Columns and Editorials

Columns, Editorials & Endorsements

Editorial: The compelling case for Prop. 30 - Los Angeles Times

11/2/12 - The truth is, if Proposition 30 fails, the state will have to slash schools and other programs that voters care deeply about. It would leave the state with an $8.5-billion hole in its budget - almost twice as large a gap as the alternative cuts floated by GOP leaders.The best way to avoid that is to pass Proposition 30.

Editorial: Prop. 30 will determine fate of public education in California - San Jose Mercury News

11/1/12 - The future of public education in California is on the line Tuesday. Gov. Jerry Brown has structured Proposition 30 so that most of its $6 billion or so in new tax revenue goes to schools, community colleges and universities. If the measure fails, they face massive cuts.

Endorsement: California Clergy Leadership Release Statement in Support of Proposition 30

10/30/12 - Leading Christian, Jewish & Muslim clergy and religious leaders from throughout California issued a powerful statement in support of Proposition 30, the tax initiative on the November 6 ballot that would raise $6-9 billion to fund schools, public safety, and vital services. More than $6 billion in cuts to education and other services have already been approved for the current year should the measure fail. Ninety percent of the revenue raised by Proposition 30 comes from an increase in income tax for the state’s top earners.

Editorial: Don't let Prop. 30 cynics fool you - Fresno Bee

10/26/12 - Do we really think things will get better in this state with fewer graduates from the University of California and the California State University systems? Do we really think California's future will be brighter if our K-12 schools don't have the money to produce high school graduates? Critics of Prop. 30 have said Brown is only offering scare tactics about the future of school funding to get the measure passed. They have not read - or choose to ignore for political purposes - the language in the state budget.

Letter: Prop. 30 helps schools, police, fire - Vacaville Reporter

10/24/12 - Succinct opinion from 2012 Vallejo Unified School District Classified Employee of the Year gets right to the point: "Many of us are fighting for your children, but when millionaires try and put themselves before my kids, then they are going to get a fight."

Editorial: Molly Munger, put a lid on it - San Jose Mercury News

10/10/12 - Seeing her own Proposition 38 tax tanking in the polls, Munger is putting her personal wealth behind a multimillion-dollar campaign to defeat Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown's alternative to stave off further cuts to schools. But the loser won't be Brown. It'll be California's children.

Editorial: Yes on Prop. 30 - money for schools - San Francisco Chronicle

10/9/12 - Prop. 30 is critical in addressing California's continual budget shortfalls because it begins to pay down debt. And, all of the new funding goes directly into a special account that the Legislature can't touch. Mandated annual audits will ensure the new funds are not used for state bureaucracy.

Endorsement: 'Yes' on Governor Jerry Brown's Prop. 30; 'No' on Munger's Prop. 38 - Sacramento Bee

10/7/12 - Gov. Jerry Brown's Proposition 30 would raise income taxes on single filers earning $250,000 or more, and joint filers earning $500,000, generating $5 billion a year. The governor's proposal faces competition from Proposition 38, by wealthy civil rights attorney Molly Munger. California's fiscal house remains shaky. There is massive debt and immense need. Proposition 30 offers a way for the state to start climbing out of its pit. It's not ideal. But it is the best available option.

Column: Yes on Prop. 30: Stop the decimation of California's public schools - Vacaville Reporter

10/1/12 - Proposition 30 asks California's wealthiest to pay a little more for only seven years. This is so the middle class doesn't have to bear the burden alone. Under Proposition
30, families making below $500,000 a year will pay no additional income taxes. Yes, the measure calls for a temporary one-quarter of 1 percent sales tax increase for four years, but even with the increase, our sales taxes will be lower than they were last year.

Editorial: Vote yes on Prop. 30, no on Prop. 38 - Mercury News.com

9/28/12 - Proposition 30 is Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to raise the sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years and raise income taxes on high earners for seven. That will provide about $6 billion a year almost entirely for schools, community colleges and the Cal State and UC systems.

Editorial: Prop 30 Needed for District Funding - The Talon

9/25/12 - No reasonable person would argue that the state is free from problems, but striking Proposition 30 down isn’t a solution to this. The state won’t learn to be more efficient, and instead students who hold no culpability for a failed system will be hurt.

Column: School employees union calls for Prop. 30 support - ElkGroveCitizenOnline

9/25/12 - Proposition 30 is the only measure that stops the cuts, avoids shortening the school year, and it invests in our schools and colleges starting this year. If Prop. 30 fails, the cuts will get deeper. Schools will be forced to shorten the school year, lay off thousands more teachers and personnel, stop buying textbooks, and eliminate crucial programs for our kids.

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Column: Proposition 30 and the class of 2026 - PressDemocrat.com

9/25/12 - Voters are being asked to support Proposition 30 to help place California schools on a firm financial footing, end the ongoing cuts to education and create a financial support system that will keep our state's public school graduates competitive in the global economy.

Column: If Prop 30 fails, colleges like Merced will be downsized - Merced Sun Star

9/25/12 - The 2012-13 state budget is balanced on the assumption that Proposition 30 will pass. If it fails, automatic trigger cuts occur, and these cuts will affect K-12 education, community colleges, CSU, UC and public safety -- not to mention the state's overall solvency. If Proposition 30 passes, Merced College will receive state support equivalent to what we received in 2011-12.

Transcript: The Jerry Brown Interview - PolitiCal

9/25/12 - This Proposition 30 is part of the budget solution. This is not some billionaire or some labor union or some animal rights group or some Koch brothers on the outside wanting to do something. This [is] really me exercising my job and not wanting to repeat what has been happening in the last decades.

Editorial: Prop 30 Invests in Education- San Diego Union Tribune

9/24/12 - Prop. 30 asks California’s wealthiest to pay a little more for seven years so that the middle class doesn’t have to bear the burden. Under Prop. 30, families making below $500,000 a year will pay no additional income taxes. Yes, the measure calls for a temporary one-quarter of one percent increase for four years, but even with the increase, our sales taxes will be lower than they were last year.

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Column: Teacher layoffs and other cutbacks in the classroom are rippling through California's job market - HispanicBusiness.com

9/24/12 - Proposition 30 is Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to raise taxes. If it fails at the ballot box in November, about $6 billion in additional spending cuts would kick in -- mostly to public education.

Column: Vote yes on Prop. 30, no on Prop. 38 - SFGate.com

9/23/12 - The governor and the ruling Democrats in the Legislature have given Californians who care about schools and the current-year deficit only one real choice: support Prop. 30, which would raise taxes on incomes starting at $250,000 for individuals, $500,000 for married couples, and the state portion of the sales tax (now 7.25 percent) by a quarter cent. The income-tax increase would be retroactive to January; the sales-tax increase would take effect next year.

Editorial: Education is at risk; Yes on Prop. 30, No on Prop. 38 - VCSTAR.com

9/22/12 - The Star recommends a yes vote on Proposition 30. It is a reasonable, well-thought-out approach to an interim fix for the state's recurring deficit, thus giving lawmakers time to seek a long-term solution.