Shall We Mortgage Our Children's Future?

By Marjorie Musser "Margie" Mikels

VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 57. DON'T DUMP OUR DEBT ON OUR KIDS. VOTE YES ON 56 AND SOLVE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS WITH WISE BUDGET CUTS AND FAIR TAXES.

"Shall we mortgage our children's future to solve our present economic difficulties?"

Elected officials in Sacramento want voters on March 2nd to approve Prop 57, a $15 billion bond, not as security for roads, schools or water clean-up but to bail us out of the financial mess they got us into.

How did we get here? We're the fifth largest economy in the world! 40% of the nation's billionaires live in California! With our bountiful resources, amazing production, what happened?

While every state in the union is drowning in red ink right now from the largest federal deficit in history ($7 trillion), California is even worse off because of the energy crisis. It all started right here in our own back yard.

In 1996, Jim Brulte authored AB 1890, the energy deregulation bill. That bill opened the door to the Texas oil barons, like Enron who gutted the economy of our once-thriving state. We have never recovered from that rip-off.

When Gov. Schwarzenegger was elected our deficit was about $8 billion. At that time lawsuits were pending against Enron and the other price-gougers seeking recovery of $9 Billion. Those suits had great prospects of recovering our money. But since then those lawsuits were quietly settled for about a billion dollars, leaving our $8 billion budget hole unfilled.

Then the governor repealed the car tax. Maybe you got back $25 or so? But that action left the state with an additional shortfall of $4.3 billion--money that comes right out of the pockets of cities and counties--the pockets of our police and fire departments, out of the pockets of those who we need to fight terror, crime and fires.

Our Sacramento "leaders" agree, they say, that we have no choice but to take on massive debt, and watch our credit ratings drop and our interest rates soar. We must lay this debt on our children! If we don't pass Prop. 57, "Ooooooooo, Armageddon is coming--we will have to close your kids' schools, lock the hospital doors, release the mentally ill onto the streets without meds. And just to make us really afraid, Sacramento has already started slashing all the services that sane, reverent people value.

Most of us take on debt. We buy a home if we are able and a car. But we have something for that money, a place to live, a way to get from A to B. If we must borrow to buy food or pay the utilities, we are in trouble. To solve that problem we should instead cut expenses or start earning more income.

Well, there are alternatives for the state other than laying massive debt on our children. We could begin living within our means or generating more revenue. We can cut costs and increase revenue without massive debt or "Armageddon".

One simple idea is to increase the state income tax ½ % on those with taxable income over $250,000 per year, or gross income of $400,000. That would generate enough money to disappear this deficit. The people who pay that state tax could turn around and deduct it from their federal income tax! It's fair, because the rich just got huge federal tax cuts! Why can't we do this?

Well, here is the reason. Mr. Brulte threatened any Republican who dares vote yes on an idea like that. He threatened that he will personally go to their districts and campaign against them. When did the state elect him to be the bully?

And here is why he can get away with this childish conduct. Its because it takes 2/3 vote of the legislature to pass a budget and 2/3 to vote for such a tax that would painlessly and easily solve this crisis.

That's where Prop. 56 comes in. Proposition 56 allows a budget to be passed with a 55% vote of the legislature--instead of 67%.

Approving Prop. 56 would remove the axe from the hands of belligerent bullies who want to keep our state in crisis, drowning in red ink, so they have an excuse to cut and privatize all of the services so important to ordinary people--like healthcare, education, transportation, and quality of life.

We can do better for our children and grandchildren than sticking them with our debt. Do not let those who foment fear frighten us into voting them an easy way out.

VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION 57. DON'T DUMP OUR DEBT ON OUR KIDS. VOTE YES ON 56 AND SOLVE THE "CRISIS" WITH WISE BUDGET CUTS AND FAIR TAXES.