Thread: SAN DIEGO CA: Mock 'Tea Party' rallies set for tax day

REGION: Mock 'Tea Party' rallies set for tax day

April 15 protests scheduled in Oceanside, Escondido, Temecula

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer

Monday, April 6, 2009 7:47 PM PDT

Local anti-tax groups will host mock Tea Party demonstrations on tax day, April 15, to protest recent state tax increases, the federal stimulus package and a state ballot measure that would extend the state tax increases, organizers say.

The local events are scheduled to take place in Escondido, Oceanside and Temecula. They are part of a national day of protest loosely coordinated via the Internet, through the Web site www.taxdayteaparty.com.

Local organizers say part of their aim is to defeat Proposition 1A, a measure that would impose a state spending cap in exchange for extending by a year or two the sales, income and vehicle license taxes recently raised by state lawmakers.

"Proposition 1A is nothing more than easily bypassed spending reform with ironclad tax increases," said Gary Gonsalves, cofounder of Stop Taxing us, a grassroots group organizing the Oceanside demonstration.

Gonsalves, a Carlsbad physician, and Joe Brown, a former hospital employee, formed Stop Taxing Us in their effort to defeat Proposition A, a bond measure that would have raised $589 million to rebuild half of Tri-City Medical Center's Oceanside campus. The measure failed.

The historical Tea Party took place in Boston in 1773 when a group of colonials went to Boston Harbor and destroyed tea shipments in protest over British tax policies on the American colonies.

The group says its objectives are "to unite 'the Silent Majority' in an effort to fight liberal spending agendas, while promoting fiscal responsibility and transparency."

Prop. 1A and five other measures are part of a deal struck by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators to cover a $42 billion budget hole. A special election is scheduled for May 19 to vote on the measures.

Some anti-tax groups oppose the ballot measures, saying the budget deal places too much of the burden on taxpayers in a state that already has a reputation for high taxes. Supporters of the ballot measures, including the governor, say the changes would stabilize an unwieldy budget process.

Joel Fox, president of the Small Business Action Committee, a group that supports the ballot measures, said people are understandably angry over the tax increases.

"I understand people's concerns about taxes in a recession," Fox said. "If you put a spending limit in place, that will take away the ups and downs of the budget. If there was a spending limit, there would be less pressure to raise taxes."

Rick Reiss, one of the organizers of the Temecula event, said he was concerned about wasteful spending in Washington and Sacramento.

"Politicians keep making mistakes and we have to bail them out," he said.

A poll released late last month showed all propositions in trouble. Only 39 percent of likely voters polled said they supported Prop. 1A, according to the Public Policy Institute of California survey.

Organizers of the Oceanside event say they expect more than 1,000 people to participate. The rally will start at Oceanside City Hall and people will march to the Oceanside Pier. Visit www.stoptaxingus.com.

The Escondido event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. at the Escondido Post Office at 403 N. Escondido Blvd. The rally in Temecula will take place at 11 a.m. at the Temecula Duck Pond, at Ynez and Rancho California roads. Visit www.taxdayteaparty.com/teaparty/california for details on those events.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES

"Politicians keep making mistakes and we have to bail them out," he said.

Isn't that the truth? But they're set for life with pensions and benefits.

sent my tea bags in.

loosely coordinated via the Internet

Oh, they have NO idea. There's almost 1800 simultaneous protests scheduled to happen across the country. That's not "loosely coordinated" by any stretch.

It bothers me that there is never a mention concerning the burden illegal aliens pose on taxpayers in these tea party articles (not even a sentence).

Originally Posted by MW

It bothers me that there is never a mention concerning the burden illegal aliens pose on taxpayers in these tea party articles (not even a sentence).

You and me both...although one of the MSM shows had on one of the co-ordinators, he said this is just the beginning, once they get people together at these rallies they are going to start having town hall meeting and start making a list of their concerns and working on those problems beginning with country commissioners and working their way up to U.S. congress to make their demands.

The hardest part is getting people use to getting involved and taking part in taking on our government.

I don't know about ALL the other tea parties, but in my state, it's a protest about anything that concerns govt. federal OR local. They are encompassing everything that concerns "Freedom", and all of the subcategories.

It will be interesting to see just how many in the media are going to cover this, and just what signs they are going to be showing.