Why I think Prop. 30 is a Bad Idea

Election day is almost upon us so I felt compelled to offer my two cents worth on Prop. 30.

Prop. 30 asks us for yet another California tax increase under the pretext of (once again) saving our severely under-funded public schools. Proponents often pitch this latest tax increase as really only impacting the wealthy (those Californians earning $250,000 per year or more).

"Why not?" they consistently ask us, "the wealthy have so much and our schools have so very little!"

Contrary to this popular myth, Prop. 30 is not just a tax on the wealthy. It also increases our state sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years. As a result, this portion of Prop. 30 is a tax hike on everyone in the state who makes a taxable purchase.

The pro-Prop. 30 crowd will tell you that all of the revenue raised can only be used for our public schools. This bit of disinformation is not supported by language in the Attorney General's summary which states only that "(t)hese additional revenues would be available to fund programs in the state budget."

While it is true that public education is a part of the state budget, it is also true that every other poorly run, badly managed, inefficient, and too costly State-run program is part of the state budget as well.

There is no language in Prop. 30 that reserves its revenues exclusively for our classrooms.

The Legislative Analyst concurs, saying: "The additional revenues from this measure provide several billion dollars annually through 2018-19 that would be available for a wide range of purposes - including funding existing state programs..." (emphasis added)

Let's say for the sake of argument, however, that every penny of Prop. 30 revenue would find its way to our classrooms. Great! I would argue that those "several billion dollars annually" should already be going to our schools, without the need for Prop. 30, but they are not. Do you know why?

Because our state legislators and those they appoint to assist them are mis-managing the funds that we already send them each year.

Here's a brief and very incomplete list of some ways our state legislators are wasting our public funds, or allowing them to be wasted:

1. $11 million dollars through the In-Home Supportive Services Program to assist in the care of people who were later determined to be deceased (2009-10)
2. $30 million paid out in fraudulent e-waste recycling claims
3. $100 million + paid to state employees in accrued, but unused, vacation time above mandated limits (2006-07)
4. $12.45 million + $1.1 million in interest in over-payments to counties through the food stamp program (2003-present)
5. $2.6 million in rental payments for a building that remained vacant (2009-2010)

These are just five items representing a total of over $155 million dollars of wasted, squandered and defrauded public funds. How many more items like these are there? How many more millions or perhaps billions of our funds is Sacramento wasting every year? Millions if not billions of dollars in wasted and de-frauded funds that could otherwise be spent in our classrooms and helping to educate our kids, without our needing to fork over even one additional penny in sales or income tax.

Rather than make our State legislators accountable, however...rather than make them represent us properly and manage our public funds in more fiscally responsible ways, we instead persist in sending them still more funds to squander...more funds that others can steal from us, and from our schools, through fraud.

I think we already have the money that Prop. 30 could raise, if only we demanded that those we elect to represent us in Sacramento start doing what we sent them there to do...manage our public finances responsibly, detect and stop waste, fraud and abuse, and punish those who would steal from us.

So long as we keep enabling Sacramento's fiscal incompetence, we will never be able to put a stop to it. Our schools are in serious need, and it is our state legislators that are keeping them that way.

Oh, and by the way, proponents threaten that if we don't pass Prop. 30, our State's education budget will have to be slashed. This, too, is not inevitable. The State's budget belongs to the people of California, as represented by a majority of voters, it does not belong to the elected officials we send to Sacramento to manage it for us.

If the people of California do not want their education budget cut, all they need do is make that perfectly clear to those in Sacramento. All the people need do is tell the Governor and Legislature, in no uncertain terms, that if cuts prove necessary, they will have to find some other portion of the budget to cut but that our education budget is off limits.

The money our schools need is there, and then some, all we have to do is demand that Sacramento stop the rampant waste, fraud, and abuse that exists.

Prop. 30 is not the right solution for our state's current and persistent education budget challenges.

No on Prop. 30