FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, July 30, 2012
NFIB/CALIFORNIA, THE VOICE OF SMALL BUSINESS, ENDORSES PROP 32
(SACRAMENTO, CA)—Today, the Yes on Proposition 32 campaign, supporting the Stop Special Interest Money Now Act, welcomed the endorsement of the National Federation of Independent Business/California, the Voice of Small Business in California and across the nation.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) is the nation’s leading and largest organization representing only small businesses in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. In California, NFIB represents almost 20,000 entrepreneurs across the state. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small and independent business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business.
NFIB/California joins Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) California, former state Senator Gloria Romero, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and a growing grassroots coalition of voters, taxpayers, and small businesses in support of this initiative that will fundamentally reform the state’s campaign finance system—a system at the root of Sacramento’s dysfunction.
“California’s political system isn’t working because the politicians we elect only work for the most well-funded special interests. While big corporations and labor unions always get what they want, small businesses and individual Californians find themselves on the losing end of new regulations, higher taxes and declining government services,” said John Kabateck, Executive Director, NFIB/California.
“Proposition 32 offers voters an opportunity to win back elected officials from the special interests that control them with their money and make politicians pay attention to California’s needs again. As the Voice of Small Business in California, we’re strongly urging Californians to vote Yes on Prop 32 because it cuts the powerful money tie between special interests and politicians and returns power back to the voters.”
Small businesses make up 99.2 percent of all businesses and create two-thirds of all net new jobs. They represent the majority of job creators and contributors to our economy and yet are dismissed or ignored by politicians who are more beholden to the influence and money of big labor and big corporations.
According to the nonpartisan Fair Political Practices Commission, the top 15 special interest groups have spent more than $1 billion on influencing the political process in California over the past ten years while the state’s fiscal and economic climate has reached historic lows.
According to Maplight.org, in the 2010 election cycle, 79% of campaign contributions made to California’s legislators came from donors who live outside their districts. During that legislative season, the San Jose Mercury News found that more than 40% of the legislation introduced in Sacramento is written by special interest lobbyists, and these bills are much more likely to become law.
Proposition 32 addresses the problem of special interests across the board by curbing special interest power and taking money out of politics. It will:
1) ban direct corporate and union contributions to state and local candidates
2) ban contributions from government contractors to elected officials who control contracts awarded to them
3)ban automatic deductions by corporations, unions and government of employees’ wages to be used for politics
Prop 32 implements these reforms evenhandedly, without exception. It will appear on the November 2012 ballot.
For more information on the initiative, please visit www.yesprop32.org.
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1) If you go to the Secretary of State’s page the definition of Corporation is clear. It does not cover LLC, Partnerships, Insurance Co., individual billionaires, and multi-millionaire CEOs to name a few.
Corporations don’t use payroll deductions for political purpose. That’s like saying, “we’re going to crack down on counterfeiting by collecting all the 3 dollar bills printed.” Sounds good however, counterfeiters don’t print 3 dollar bills.
2) It doesn’t stop any corporation from using unlimited profits to contribute to state or local campaigns. And the Supreme Court already confirmed that Corporations have the same rights as individuals and therefore, can contribute unlimited funds to any campaign.
3) Labor rights aren’t etched in stone. They were won through politics and collective bargaining. So if you’re the 99% that have to work for a living say, “good bye” to, vacation leave, health insurance, 8 hour work day, minimum wage, work place health and safety laws, overtime pay, unemployment, child labor laws, meal breaks, nurse patient ratios just to name a few.
The percentage of workers who are unionized is actually very low, except with regard to overpaid government workers.
Please provide your documentation of overpaid government workers. The survey of private sector employees wage package for the exact same job and education. Pensions are only 3% of the State budget. The white elephant is the other 97%.