Tuesday, November 06, 2007

California Dems don't like 'job killer' label

The Democrat-controlled California legislature is like a sausage machine always churning out new laws. So the California Chamber of Commerce does something that the Democrat legislators glide over: It looks at the impact of each bill on employment in the state. It labels as "job killers" any bill with a clearly adverse impact. That has spelled doom for most bills so labelled. So what is the Democrat reaction? Exactly what Leftists have always done: Focus on the label rather than the reality. Drawing up employment-friendly bills is not remotely one of their priorities. Telling other people what do is all that matters to them:

"Today, calling a bill a "job killer" is the kiss of death for legislation the chamber deems unfriendly. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed all but three of the chamber's 41 job-killer bills on his watch.

The chamber's job-killer list, a compendium of a dozen or so Democratic bills that would rein in businesses, has become the unofficial score card that industry and trade groups use to measure their success in beating back unfriendly legislation....

But critics charge the chamber simplistically tags as job killers all legislation that would improve environmental protections and consumer protection, including tort reform, insurance reform and landlord/tenant law.

"I think it's part of the whole movement by the free marketeers, extreme right-wing of the (Republican) party that has identified this as an effective phrase," said former Democratic Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson. "Unfortunately, it resonates with people in way that takes the focus off the real legislation."

Source