Shame

If anyone needed a reason to vote for Prop 25, the abysmal performance, incredible ineptitude, shameful last minute flurry of back room dealings and downright gutless inaction on raising any kind of revenue by our elected officials in Sacramento should be enough of a reason to convince even the most die-hard conservative.
The Legislature took 100 days to pass a budget that pushes billions of dollars worth of problems to the next governor, based their projected shortfall and incoming federal money on a fantasy, and slashed to the bone every social aid program in the state. They could have done this last July.
They suspended a Proposition that was passed by a solid majority of Californians that guarantees funding to schools and will NOT pay out close to $3 Billion dollars to schools already at the breaking point with some of the biggest class sizes in the nation. In three years they have cut almost $25 Billion from education. There is much talk of school reform but without basic funding and public support, reform is a mute issue. Don't blame the teachers when you pack kids into the rooms like sardines, cut 5 days out of the academic year, fire custodial staff and schools become filthy. Give us an even playing field and the money the people of California said we should have before you pass judgement on our abilities.
Prop 25 says that the Legislature must pass a budget in the appointed time or they will NOT get paid for every day it is late. It allows us to pass the general (more on this in a minute) budget with a majority of votes, thereby ending this tyranny of the minority we have experienced for the last 6 years where a handful of politicians can stop any effort by the majority to try something, anything, to fix the problems. It does NOT stop having to have a 2/3 majority for raising taxes. A budget is made up of a bunch of smaller bills and any bill that involves taxes would have to be passed by a 2/3 majority before it became part of the general budget bill.
We witnessed politicians taking vacations, flying to China, and generally doing nothing for 100 days while our state sunk deeper and deeper into despair and uncertainty. It is time to hold their feet to the fire. Pass a budget or pay the price. Yes on 25.