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U.S. Constitution
You can see an online version here. If you prefer to 
access it in a file click here.
Current Tax Law
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 made sweeping changes throughout the tax code, but many provisions were temporary and are set to expire at the end of 2025. The TCJA lowered tax rates across much of the income spectrum. If the law expires, the rates will return to pre-TCJA levels:
- 12% bracket returns to 15%
- 22% bracket returns to 25%
- 24% bracket returns to 28%
- 37% bracket returns to 39.6%
For more details, see this March 17, 2025 article published by Forbes.
Tariffs
A tariff, a tax imposed on imported goods, alters the distribution of costs among consumers, foreign producers, domestic producers, and the government. Here's how it reshapes who pays for what:
- Consumers:
- Higher Prices: Tariffs increase the price of imported goods, shifting costs to domestic consumers, who pay more for both imported and domestic alternatives (if domestic producers raise prices due to reduced competition).
Foreign Producers:
- Reduced Margins: To remain competitive, foreign exporters might lower their pre-tariff prices, reducing their profit margins. This shifts part of the tariff burden onto them.
- Market Share Loss: Higher post-tariff prices may reduce demand for their goods, leading to lost sales.
Domestic Producers:
- Protected Market: Tariffs shield domestic industries from foreign competition, allowing them to raise prices or increase production. Their revenues may rise as consumers shift to domestic alternatives.
- Indirect Benefits: Even if domestic prices don’t rise, higher import prices can expand their market share.
Government:
- Revenue Gain: The government collects tariff revenue, effectively transferring money from consumers and foreign producers to public coffers. This revenue can offset funding of public programs.
Key Factors Influencing Distribution:
- Elasticities: Inelastic demand on essential goods forces consumers to pay more; elastic supply of goods less essential allows foreign producers to adjust prices.
- Market Power: If foreign producers dominate the market (e.g., limited alternatives), they may pass more costs to consumers.
Example: A U.S. tariff on Chinese steel raises prices for American manufacturers using steel. Chinese exporters might lower prices to stay competitive, absorbing part of the tariff. U.S. steel producers benefit from higher demand and prices, while the U.S. government collects tariff revenue. Consumers (e.g., carmakers) face higher costs, potentially leading to pricier end products.
Net Effect: While tariffs redistribute costs, they often create inefficiency by reducing overall trade and consumer surplus. The redistribution primarily benefits domestic industries and the government at the expense of consumers and foreign producers.
Presidential Primaries & Caucuses
Primaries and caucuses are two ways that people help states and political parties choose presidential nominees. You can see the differences between the two and how each of them work here: https://www.usa.gov/primaries-caucuses.
No Party Preference Voter Registration
No Party Preference (NPP) is the selection for voters who do not want to be associated with a particular political party. The American Independent Party is different than NPP. Many voters who register with the American Independent Party by mistake, thinking they have registered independent from a political party. They only way to register to vote without being associated with a particular political party in California is by registering as NPP, formerly known as Decline to State.
US Budget vs. Continuing Resolutions
For well over a decade, the US government has not had a budget. Instead, government is run on Contiuing Resolutions. See the difference here.
Voters Choice Act - Lots of ways to vote
The Voter’s Choice Act was passed into law in 2016 and first implemented in 2018 in Nevada County and in 4 other California counties. Counties participating in The Voters Choice Act (SB 450) must: 1) mail every active registered voter a ballot; 2) expand in-person early voting; and 3) allow voters to cast a ballot at any vote center within the county. Counties must also conduct robust voter education, engage with community partners, and share their plans for administering elections.
This gives Nevada County voters to choose how, when, and where to cast their ballot. Voters may cast a ballot at any one of our county’s vote centers, which may open as many as 10 days before an election. Voters are not assigned a single polling location; rather, they may visit any vote center.
To learn more about the Voter’s Choice Act, please click here.
How the Judicial System Works
California Budget Process
The State Constitution requires the Governor to propose a budget in the form of a Budget BIll to each house of the legislature for their approval.
The non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) prepares the “Analysis of the Budget Bill” and publishes it at https://lao.ca.gov/Budget, including an overview of the state’s fiscal picture and it identifies major policy issues confronting the Legislature.
The Governor then submits a revision to the original proposed budget, known as “May Review”, taking into account any changes in General Fund revenues during the previous 6 months.
When the budget is agreed upon by each house, it is sent to the Governor for approval. The Governor is then allowed to apply line-item veto power to reduce or eliminate expenditures or language before approving the budget bill, which places the budgeti into effect.
For more detail see the Explanation of State Budget Process provided by LWV of California.
Campaign Contributions
The most revealing way to find out who is supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot proposition is by tracking who is contributing money to the campaigns FOR & AGAINST. Cal-access.sos.ca.gov is provided by the California Secretary of State to provide access to the most current reported financial contributions to candidates and ballot propositions during elections.
Top-Two Primary
With the passage of Prop 14 in June 2010, California voters enacted a Primary Election process for certain offices that includes a single ballot, rather than multiple ballots seperated by political party. In a top-two primary, all candidates from all parties who are running for the U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House, and statewide offices are listed on all ballots regardless of the political party affiliation of the voter. The candidates who are the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliations. Consequently, it is possible for two candidates belonging to the same political party to run against each other in the November election. Primary Elections for president and political party officers are partisan and not affected by Top-Two process.
Citizens Initiative Ballot Measure Process
California Ballot Initiatives must be submitted to the State Attorney General along with a $2,000 deposit, refundable upon qualification for the ballot. After a 30-day public review period, the measure is subject to change according to suggestions from citizens and proponents.
The attorney general drafts a title, summary, and a unique identifying number. Signatures may then be gathered from registered California voters. The number of signatures needed to place a measure on the ballot is either 8% (for a constitutional amendment) or 5% (for statue or referendum) of the total number of votes cast for the governor in the preceding election. For elections between 2023-2026, a constitutional amendment requires 875K signatures and otherwise 34K signatures are required. California allows signature gatherers to be paid but does not require circulators to be state residents.
If two or more measures conflict, the measure receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes in the election supersedes the other.
More details on the process and laws governing the initiative process are here.
How to Evaluate a Ballot Proposition
To determine if the measure is seeking changes that are consistent with your ideas about government and if you think the proposed changes will make things better or will cause more problems than it will resolve, you can ask youself these questions:
- Who is really supporting and opposing the measure? Check where the money is coming from at Cal-access.sos.ca.gov to determine the motivations behind the measure.
- Is the measure written well? If it creates conflicts in law or is ambiguous, it will require court resolution to uphold and interpret.
- Does the measure create its own revenue source or does it earmark, restrict or obligate government revenues? Weigh the benefit of securing funding for the measure’s program against the cost of reducing overall flexibility in the budget.
- Does the measure mandate a government program or service without addressing how it will be funded?
- Does the measure deal with one issue that can be easily decided by a YES or NO vote or is it a complex issue that should be thoroughly examined in the legislative arena?
- If the measure amends the Constitution, does it really belong in the Constitution or would a statute accomplish the same purpose? All constitutional amendments require voter approval; what we put into the Constitution would have to come back to the ballot to be changed.
- Be wary of paid advertising that is more emotional than factual.
