California Election Endorsements: The Propositions

We Californians have an election coming up next Tuesday, and I know I've been falling down on the job of covering it. In truth, I've had a very hard time focusing on them. Still, I know literally dozens of people...well, figuratively dozens of people are waiting breathlessly for the official If I Ran the Zoo endorsements. So here goes.

Proposition 81: Yes. This is a $600 million bond issue to match local funding to build libraries. This seems like a no-brainer to me. One enduring legacy of the poisonous Proposition 13 is that local libraries have been eviscerated. The ideal of free access to information for everyone is essential to a democratic society.

And if that's not enough, look at the opposition. Sample sentence from the argument against: "We should not spend $9 billion a year on welfare for illegal aliens, and then borrow money for libraries." Also, the argument against is signed by the thoroughly odious Lew Uhler (more here).

Proposition 82: Yes. This one imposes a small tax on the highest income brackets, and uses the proceeds to provide preschool for everyone. This is a little trickier; I am all in favor of universal preschool, but I think there are some flaws in this one. The Chronicle endorsement is for a no vote, and while some of their points are silly or trivial (e.g., they have a problem with taxing the wealthy to provide benefits for all--huh?), but they do make some good points: the bulk of the benefit will go to middle-class parents who already pay for preschool; the requirement that preschool teachers be certified could aggravate an existing teacher shortage; if revenue falls short, tuition could be charged. Still, on balance, I think it's well worth doing.

I'll get to the candidates in a couple of days...certainly by a week from Friday or so.

[That's all, folks]