Vanesa Miranda Miranda
1
Instructor Knapp
English 1A
29 September 2012
Proposition 30
California could be responsible for stupefying it's children. Education
is indispensable; it goes hand in hand with opportunity and success. This years'
election will determine the future of California's education system. Prop 30 will aid in the funding of California's schools. Voting 'yes' on prop 30 is the only way to
ensure that our public does not fall behind in their education. If prop 30 does
not pass, K-12 schools, community colleges and public safety will lose funding
by $6 billion. California is already in debt and with an economy that fails to
provide a sufficient amount of funding we can not afford to lose more.
In
the article,
Prop 30 Would Hurt State Economic
Prospects, the author argues that the tax increase would have negative
affects on high income earners and small businesses. They claim that if the
prop passes more people will move out of
California
to other states where they would pay less in taxes." In the last four
years alone,
California has lost
2,500 employers and 109,000 jobs to other states, according to a report by the
American
Legislative Exchange Council, a trend underscored by the recent
pullout of
Campbell Soup Co.
and Comcast Corp. from
Sacramento.
Proposition 30 would further harm the business climate." If the prop
passes
California could be at
risk of losing tax payers and small businesses might move as a result, but it
does not mean that everyone will stop
paying their taxes and the entire state of California
will not run away across the country. On the contrary, the more people that are
educated the better off small businesses will be. The success of running a
small business is determined by education itself. Educated and skilled workers
are the fundamentals of a thriving business and prop 30 enforces this.
In
addition, Prop 30 could actually save many jobs by preventing layoffs.
Protection and safety is crucial. Public safety includes all firefighters,
social services, police, and prisons. They face cuts that can leave many firefighters
and police without jobs. Passing prop 30 would fund rehabilitation services for
those who are convicted of drug charges. Instead of jailing these offenders they
would have the option of going to rehab. Thus, helping solve the problem of
overcrowding in jails and prisons. How can our public be safe if we lack the
very people whose jobs were created to protect us?
Furthermore, Prop 30 increases income tax on the rich by 1%-3% for seven years. Who
exactly qualifies as rich? Anyone who makes more than $250,000 annually
qualifies as rich. Those who make less than $250,000 annually would see no tax
increase. Sales tax would also be increased for 4 years by 1/4 of a percent. It
will generate $8.5 billion in the first year and $5-7 billion each year after.
Also, people who make $1 million dollars annually would be taxed an additional
1%. It's only fair for those who make equal to or more than $1million annually
to be taxed more. Yes, the rich do work for what they have, but they are also
capable of paying a little extra.
Consequently,
CSU tuition is up more than 300% in the past decade and will
continue to rise due to cuts. If prop 30 doesn't pass CSU
would get cut up to $250 million and tuition could go up $150. According to the
Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, Community Colleges depend on the state's
general fund and local property taxes by 60%. The rest they receive from local
property taxes and tuition fees. If prop 30 doesn't pass community colleges
will be cut an additional 7.3%. Not only will it be difficult for the students
that are trying to further their education but it will also be hard on the
teachers and staff who depend on the schools as employment. Layoffs will
increase and the shortage of teachers will lead to larger class sizes. Tutoring
services and office hours will also decrease, making it difficult for students
to receive the fair amount of help they need.
As a
result, American public schools are falling behind in comparison to other
countries around the world. Many
European countries offer multiple language studies and begin teaching their
students up to three foreign languages at a time. By the time they reach the
equivalent of maybe 12th grade they are already fluent in more than two
languages. Most K-12 offer at least one or two foreign languages and only teach
about four years of it which is only enough to be able to comprehend the basics
of the language. But learning foreign languages is only a thin slice of what
our public education system is falling behind in but, there are multiple other
things the system need to work on. Electives and physical education classes
have already been cut and many of our teachers have been left unemployed due to
these cuts too. If prop 30 does not pass, additional classes will be cut and
will force students into already over sized class rooms. Studies show that with
smaller class sizes students learn better. How can we give students the best
education possible if their class rooms are double the normal size? Not only is
it difficult for the students but the teachers as well.
It is my
third semester at Cabrillo College and already I'm behind in my education because of over
sized classes. I tried to register for five classes and was wait listed for
three of them. I was forced to drop two classes because of the number of
students that were wait listed. I was fortunate enough to get into math after
about two weeks of regular attendance enough people had dropped so that I had a
spot. About ten people could not get in. It is a constant competition now to
try and get into classes when even the online classes are not available because
they are full. Tutoring services at Cabrillo for math and English have also
been cut making it more difficult for students who these services unavailable
or limited.
A nation
without education is a nation without privilege. It's logical to say that those
who have higher educations succeed economically more than those who have no education
at all. Society trusts that people who hold degrees in a certain fields are
experts in what they have learned and are able to execute what they know
without errors.. Nobody would trust a clinical psychologist to diagnose a
mental disorder without a certified degree in psychology. Coincidentally,
people who have any degree at all have higher incomes. There is a direct
correlation between education and rates of crime and violence. The higher
the education the less crime and violence there is. We
associate education with the ability to think critically and use logical reasoning
before anything else. Taking the first step to a
higher education is a loose guarantee to an economic
foundation. A person's economic status should not dictate whether or not they
should be able to further their education. If you are a registered voter you
have the privilege of changing California's education system by voting yes on prop 30 because,
everyone can benefit from being smart.
