Chris Hannan said he is voting yes on Proposition 42, arguing the measure would protect retirement savings from new taxes. He said working people already pay income taxes on the money they earn, and he cast the vote as a way to keep that money from being taxed again.
Hannan, president of the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, said he started his career as an apprentice sprinkler fitter and followed his father into UA Local 709. He said he represents nearly half a million workers and framed the issue around a question his members ask most: “Will I be able to retire?”
Chris Hannan and Proposition 42
In his Los Angeles Times contribution, Hannan wrote: “We need to protect what we’ve saved — and that’s why I’m voting yes on Proposition 42.” He said Proposition 42 would close a loophole in California's Constitution that allows new taxes to be imposed on retirement accounts, life savings and other personal property. His argument is that the measure would block double taxation on money already earned.
He tied that claim to five bills introduced in recent years that proposed taxes on retirement savings and other personal property. Hannan said none of those five bills passed. He also said 85 percent of Californians say the cost of living or taxes are making it harder to save for retirement.
California retirement savings
Hannan said the people most exposed could include a plumber with a pension, an electrician with a 401(k) and a retired heavy equipment operator with a modest savings account. Those examples point to a practical concern for workers who do not see themselves as wealthy but still hold assets that could be targeted by future tax proposals.
Some argue that taxes on savings would hit only the wealthy, but Hannan says new taxes rarely stay where they start. He said Proposition 42 backs the promise of retiring with dignity, and he closed his case with this line: “You earned and saved it. Proposition 42 would protect it.”
This November
This November, Californians will decide Proposition 42. For voters weighing it now, the choice is whether to accept Hannan’s argument that savings already taxed once should be shielded from another tax layer, or to leave that protection to future lawmakers in Sacramento. Hannan’s pitch is blunt: “They shouldn’t pay taxes on that money twice simply because it’s sitting in a retirement or savings account.”
