Posted on 10/21/2005 5:57:36 PM PDT by FairOpinion
PROPOSITION 76 attacks funding for our most important government services, including education and public safety, and should be defeated. Proposition 76 contains many radical and disturbing provisions, but two are especially dangerous:
- It eliminates the Proposition 98 guarantees for education funding, and several other voter-approved expenditures, allowing the governor to cut literally billions of dollars from schools;
- It allows the governor to make unilateral cuts in government spending in the middle of the fiscal year to nearly any program he chooses, without any input from any other branch of government.
Under these two rules, many of the services we care about the most in California will be the most vulnerable to massive, unilateral cuts at the governor's whim.
For example, Proposition 76 will result in an immediate $4 billion cut to education funding despite Proposition 98. After these cuts, California will be behind states like Kentucky and West Virginia when it comes to investment in our children. That's not what the voters intended when we passed Proposition 98 to protect education funding.
Proposition 76 also puts at least $3 billion of public safety funds on the chopping block. That's why many law enforcement groups, like the California Professional Firefighters and the California Association of Highway Patrolmen, strongly oppose Proposition 76. They know that Proposition 76 puts all of us at risk.
And that's the same reason the California Nurses Association is opposed to this measure. They know that under Proposition 76, California may well have to close even more hospitals on top of the ones already closed in recent years.
Plus, Proposition 76 allows the governor to slash special programs already approved by the voters. For example, we recently voted to tax tobacco products to pay for early childhood programs. Under Proposition 76, the governor could ignore the will of the people and cap the spending on those programs, allowing him to divert the tobacco tax to other expenditures of his choosing.
But, in addition to cutting our most important programs, Proposition 76 straightjackets us into a one-size-fits-all spending cap. Under this provision, total state spending next year is set at an average of the state spending for the last four years.
Since the last four years have seen budget shortfalls and record tax cuts, that means we're locked into an unusually low level of spending. So, the next time we have an especially strong economy, we won't be able to invest our increased revenues in long-term needs, like building schools and roads, saving funds for a rainy day, or paying down debt. And if we have a crisis or natural disaster that requires us to spend more, we won't be able to.
Gov. Schwarzenegger claims the Legislature has approved too much spending, and he needs Proposition 76 to cut that spending. But this is simply hypocritical. This year, Schwarzenegger himself signed a budget into law that exceeds the spending limits he's proposing in Proposition 76. And since the governor already has a line-item veto, he certainly could have cut that budget back if he wanted to. So, if he's spending too much, why is he blaming the Legislature?
The real problem with California's budget has been Schwarzenegger's irresponsible insistence on cutting taxes in deficit years. His reduction of the Vehicle License Fee, for example, gutted billions of dollars from public safety in California when we could least afford to. Yet he points the finger at everyone but himself for the fiscal mess he's made of our budget.
The solution to our budget problems in California is not Proposition 76. The solution is to replace Schwarzenegger with someone who has the guts to work with the Legislature and the people to bring our budget in line. That's the least we should expect of our governor or of any other elected official.
Please vote 'no' on Proposition 76 on Nov. 8.
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John Alden of San Rafael is chairman of the Marin Democratic Party. He can be reached at john@marindemocrats.org
The real problem with California's budget has been Schwarzenegger's irresponsible insistence on cutting taxes in deficit years. "
More desperate rhetoric from the Democrats.
Seems like we have the Unions and Democrats fighting tooth and nail against the Reform Propositions. Don't forget Howard Dean was in CA recently campaigning against these propositions.
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McClintock's recommendations for CA Propositions
Summary of Recommendations on the CA Propositions by various organizations and parties
Seeing as how many Americans view the Unions with suspicion, I bet many will vote "yes" to give the governor the big stick he needs to whack the Unions down.
Schwarzenegger Battles Unions With California Initiatives Nov. 8
"The "governator" is fighting public employee unions in an escalating — and sometimes ugly — war over four propositions on the ballot. Well over $100 million has been spent so far, about $80 million by unions, to sway voters. "
How come Arnold's approval rating go the nice big graphic?
And I was polled on Senator Akaka's "native Hawaiian" bill... I told them emphatically that I don't support it.
The finished off by asking if I was native Hawaiian... I almost lied and said, "yes."
Makes me angry though to think that a native Hawaiian's opinion is probably going to weighted more heavily than that of another Polynesian native. The assumption now is going to be that I'm white.
And factually inaccurate in its implications.
The unsupported claim: "The real problem with California's budget has been Schwarzenegger's irresponsible insistence on cutting taxes in deficit years." is probably a reference to "repeal of the car tax".
Schwarzenegger didn't "cut" the in-lieu-of portion of motor vehicle registration fees. He simply reinstated the General Fund subsidy that Pete Wilson championed in better financial times. Californians still pay the tax to the General Fund and municipalities still collect their fair share of these taxes.
Screech all you want Dems, I am voting yes on 76.
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