The California stem cell agency has
backed far, far away from a tobacco tax initiative that would provide
it with more than $200 million a year – funds that could save it
from an untimely demise in a few short years.
The leadership of the $3 billion
enterprise fears that the tobacco industry would tar the entire stem
cell research field in a no-holds-barred ballot campaign financed
with $50 million or more.
CIRM Chairman Jonathan Thomas said that
the tobacco industry would paint “a very negative, and
unnecessarily so, picture of stem cell research and would very likely
result in a measure that would go down and create a chilling effect
on the view of all the good we've done.”
In a reference to the tobacco industry,
he said,
“These guys, they play for keeps, and they say things in their ads...that are misleading or inaccurate, but there's nothing you can do about it.”
Thomas said that initially the ballot
proposal sounded “great” but after agency officials talked to
political consultants and pollsters, their perspective changed.
He said that he understood that the agency
is being written out of the proposed initiative which is aimed at
funding a wide range of brain research.
Thomas made his comments at a meeting
of the only state body charged with overseeing the finances of the
stem cell agency – the Citizens Financial Accountability and
Oversight Committee, which is chaired by State Controller John
Chiang. Thomas was commenting in connection with the fact that the
agency will run out of funds for new grants in the latter part of
2017.
Our take: Thomas is correct that it
would be a bloody campaign. Stem cell research is a big target.
However, the tobacco industry is even bigger. It needed to spend $50 million to very narrowly defeat a similar tax measure in 2012 by only
30,000 votes out of 5 million cast.
A successful campaign for the stem cell agency would be about life (stem cells) versus death (tobacco). Indeed, a truly vicious campaign by the tobacco industry could well backfire on the industry, creating even more antipathy and animosity than now exists. A winning ballot measure also needs a good villain to help rally support. In 2004, when the stem cell agency was created, the campaign had that villain -- former President George Bush and his restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research.
A successful campaign for the stem cell agency would be about life (stem cells) versus death (tobacco). Indeed, a truly vicious campaign by the tobacco industry could well backfire on the industry, creating even more antipathy and animosity than now exists. A winning ballot measure also needs a good villain to help rally support. In 2004, when the stem cell agency was created, the campaign had that villain -- former President George Bush and his restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research.
A ballot proposal could win but it would take a united front,
an early start and a willingness to take some fire.
Important policy issues, however, would arise involving dedication of tax revenues for a specific purpose, one of the reasons the state of California has had financial difficulties.
All of which is moot since the agency has made it clear that it is not game for the battle.
Important policy issues, however, would arise involving dedication of tax revenues for a specific purpose, one of the reasons the state of California has had financial difficulties.
All of which is moot since the agency has made it clear that it is not game for the battle.
