The passage of Proposition 63 is a sign of dangerous things ahead for democracy in California. Political operatives now know they can easily sell all kinds of new taxes directly to Californians, provided those taxes only go to a minority of them.

Prop. 63 added a new 1 percent tax on all taxable personal income over $1 million to fund expanded services for mentally ill adults, children and elderly. The ballot’s analysis claimed this would produce over $800 million in new annual state revenues by 2006-07. How generous of us to volunteer other people’s money but not our own to fund such a worthy cause.

I will take no pleasure in the state receiving that extra money, knowing it was attained through fraudulent democracy. The only citizens permitted to vote on that proposition should have been the ones who will now be paying for it. Think of the mentality of the rest of us: new mental health services and we don’t have to cough up the dough? Sure…why not?

We’re all Californians. If those added services benefit all of us, then we should all pay for them. Instead, a majority of this state’s voters have decided to be moochers. What’s worse is that those forced to foot the bill can’t use their locally elected representatives to fight it. State legislators are unable to touch laws enacted by state propositions, according to national columnist, George Will. This isn’t democracy in action. It’s a lot of childish Californians wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

As a political conservative, I support the goal behind Prop. 63. One of the few things I think government ought to do is take care of mentally incompetent people who can’t take care of themselves. Our current practice of abandoning them to sleep in boxes and defecate in our streets is unacceptable, but asking a few Californians to fix the problem with a free lunch for the rest of us allows us to shirk our responsibilities as citizens. We need to face the tough decisions about what resources and programs we’re willing to sacrifice to meet such an imperative.

Unfortunately, progressive taxation does also exist in the state legislature. But at least there, the higher income minority has the cushion of indirect democracy. A two-thirds majority is required to pass a tax increase, in contrast to the direct democracy of state propositions, which merely need a simple plurality. The next time a similar initiative appears on the ballot, ask yourself this: Are you going to take true ownership in your state, or be a freeloader who passes the bills on to someone else?