CAL’s Propositions: “Just Say No”

Kevin Drum provides us California voters who may be confused by the lies we hear on TV a couple of favors. The point of his post is to alert us to the very good analysis from Brad Plumer as to why Proposition 77 is not reforming how we do redistricting as much as it is Trojan Horse designed to favor the GOP. The other favor is to let us know about this group who provide their analysis of what is behind each of the California propositions.

Given the interest in health care issues that my colleagues have, AB readers might take a look at their discussion of Propositions 78 and 79 – especially the link Lies My TV Told Me. Propositions 74 and 76 involve our public education system and the BuyBlue folks note:

At the median pay rate of $55,300, a California public school teacher gets high pay relative to all public school teachers nationwide, but her money does not go as far as it does in less expensive states. Typically, a California public school teacher stays in the job 3 years, and then moves to another profession. California students rank near the bottom nationwide, in large part because Californians have allowed public education funding to lag behind needs. The state needs schools, textbooks, educational materials, facilities, scholarships, reduced costs and increased professional assistance for distressed schools. The Prop 74 logic of blaming teachers for the failure of California students is like a corporate officer reducing the sales division’s budget and then threatening to fire the salespeople for not making enough sales. It doesn’t address the central issue, which is that California public education needs vastly more funding.

Ever since ARNOLD told Warren Buffet to keep quiet about property tax reform, I have suspected he’s been in the pocket of certain rightwing special interest groups. My view on these propositions steals a line from Nancy Reagan – “Just Say No”.