by Jack
Slightly over half of us just voted for a $50 billion dollar tax hike that made California first in sales tax and first income tax. Thank you Prop 30.
Now here’s a challenge for all caring taxpayers, especially if you voted for Prop 30: Let’s keep track of where all that new tax money goes. No, I’m not being cynical, I’m being realistic. I remember when we passed the State Lottery and how this was going to add hundreds of millions to education and everything would be wonderful. I remember Prop 98 that followed a few years later because somehow schools were running out of money, but if Prop 98 was passed it would be guaranteed that schools would have adequate funding forever, that fantasy didn’t last 3 years.
Neither the Lotto games nor Prop 98 were safe from the liberal tax and spenders in Sacramento. Ironically the very liberals who demanded more funding for schools were the first to raid the school’s budget to plug holes their un-balanced budget.
Oh, and let’s also see how big the rebate will be to college students. Gov. Brown promised them $250 if they would vote for his proposition.
PS Prop 13, the property tax reform has been blamed for much of California’s fiscal woes, but did you know even with Prop 13 our property taxes rank us 15th highest in the nation, if it were not for Prop 13, we would be the highest. We have a spending problem, not an income problem.
I think lottery and Prop 98 monies do still go to education. First, I believe it is wasted on “administration,” and second, I believe that because these funds were coming in, the state just took other monies away. This means we made no progress.
I know something has to be done and prop 13 isn’t the reason our schools have no money when they were dead broke and raffling cars to save sports at the same time it was hard to find a house in Chico for under $200,000. PLENTY of property taxes have flowed into state coffers during the housing boom and our schools were flat broke.
During CUSD’s worst fiscal crisis when schools were consolidated or closed, and teachers layed off, we lost zero administrative positions. None. We might want to start looking there.
I am pissed that 30 passed, but even more pissed that Chico passed another school bond. People, how can you not remember what they did with the last one?
Let’s face it a whole lot of money in education goes to fund pension and healthcare benefits. Our schools don’t have enough money, because tax money is spent on these lavish perks that many people in the private sector pay for themselves.
Stimulus money that California received was spent on teacher perks.
If we are going to raise money for pensions and medical for our education class we at least deserve to be informed of the true nature of the tax.
California educators were, once again, Obama’s biggest supporter. Governor Brown was elected in part because of support by the education elite class. They use our children as a prop to enrich themselves which will do nothing to improve educate for our children.
Yes Jack, we should closely watch what they do with this money.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2012/04/10/california-teacher-pension-shortfall-rises-to-65-billion/
I’m pretty sure old Jerry needs this money for pension payments not books, computers, musical instruments, art supplies, football uniforms, or even chalk!
Every time there is a proposition like this some progressive idiot argues, “The horror! It is only a small increase!”
Before you know it those small increases advocated by liberal idiots over and over again add up to confiscatory tax rates that are the highest in the nation without ever holding government responsible for waste, inefficiency, bad policy, and robbing Peter to pay Paul.
I am loathe to embrace the snooty, snotty, progressive liberal elitist notion that the average voter is stupid but it appears that half of them are in this state. And it is they who comprise the Democratic party stronghold.