Taxes are too high because government is too big. Big government is inefficient, corrupt and very expensive and our current governor wants to make it bigger! To reduce taxes, spending must decrease. To do otherwise is irresponsible and just puts the burden of today's big government on future taxpayers.

California's employee pension system must be reformed. Workers should have a defined contribution plan opposed to the existing defined benefit plans that are threatening to bankrupt government agencies throughout the state.

Our state income tax system can be made much simpler by taking the tax owed on the federal return and divide it by a number somewhere between three and four. As the size of government is reduced, the divisor can be increased, reducing the tax owed. This change would make is easier and less expensive for Californians to comply.

Workers' compensation is an indirect tax on all workers in California. The system is rife with corruption and cannot be fixed by making minor adjustments. Employees should be able to negotiate with their employer on whether or not they want to be covered by workers' comp. For the workers that opt out, their pay may dramatically increase, some by more than 50%.

Art Olivier has a history as a champion for the taxpayer. The first episode of "The Political Money Trail" way back in 1990 dealt with illegal taxes that cities all over California were enacting. The taxes were called Lighting and Landscaping Assessments. Art Olivier, the producer and host, and Kris Vosburgh, the Executive Director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, exposed this sham on Art's public access television show.

In 1997, seven years after that show, Mayor Pro-Tem Art Olivier of Bellflower placed the Lighting Assessment on the city council agenda. On a three to two vote, the tax was eliminated for every property owner in this city of 70,000 people.

Quite often, local tax schemes originated with the League of California Cites. At many of the League meetings, with hundreds of councilmembers from all over the state, Art was the only Libertarian in attendance. Lawyers for the League would present the councilmembers with ways that they could skirt the law and raise taxes in their cities without a vote of the people.

Fortunately for the taxpayers and unfortunately for the taxers, Art would share all of the League's information with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Jarvis was able to successfully sue cities throughout the state of California to stop the taxes and save the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.