Modesto Bee recommendatons: Fix state, don't wreck it

Put frustrations with government aside Tuesday and pass propositions

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

Tuesday is a big day for California as voters weigh in on a series of six propositions aimed at addressing the state's financial crisis.

So big a day, in fact, that the outcome of the election could be the most crucial in a decade.

As we wrote earlier, if voters choose wisely, they could help close the state's ever-growing budget deficit, an essential step for selling bonds, investing in public works, maintaining critical services and helping stimulate the struggling economy.

On the other hand, a knee-jerk reaction could plunge the state into a financial tailspin that would force even deeper cuts to education, public safety, health and welfare and other essential services, and further damage the economy, throwing more people out of work and driving more businesses to bankruptcy.

The latter scenario is a real possibility, as most opinion polls show the propositions on Tuesday's ballot heading for defeat.

Such an outcome would be unfortunate, although somewhat understandable.

Californians in general are frustrated and fed up with how Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have handled the state's financial crisis. They see Tuesday's election as a classic case of passing the buck, with the governor and lawmakers forcing the voters to do a job that should have been done in Sacramento. They have come to that belief honestly and understandably, given the complexity of the issues.

But this notion is being fed cynically -- and, we believe, inaccurately -- by liberal and conservative opponents alike, from powerful state employee unions to anti-tax zealots.

There's no doubt that state government has been poorly managed by Republicans and Democrats, but there's nothing to be gained from finger-pointing. If you think allowing the state to go off the financial cliff is the way to go, you're living in a fool's world.

Solving the state's crisis -- and more important, setting it up for future success -- requires major step-by-step changes to the way government works. In California, those kinds of changes require the consent of voters, which is what Tuesday is all about.

Proposition 1A would lock a spending limit into the state constitution; since only the voters have the power to change the constitution, 1A must be on the ballot. The next four measures -- Propositions 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E -- would change measures the voters previously approved.

Here are our recommendations on the six propositions. We offer them not to tell you how to vote, but simply to offer our perspective, reached after carefully studying the pros and cons of each measure, and the potential impact of passage or rejection on our state's precarious financial situation.

Proposition 1A would implement a spending cap based on the average revenue growth over the previous 10 years, with any revenues above that level going into a surplus "rainy day" fund. Proposition 1A would extend by one or two years the taxes imposed in February on retail sales, vehicles and income. We recommend a "Yes" vote.

Proposition 1B would change the state's education funding law, approved by voters under Proposition 98 in 1988. Proposition 1B would require the state in 2011 to begin paying $9.3 billion in makeup funds to local school districts. We strongly support funding for public education, but this measure would create a spending formula that cannot be sustained. This kind of ballot-box budgeting is part of the reason that we're in the current fix. We recommend a "No" vote.

Proposition 1C would allow the state to borrow against future earnings from a revamped lottery. We're not fans of a lottery, but since Californians approved it, we believe the state should get more out of it. We recommend a "Yes" vote.