This coming election, we have the chance to begin correcting a long-term problem with our budget. Due to a structural deficit—which means California does not raise the money necessary to provide critical services—we have seen billions of dollars in cuts to education and critical health and human services. A Yes vote on Proposition 30 can help turn the tide.
These budget cuts have meant that there are fewer teachers for our children, fewer school days and skyrocketing costs for our community colleges and universities.
These cuts have also chipped away at the programs that make it possible for low-income women and their families to lift themselves out of poverty.
Since 2008, California has made $3.3 billion in cuts to CalWORKs (California Work and Responsibility for Kids). These cuts included rollbacks to services that help parents find and keep jobs. This past year, we saw 26,000 childcare slots eliminated, leaving parents with fewer childcare options while they’re at work or attending school. Time on CalWORKs has been reduced from four years to two years. In an economy with double-digit unemployment rates, two years is rarely enough time for families to become economically secure.
Legislators and the Governor have made these harsh choices because we haven’t made the decision to raise revenues and share the responsibility of investing in a state that supports the opportunity for all to advance.
And it’s not just about individuals advancing. It’s also about our economic recovery as a state. Nationally renowned economists including Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Peter Orszag, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, argue that cutting spending during an economic downturn could do more harm to states’ economies than raising taxes on high income earners. (See page 7 of this California Budget Project report for more.)
We must say Yes to Proposition 30. It’s a step in the right direction toward providing a long-term budget solution to California’s structural deficit. It would raise about $6 billion a year between 2012 and 2017 and provide revenue for programs such as children’s education, CalWORKs, childcare, and other human services that are critical to the economic security of women and families and the long-term economic recovery of California.
How does it do it? By temporarily increasing personal income taxes for seven years on the wealthiest Californians and by increasing sales tax by ¼ cent for every dollar for four years. It also guarantees funding for public safety services realigned from state to local governments.
However, if this measure does not pass, the current budget will be slashed by $6 billion causing automatic cuts to programs that benefit women and children.
No other measure on the ballot adequately addresses the structural deficit and begins to rebuild the long-term health of California’s budget and economy.
Vote Yes on Prop 30 and Stand with Women!
See the rest of our positions in our voter guide.