'I Call for a Fair Tax'

Excerpts from an editorial-board interview with Peter Camejo

A A A Comments Thursday, Sep 25 2003

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Take a shot at it.

If you say [as she does], "Lower the corporate loopholes and raise the [property tax] assessment," you’re going to have a different reaction than when you say point-blank [as I do]: "Raise taxes." That’s one difference. And we differ on the question of whether to build the Green Party or not.

Does her campaign help the progressive movement in California?

I think so. Let me tell you. When you saw me so excited that she was getting in — look, here’s what I thought. In the debates I’m surrounded by Democrats and Republicans. You have this lone voice, right? What’s the image to people? "Well, there you have the nut" — whatever. Hey, having a woman as articulate as she is — she’s absolutely, unbelievably brilliant — and having her articulate a progressive agenda, and you got two voices. You’re backing each other up.

What are your worries about Schwarzenegger?

What Bush is doing is an enormous danger to the world. And I think Arnold — for whatever his personal motives are, and whatever his personal values may be about some things like gay rights — is an instrument of this thing. He’s got Pete Wilson and George Bush behind him. And they’re all orchestrating this thing to confuse the public and get him elected.

So what do you do as governor of California to address what you have called a corporate crime wave?

Change the 1937 act, reorganize the pension funds, democratize them. Have labor present, have others. So when you get an Enron or an El Paso, you change the board. You remove them, put on law-abiding citizens, take over the corporations through to the ownership of shareholders. The truth is, workers owned these companies, but they have no recourse.

What about the health-reform alternatives of government-funded insurance (single-payer) versus requiring large employers to provide insurance?

Well, I’m for the single-payer, [though] some Greens are torn on this. But the [employer mandate] is a step forward. I think I’m for it.

So how do you critique Davis on education, an area he’s taken pride in?

The California Teachers Association said to me: "Hey, he did what we wanted. He gave us the money." And it was a lot. And it moved California from 40-something [in education funding] to 27th. That’s just the truth. I’m not going to call him Mr. Education, but it’s silly to oppose Democrats or anybody when they do something right.

In education, there’s the money part of it, then there’s the overwhelming emphasis on testing as a core of reforms.

I’m opposed to the testing mania.

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