ONLY A MEATHEAD COULD LOVE THIS IDEA ROB REINER'S TAX-THE-RICH PLAN IS ILL-CONCEIVED AND POORLY TIMED.

Byline: Jon Coupal

ROB Reiner is living up to his character's name in his best-known role, ``Meathead'' on the 1970s sitcom ``All in the Family.''

Reiner, an unabashed occupier of the extreme left, is touring California promoting his proposed ballot measure, which would increase California income tax rates to finance a new ``universal preschool'' scheme. The theory of universal preschool is to start mandatory public education at least a year earlier than currently required.

This is indeed an idea only a ``meathead'' could love. In the midst of the state's biggest financial crisis in history, we are going to increase taxes - to support a new spending program? First, it should be noted that public-education experts are split on the value of universal preschool and that, at a minimum, we should know more about its effectiveness before pouring bundles of taxpayer cash into it. But Meathead's proposal suffers from an even more fundamental flaw.

It is bad enough that in a high-tax state, special interests are pushing to increase taxes to cover the unsustainable spending commitments made by Gray Davis and the Legislature at the peak of the high-tech industry bubble that for a very short period pumped additional billions into state coffers. But now along comes Reiner with the most irresponsible idea of all: Starting new, open-ended and unlimited spending programs and increasing taxes to fund them.

If there was ever a time not to start new government spending schemes, it is now.

Additionally, the Reiner proposal has other huge problems. It assumes that the income tax increase he plans for higher-income California taxpayers will cover the cost of universal preschool, based on the assumption that 70 percent of children will attend. But what if more attend? What if the actual cost exceeds the actor's estimates? There is little choice; the added costs would be paid for through cuts in other services or with additional tax increases.

Furthermore, California's income tax is notoriously volatile. In fact, that is how our financial crisis began. The state's income receipts surged upward in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, and Davis and the Legislature spent all the money on expensive, new, permanent programs. When the income-tax receipts declined in the dot-com bust, these permanent new programs and expenses pushed the state budget into a massive deficit.

If we should all have learned one thing from California's state budget crisis, it is that we should not depend on the income tax to fund permanent new spending.

And finally, just last year Californians imposed approximately a 10 percent increase in the income tax on high earners. This Reiner measure would increase income taxes about another 17 percent. Do we really want the business owners to be taxed out of our state just when the governor is trying to make California business-friendly and improve our economy based on new private-sector investment and jobs?

Other states and countries looking for businesses to relocate to their more tax friendly environments will be delighted if Reiner is successful. However, those of us left behind to compete for fewer jobs and pay higher taxes will not be so sanguine.

Reiner will soon begin seeking signatures to put his new tax scheme on the ballot. Before signing up for what may sound like a nice idea - after all, tax raisers love to use children to promote their issues - taxpayers should consider the long-term negative impact this measure could have on our state. If the financing does not work out, there could be cuts in important services, even schools, which are also for ``the children.''

Years ago, Reiner directed a well-received film, ``The Princess Bride,'' an entertaining fairy tale. It is regrettably apparent that Reiner has confused a real-world budget crisis with the fairy tale of unlimited public dollars.

Memo to Meathead: Fairy tales are fiction and nothing is free. If you are successful, there will be real costs to all Californians.