Re: San Diego UT on Prop 82

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

Governor Schwarzenegger opposes Proposition 82. Any time one of us finds 
himself or herself on the same side as the Governor, we need to look again 
at our reasoning and the potential outcomes of our actions. I like 82 
because I know that in most families with young children both parents are 
working and they scramble to patch together any kind of care for their 
children. A clean safe place with people who have some training in child 
development and will not use the TV as a babysitter is a huge advance. I 
support 82 because my sister is a preschool teacher and I'd like her to 
earn a decent salary. And I support 82 because I am a primary teacher and 
it's so obvious which of our children have had preschool and which have not.

I think Jo Behm is mistaken in seeing the interests of preschool children 
and high school students as opposed to each other. To me, passage of 82 
actually makes it more likely that politicians will have the courage to 
raise taxes on corporations (which is, of course, where the real money is). 
I think the corporate opponents of 82 know that. They aren't funding a 
campaign just to hold down their personal income tax rates.

I kind of enjoyed this editorial from the San Francisco Bay Guardian

*
Proposition 82: Preschool education and higher taxes on the wealthy - YES

A political coalition headed up by actor-director Rob Reiner has been 
pushing Proposition 82, which guarantees universal preschool for California 
four-year-olds. The case is strong: A wide range of studies show that 
attending quality preschool is a strong indicator of future academic success.

But what's at least as important about Prop. 82 is its funding mechanism: a 
1.7 percent tax on individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making 
more than $800,000. That would be good in itself, restoring incomes taxes 
to where they were when the state had adequate funding for education. 
Naturally, that provision has triggered an opposition campaign led by 
antitax zealots like the Gap's Fisher family.

So with a yes vote, you can offer preschool to all California children, tax 
the rich (who actually won't be hurt much because they can write off state 
taxes on their federal income taxes), and take a stand against Don Fisher. 
That's a no-brainer.

At 09:15 PM 6/5/2006 -0700, Rich Gibson wrote:
> It seems to me that Defending Public Schools and Opposing Prop 82 is 
> contradictory. Perhaps someone can explain why it is not.





It's hard to be activist, but it's also very rewarding to feel that you are 
part of the active citizenry who dare to attempt to change the world.

In attempting to effect change, you have all other like-minded individuals 
who will carry on with the struggle, generation after generation.

Abolition, independence, universal suffrage, gay-lesbian movements, 
etc.--they all took decades and even centuries and the world of 1776 has 
been changed to something which is totally unrecognizable in a little over 
200 years! History is on the side of those who try to change.

We may be fighting the uphill battle, but surely not a losing one.

- Zarni, founder of the Free Burma Coalition and professor at National 
Louis University in Chicago