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As a Small Business Owner, I'm Voting NO on Prop 6


To some degree, I believe in the adage, “government should be ran like a business”; i.e., always pursuing innovation, embracing and learning from failure, and being able to act instantly on vital measures–as opposed to considering the word “urgent” to mean ‘four weeks minimum.’ (I worked for the State of California for ten years…)

Besides founding CalGreen, I have also founded two small businesses (a sole proprietorship and LLC), and I know how vital getting my service pricing right is–not just for short-term needs and expenses, but for long-term planning and potential expansion.  My LLC was founded this year, but my sole proprietorship was incorporated in July 2015; hourly service rates were increased last year, with another increase planned for next year.

With direct business costs across-the-board increasing, especially the costs of living, do you honestly think any reasonable business would be successful, if they did not raise their service rates for 23 years?

The gas tax is California’s service rate for running a successful transportation system.  The rate not being raised in 23 years is, in business terms, “insane,” and in technical / popular terms, “unsustainable.”  With the gas tax rate staying at 18-cents per gallon (prior to May 2017), such revenues have only 54% of their purchasing power, leaving our state with an incredibly unsustainable transportation finance system.

Prop 6 only continues this depreciation, putting the State’s transportation funds on a dangerous path with greater inflation and reduced impact, making sure the State's transportation purchasing power goes toward empty.

Again, no reasonable business person would maintain the same service rates for 23 years, and even Donald Trump supports increasing gas taxes for infrastructure.

This, and many other reasons, is why almost 80 of California’s leading business organizations–including the California Chamber of Commerce–are voting NO ON PROP 6.

It just makes business sense.

  • California Chamber of Commerce

  • Regional Economic Association Leaders of California

  • Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers

  • American Institute of Architects (AIA) Los Angeles

  • Bay Area Council

  • Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce

  • Business Council of San Joaquin County

  • CalAsian Chamber of Commerce

  • California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED)

  • California Building Industry Association

  • California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

  • California Small Business Association

  • California Trucking Association

  • CALSTART

  • Camarillo Chamber of Commerce

  • Central City Association of Los Angeles

  • Chamber of Commerce Alliance of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties

  • Chamber of Commerce of the Santa Barbara Region

  • Civic Projects

  • East Bay Economic Development Alliance

  • East Bay Leadership Council

  • El Segundo Chamber of Commerce

  • Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce

  • Flasher Barricade Association

  • Fremont Chamber of Commerce

  • Garden Grove Chamber of Commerce

  • Gateway Chambers Alliance

  • Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce (GLAAACC)

  • Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce

  • Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce

  • Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce

  • Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce

  • Harbor Association of Industry and Commerce

  • Harbor Trucking Association

  • Hayward Chamber of Commerce

  • Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

  • Inland Empire Economic Partnership

  • Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce

  • Latin Business Association

  • Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

  • Los Angeles Business Council

  • Los Angeles County Business Federation (LA BizFed)

  • Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

  • Monterey Bay Economic Partnership

  • North Bay Leadership Council

  • North Lake Tahoe Resort Association/Chamber

  • Northern California Engineering Contractors Association

  • Orange County Business Council

  • Oxnard Chamber of Commerce

  • Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce

  • Redwood City-San Mateo County Chamber of Commerce

  • Ripon Chamber of Commerce

  • Sacramento Asian-Pacific Chamber of Commerce

  • Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce

  • San Francisco Chamber of Commerce

  • San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership

  • San Mateo County Economic Development Association (SAMCEDA)

  • San Rafael Chamber of Commerce

  • Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce

  • Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce

  • Santa Cruz County Business Council

  • Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce

  • Santa Rosa Metro Chamber of Commerce

  • Silicon Valley Leadership Group

  • South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce

  • South Gate Chamber of Commerce

  • TechNet

  • The Silicon Valley Organization

  • Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce

  • Traffic Management, Inc.

  • Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce

  • Vacaville Chamber of Commerce

  • Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA)

  • Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce

  • West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce

  • Westside Council of Chambers of Commerce

Sources:

https://www.its.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/08/Gas-Tax-Swap-FINAL-REPORT-052706.pdf 

https://stran.senate.ca.gov/sites/stran.senate.ca.gov/files/trans_funding_fact_sheet_oct_2016.pdf

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2018/02/16/in-defense-of-higher-gas-taxes/#5eaf6a6321ec

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/26/california-gas-tax-repeal-fight-gets-an-unlikely-player--trump.html

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