Mark Wild
Knapp
English 1A
10/7/12
Proposition
30, California’s last hope.
Over
the past several years the great recession has forced Jerry brown to make vital
cuts to California’s Budget, from public transportation to public safety, the
time has come where California’s education is now on the chopping block. Jerry Brown has already signed a $6 billion
dollar trigger cut out of California’s budget
next year if nether prop 30 or prop 38 get passes resulting in cutting of more
funds from schools, and public services further diminishing the quality of
education in California. Proposition 30
is deemed as California’s last hope before the proposed cuts, as it will increase the overall sales
tax by ¼ cent for four years, while
increasing personal income tax on incomes ranging from $250,000 - $1,000,000
and allocating %100 (%89 to k-12 and %11 to community colleges) to education .
Though it might seem quite rash taxing high income earners and using the tax revenue to pay for schools
in California, it is the only thing we can do to evade an educational collapse.
At this time, America is seemingly broken; the middle class is underwater and
spreading itself thin, the 2009 recession has affected everyone except for the
wealthy elites. If California doesn’t have the money to fund the schools, it is
only logical to tax the many millionaires %1 more, creating a 6 billion dollar
stimulus that will fund our schools.
Though proposition
30 is aimed at funding schools, prop 38 is intended to fund only 60% to K-12
while 30% is to pay off the accumulated debt California is currently faced
with. Leaving the remaining 10% to fund early childhood programs. Nevertheless
it will impose a sliding scale tax on everyone from the lowest earners starting
at .4% to highest with a 2.2% added tax rate that will last a staggering 12
years. According to Ballotpedia.com “It will generate roughly $10 billion
dollars annually”, for 12 years, with $6 billion to be circulated through
schools, though this does not apply to community college.
Instead
of a sliding scale tax rate, Prop 30 maintains an overall sales tax of a
quarter of a penny throughout California, while creating 4 high income tax
brackets and imposing a specific tax rate for each of them. The tax brackets apply to individuals incomes
exceeding $250,000, $3000,000, $500,00 and $1,000,000 and will be in affect for
7 years. For incomes over $250,000 but
less then $300,000 it will impose a 1% increase from 9.3% to 10.3%. For incomes
ranging from $300,000 to $500,000 it will require a 11.3% tax rate over the
current 9.3%. Finally for incomes ranging higher then $500,000 up to $1,000,000
it will impose a 12.3% tax rate. Though
the tax hike will burden the wealthiest in California it will put the tax
revenue to good work by infusing it into our schools, specifically community
colleges, where there is less funding, overcrowded classrooms and less classes
available.
Some argue that
prop 30 will be detrimental to the economy. Claiming that increasing taxes is
only a temporary resolution to the budget problem and that California need an
educational reform more then anything else. Including that prop 30’s summary is
but a shell game created by Sacramento politicians, essentially pocketing most
of the 6 billion dollars in tax revenue every year. For example Stopprop30.com claims that
proposition 30 “does not provide new funding for schools. Instead it bolsters
the General Funds with new revenue.” This proposes that politicians can simply
allocate money from the general fund and use it for there own incentives like
personal wealth or non-educational funding.
Though this argument seems legitimate, it directly contradicts essential
points in the summary analysis itself. For example from the official title and
summary of proposition 30 states that it
“bars use of funds for administrative cost, but provides local school
governing boards discretion to decide, in open meeting and subject to annual
audit, how funds are to be spent.” This incentive restricts any politician from
managing the funds and instead relies on a series of individuals working for
the local schools boards all over the state to manage the money. It will also
include the watchful eye of a government approved annual audit that will
evaluates the spending and make sure it spent in a appropriate manner.
In acceptance with
prop 30, the demand for high quality education is at a all time high, according
to the California board of educations website “nearly 6,214,205 students
enrolled in k- 12 in California this year and a mere 288,755 teachers to serve.”
This is barley getting by with an average
of 21 students per teacher, not to mention some schools that can even average
out with 30-45 students per teacher. In
addition, Californiacommunitycolleges.edu “funding for community colleges has been cut
by 12% since 2008, resulting in a $806 million dollar loss. Speculated loss for
after January 2013 is another $338 million.
California community colleges enrollment decreased by more than 485,000
students to 2.4 million in 3 academic years from 2008- 2011 due to educational
cuts. Not to mention the course sections
were reduced by approximately 24% due to funding reductions, and winter and
summer sections were cut a massive 50% to all community colleges in California.
With all these staggering cuts to the community colleges it has forced the schools to reduce course
offerings, increase class sizes, lay off staff, and decrease spending and loan offers resulting in a catastrophic
decrease in overall education for nearly 2.5 million students.
This is unsettling
news for me, for I have no other option but to pay for my schooling out of
pocket. I know to many students my age who have begun digging them self out of the
hole of debt just to wield a degree, and for me the last thing I want to be is
in debt. Community College has worked for me because it is cheap enough to
allow me to work a coffee shop job, where I can make rent and pay for school
every semester. If proposition 30 does not pass it is certain that overall
tuition cost for community colleges will raise, making my chance to graduate
into the working world ever so unobtainable.
Prop 30 is my only hope to get the community colleges the funding they need
to be affordable and have quality education accessible to everyone.
If proposition 30
does not get passed, California will be forced to cut 6 billion dollars out of
our annual budget. With that amount of money circulating in our school system
it can help over a million children learn how read. It has the power to support
more classes teaching sciences, multi-cultural and foreign language courses,
ever expanding the minds and creative thoughts of our children. It will employ
more teachers, while simultaneously giving our children the education they
need. Most importantly it will send a message to the people of California, that
the opportunity to provide education is a prized accommodation at that and
should be promoted and well funded for a
better future for the people of California. Vote for Prop 30.
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_30,_Sales_and_Income_Tax_Increase_(2012)
