Most Californians are not aware that we will have a special election May 19. Of those who are aware, most don't care and are unlikely to vote. LGBT voters particularly are disinclined to go to the polls again, especially following the election debacle that was Proposition 8. But this election is important to us, and we urge our readers to vote YES on the numerous measures submitted to the voters by the governor and state Legislature.
California is in economic free fall. Unemployment is now over 11 percent, well above the national average. People are losing their homes by the hundreds of thousands. We all have a crisis of confidence, and individual spending is down dramatically. Consequently state revenues are far less than necessary to provide vital services. State government is facing a $42 billion shortfall. To say that we are on the brink of financial collapse would not be an overstatement.
This is important to LGBT voters, just as it is important to all Californians. We rely on state support to fund, in part or in whole, nearly every government service we have come to expect and that we need. Health care services are a prime example. Much of the funding for HIV treatment and services comes through the state. Virtually every nonprofit organization providing services for low income and disadvantaged persons in San Francisco relies on the state for a significant part of its funding from the Positive Resource Center to Meals on Wheels for food delivery to elderly and homebound individuals. We rely on state support for public safety services such as police and firefighters. Roads, freeways, and bridges are maintained by the state. The state bears principal responsibility for environmental protection. The education system is heavily dependent on the state. The list goes on and on. Fewer resources mean fewer vital services.
And when the state government grinds to a halt, as it nearly did in the recent impasse between the governor and the legislature over the state budget, a financial precipice becomes unavoidable. The California Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Legislature to adopt a budget. This increasingly unworkable requirement creates havoc nearly every year with the budget coming in later and later past deadline. This year, however, with the additional impact of the economic meltdown, we have come closer to crisis than ever before. In order to get the votes necessary from the legislature to adopt a budget, all sides, Democrats and Republicans, the governor and the Legislature, had to make compromises that they, and we, find distasteful. These compromises are contained in the six measures on the May 19 ballot. We avoid picking apart each of these measures in detail, as the result would probably be disgust and a recommendation to vote no. So we look at them as what they are: a necessary, however imperfect, solution to a looming state financial crisis that would do far more harm to those most in need if they were not adopted.
In brief, we summarize each measure with our recommendation to vote Yes:
Proposition 1A: Yes. This creates a "rainy day" fund for the state designed to protect against "boom-and-bust" cycles; increases sales tax by 1 cent as well as increasing vehicle license fees and state income tax on highest wage earners.
Proposition 1B: Yes. This requires the state to give $9.3 billion owed to schools making up for current budget cuts. It only goes into effect if Prop 1A passes.
Proposition 1C: Yes. This allows the state to borrow $5 billion against future state lottery sales.
Proposition 1D: Yes. This would redirect money from the tobacco tax to children's health and social services.
Proposition 1E: Yes. This redirects money previous set aside for mental health services to pay for children's health programs.
Proposition 1F: Yes. This would prohibit the state's elected officials from receiving a pay raise whenever California has a budget deficit.
It is time that the budget process mandated by the California Constitution is reformed, so that the machinations required this year will not be part of the process going forward. For this year, however, unfortunately, this was as good a solution as they could agree on. We urge everyone to take the time to vote and to vote yes on each of the six measures submitted.