Avalanche of new taxes and fees.

Democrats have been accused in the past of being "tax-and-spend" liberals, and the current legislative session seems to conform this stereo-type. The San Francisco Chronicle published an article with the following sampling of some of the proposed taxes currently proposed in the Assembly and in the Senate.

AB87 (Davis)/SB531 (DeSaulnier ): Fees for shoppers who use plastic bags.

AB89 (Torlakson)/SB600 (Padilla): Increases the cigarette tax.

AB390 (Ammiano): $50-an-ounce tax on marijuana, which would be legalized for recreational use.

AB462 (Price): 1 percent income tax for individuals who earn more than $1 million a year, to fund public schools and universities.

AB656 (Torrico): Oil severance tax to help fund the state's community colleges and universities.

AB1019 (Beall)/SB558 (DeSaulnier): Tax or fee on alcohol.

AB1082 (Torrico): Sales tax on pornography.

AB1342 (Evans): Cities and counties would be allowed to raise income taxes and vehicle license fees.

SB96 (Ducheny): Increases the income tax rate on the state's wealthiest residents while lowering the rate for some middle-class taxpayers.

It turns out that all of these bills have one thing in common: all are proposed by Democratic members of the legislature.

This is the "tax" part, and the spending will undoubtedly be justified by the current budget deficit. We need to wait and see if any of these become law.

Really, a tax on pornography?