin of "sour grapes" and
transparent childishness of minimizing the value of something they can't have anyway.
8) SVLG touted the benefits of the upcoming Measure A's new
half-cent sales tax. In a rare moment of cross-political co-operation, the county, the VTA and maybe even San Jose joined
forces to cynically manipulate Measure A into a "general revenue" measure, rather than a "tax." This new "tax"
could then be passed with only a 50% vote rather than the two-thirds approval required to pass an actual "tax."
7) SVLG justifies the tax in par because BART and other transit
improvements would make it easier for their workers to get to work. Or maybe to get to work from farther away, so that
the membership doesn't have to pay wages which would make it possible for an employee to ever buy a ($700K+) house near
work?
6) Part of this "new" Measure A is claimed to fund exactly
the same thing as the "old" (circa 2000) Measure A --BART to San Jose. However, the political and business egos
who think this will prove San Jose is a "great" city know full well the mis-information which gained 70% approval in
2000 will never work in 2006. People now recognize the original tax could never have funded BART construction, let alone
subsidized it's expected money-losing operation, regardless of any recession. (The new tax won't either, but this is
not discussed in polite company around here.)
5) The same ballot with this new, improved Measure A also includes
the new, improved millionaire tax, Proposition 82. The "improvement" this time time is you pay an extra 1.7% at $400K to
fund "universal pre-school" instead of $1M and 1% for "mental health."
At this rate, anyone making more than $65,000 (the point at
which you lose your California tax rebate on rent), or even $45,000 (which disqualifies you to purchase subsidized
housing), may define you as "rich" and subject you to extra taxes.
4) Pundits think the "new" Measure A has a reasonable chance to
pass because its proponents have a $1M fund to advertise the grab bag of freebies being ear-marked out of the expected funds.
Yet, SVLG was displacing politicians fighting to win election by using up "their" free ad spots.
3) Speaking of politicians fighting for jobs, the local Chamber
of Commerce is complaining about an "issue" piece recently mailed out complaining about "secret," "back-room" and "last minute
deals" made to subsidize the San Jose Grad Prix last summer to the tune of several million tax dollars. The "victim"
of this "issue" piece was Cindy Chavez, who acknowledges being a prime mover on the subsidy.
Apparently, the breathless news reporters never stopped to subsidized
Grand Prix primarily benefited --members of the CoC?!?
2) Much to everyone's surprise, the local elections and/or attorney
general people are looking into possible collusion between Chavez's election people and the CoC. They think it was a
backroom deal to fight against a political competitor complaining about a backroom deal.
The largest example of chutzpah of all:
1) SVLG is trying to gain an exemption for their
members from paying the very sales tax they are promoting. They cry it's unfair and makes them uncompetitive if
they are forced to pay "extra" taxes. (So now it's a "tax"?)
Conclusion:
Looking back, maybe the correct title for this missive would have
been "Irony and Chutzpah." There are certainly multiple, intertwined examples of both in all of the above.
