Why is the vote on Prop 30 so close ?

 And, what can we do about it ?

by Duane Campbell

            A new Field  Poll says that if the election were held today 48 % would vote Yes on Prop. 30 to fund schools, colleges and public services, 38 % would vote no, and 14 % are undecided. That is too close.  This vote is our best opportunity to reverse the austerity cycle of budgeting used in California for the last 4 years since the economic crisis.

            My experience in tabling for Proposition 30 in  on the Sac State campus  for the last 6 weeks  has reminded me of a major problem – we are not communicating  with and educating the vast majority of people of the need to support public education and other public services.

In one recent experience a beyond middle age African American woman stopped by the table to discuss California Prop. 30, an effort to fund schools, universities, and public services.  I will use her case as an example.   Her experience as a college student was that her fees went up.  Over the last 4 years university fees went up over $ 2,400.  Her experience was that her fees were pushing her out of the university.   Her question,  why do my fees go up ?  Doesn’t the federal government pay for our education ?   Why should I have to vote on this ?

Financial crisis hurts schools, was not caused by pensions

Fiscal Crisis in States Will Last Beyond Slump, Report Warns  N.Y. Times.

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH and MICHAEL COOPER

WASHINGTON — The fiscal crisis for states will persist long after the economy rebounds as states confront financial problems that include rising health care costs, underfunded pensions, ignored infrastructure needs, eroding revenues and expected federal budget cuts, according to a report issued here Tuesday by a task force of respected budget experts.

The severity of the long-term problems facing states is often masked by lax state budget laws and opaque accounting practices, according to the report, an independent analysis of six states released by a group calling itself the State Budget Crisis Task Force. The report said that the financial collapse of 2008, which caused the most serious fiscal crisis for states since the Great Depression, exposed a number of deep-set financial challenges that will grow worse if no action is taken by national policy makers.

“The ability of the states to meet their obligations to public employees, to creditors and most critically to the education and well-being of their citizens is threatened,” warned the two chairmen of the task force, Richard Ravitch, the former lieutenant governor of New York, and Paul A. Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Editors insert. (Duane Campbell)

 The  looting produced our current economic crisis, crashed the world economy, and caused the massive cutbacks we presently suffer in schools, in public pensions, in employment of police, fire, the bankrupting of cities and the cuts to health care and the social safety net.

Did police, fire fighters, nurses, teachers cause this crisis.  No.

Did pensioners cause this crisis ? No. Government should get the money from those who caused the crisis-  the bankers and finance capital through a financial transaction tax.  We should use such a tax rather than giving the banks bail outs.  And, stop scape goating pensioners.

What happened to pensions ? Why is the San Jose pension system in crisis? They have built a system based upon a projected  7.5% investment growth.

They are achieving a 1.5% growth. Why?  Because of the economic crisis.  (STRS, etc.)  It was the economic crisis, the looting of the economy.  It was not the workers.