Proposal #2

Gender stereotypes in media create unrealistic views of the ideal man or woman.

Final Draft

California is facing a serious budget problem. According to the California Budget, there is a 15.7 billion dollar shortage for Governor Jerry Brown to cover.  Because over fifty percent of the budget goes to education, California’s schools are facing large cuts to their funding. This is coming at a time when the schools have been dealing with years of budget cuts and are already struggling to operate. The Governor’s plan to balance the budget hinges on passing Proposition 30. Proposition 30 is an income tax increase for California’s wealthiest citizens. Those making over 250,000 dollars will have a scaling tax increase of 1-3%. The state sales tax will also be increased by .25 percent. The Governor estimates that this will bring in 8.5 billion dollars in revenue. This matched with 8.1 billion in cuts from all areas of the budget will allow Governor Brown to balance the budget. If Proposition 30 is not passed, the Governor has put in place a set of trigger cuts. These trigger cuts will automatically cut 5.6 billion from education spending. This will result in K-12 losing three weeks of classes and higher education being forced to cut classes and increase tuition. This is too devastating to allow. The education system is what has made California great, and it should be supported by passing proposition 30.

Proposition 30 requires the richest people in California to fund our schools. Prop 30 will get 90 percent of its estimated revenue by raising the income tax on the rich. It does this by creating new tax brackets at 250,000; 300,000; and 500,000. Taxes will increase 1 percent between 250 and 300 thousand, 2 percent between 300 and 500 thousand, and 3 percent over 500 thousand. For example, someone making 500,000 dollars would have to pay 4,500 dollars in new state taxes. It is not an insignificant amount of money, but it can be afforded. According to an article in Forbes, “Even though it means higher tax bills, more California billionaires have donated to support Prop. 30 than oppose it.” Many of the people that have succeeded here in California realize that the state needs their help. They recognize the importance of education and public safety. Many of them owe their success to a quality education. It is reasonable to expect them to help continue the high level of education that has been expected here in California.

Opponents of the proposition say that the tax increases are just a band aid solution to California’s money management problems. They argue that the bill offers no reform to cut spending and that the money is not guaranteed to go to schools. The state government has a history of financial mishaps, and it has caused the public to lose faith in them. Recently, 54 million dollars of unreported money was found in the state parks department. This was outrageous because it came at a time when the state was threatening to close parks. People were donating money to save parks that may not have been needed to be saved. Also, the government did not collect enough money from the federal government to clean up the oil spill in the San Francisco bay. Voters have no faith in the government to manage the money correctly. Nine out of the last ten bills that tried to increase taxes were not passed. However, in this case, Proposition 30 is necessary. The schools have already been cut so much that they cannot handle further cuts. For example, Cabrillo College has cut 400 classes and lost 47 full time faculty positions since 2008. If the bill is not passed, Cabrillo will lose the equivalent of one in thirteen classes. The tax increase will only last for seven years. Over those seven years the schools will be able to function as they were before the cuts. Eighty nine percent of the funds are guaranteed for K-12 education and the remaining 11 percent is guaranteed to higher education. It is true that this allows movement of general funds to other departments. The argument that the bill helps fund things besides education is true. The new revenue will allow money from the general fund to be used to fund public safety. However, the increased revenue will increase the required spending on education due to Proposition 98. On top of the required spending, 17 billion over the next four years is also going to the schools. Without that money the schools and the students will suffer. California needs to be able to educate its people.

Many people that oppose the bill argue that it will hurt the economy. Small business owners are especially worried about paying more taxes during this recession. They are already struggling and any more might be too much to handle. It is not an easy decision to raise taxes, but I believe it will help the economy in the long run. Education is vitally important to the economy. The more educated a person is the more employable they are. In “Education and Job Requirements: The Great Mismatch”, by Nate Berg, it is stated that, “The overall unemployment picture in metro areas gets a lot worse when the workforce's educational background doesn't match up with the requirements of employers.” He also writes that 43 percent of the job openings require at least a bachelor’s degree. By funding our schools we will be able to create employable people. Lowering unemployment will improve the economy, and small businesses will succeed in the long run.

I urge everyone to vote yes on Proposition 30. If the bill is not passed California schools will continue to decline. We will no longer be able to be proud of one of the best school systems in the world. On the other hand, if it passes, it will allow California’s schools to continue to operate to the best of their ability. The state will use the money to spend 17 billion dollars over mandated spending on education over the next 4 years. K-12 will not be shortened three weeks and higher education will not have to raise tuition and cut classes. The wealthiest citizens of California can afford to support our future. Vote yes this November to get California back on track.

Rough Draft

California is facing a serious budget problem. According to the California Budget, there is a 15.7 billion dollar shortage for Governor Jerry Brown to cover.  Because over fifty percent of the budget goes to education, California’s schools are facing large cuts. This is coming at a time when the schools have been dealing with years of budget cuts and are already struggling to operate. The Governor’s plan to balance the budget hinges on the passing of his bill, Proposition 30. Proposition 30 is an income tax increase for California’s wealthiest. Those making over 250,000 dollars, or couples making over 500,000; will have a scaling tax increase of 1-3%. The state sales tax will also be increased by .25 percent. The Governor estimates that this will bring in 8.5 billion dollars in revenue. This matched with 8.1 billion in cuts from all areas of the budget will allow Governor Brown to balance the budget. If Proposition 30 is not passed, the Governor has put in place a set of “trigger cuts”. These trigger cuts will automatically cut 5.6 billion from education spending. This will result in K-12 losing three weeks of classes and higher education being forced to cut classes and increase tuition. This is too devastating to allow. The education system is what has made California great, and it should be supported by passing proposition 30.

Proposition 30 is calling on the richest people in California to fund our schools. Prop 30 will get ninety percent of its estimated revenue by raising the income tax on the rich. It does this by creating new tax brackets at 250,000; 300,000; and 500,000. Taxes will increase 1 percent between 250 and 300 thousand, 2 percent between 300 and 500 thousand, and 3 percent over 500 thousand. Someone making 500,000 dollars would have to pay 4,500 dollars in new state taxes. It is not an insignificant amount of money, but it can be afforded. Many of the top earners owe their success to education. It is reasonable to expect them to help continue the high level of education that has been expected here in California. The sales tax increase will not be noticeable for the average person. A hundred dollar purchase will only be charged 25 more cents in tax. This slight increase will provide 10 percent of the expected revenue. This is approximately the amount that will go to community colleges.

California voters are very hesitant to pass tax increases. We already have some of the highest state taxes in the nation. Nine out of the last ten bills that tried to increase taxes were not passed. The state government also has a history of bad money management. Recently 54 million dollars of unreported money was found in the state parks department. This was outrageous because it came at a time when the state was threatening to close parks. People were donating money to save parks that may not have been needed to be saved. The government also did not collect enough money from the federal government to clean up the oil spill in the San Francisco bay. Voters have no faith in the government to manage the money correctly. Proposition 30 will go to support the schools though. Eighty nine percent is guaranteed for K-12 education and the remaining 11 percent is guaranteed to higher education. It is true that this allows movement of general funds to other departments. The argument that the bill helps fund things besides education is true. However, the schools will have 5.4 billion less dollars than if the bill is passed. Without that money the schools and the students will suffer. California needs to be able to educate its people.

Opponents of the bill say that the taxes will hurt businesses. In the struggling economy, every dollar counts. When people are unable to find jobs it does not help that business owners will have less money to pay them. However, education is vitally important to the economy. Educated people are much more employable than the uneducated. This is shown in the drastic increase in average income of people with even just an associate’s degree. Most of the job openings in this economy require education. If our education system is hurt it will hurt the economy. By educating people to fill the jobs it will improve the economy and help us get out of the recession.

I urge everyone to vote yes on Proposition 30. If the bill is not passed California schools will continue to decline. We will no longer be able to be proud of one of the best school systems in the world. On the other hand, if it passes, it will allow California’s schools to continue to operate to the best of their ability. The state will use the money to spend 17 billion dollars over mandated spending on education over the next 4 years. K-12 will not be shortened three weeks and higher education will not have to raise tuition. Important courses will not be cut. The wealthiest citizens of California can afford to support our future. Vote yes this November to balance the budget.

Annotated Bibliographies

Skelton, George. "CAPITOL JOURNAL; Taxes just Part of Picture; Voter Perceptions and Pensions also Tie into Brown's Push for Prop. 30." Los Angeles Times: 2. Aug 30 2012. National Newspapers Core. Web. 25 Sep. 2012

I like this article because it takes a critical look at governor Brown's proposed tax increase. It gives information showing that there is more to the proposition than just the schools. Also, that Californians are having trouble trusting the government with their tax dollars. All though the author is critical, he seems to make reasonable claims. He does not seem like he is completely biased against the governor.


Rivera, Carla. "CALIFORNIA; CSU OKs a what-if Tuition Hike; the Increase would Take Effect if State Voters Reject the Prop. 30 Tax Measure." Los Angeles Times: 3. Sep 20 2012. National Newspapers Core. Web. 25 Sep. 2012 

This is a good article because it shows what will happen if Prop 30 is not passed. It gives perspective on potential consequences of not voting for it. This can be useful if I decide to argue in support of the bill. It gives concrete evidence which is good for arguments using logos.

York, Anthony. "A Tax Plan's Strange Bedfellows; Brown Dropped some Ideas Voters Prefer in Order to Gain Business' Support for Prop. 30." Los Angeles Times: 1. Aug 27 2012. National Newspapers Core. Web. 25 Sep. 2012

This article was interesting because it showed who Brown was getting to support him. It may not have a lot of useful information on the proposition itself,  but it shows that there is support for the bill from unlikely sources.

I am

I am a student. I am studying English. Unfortunately, I have no gift for writing. Writing is difficult for me. I have avoided it as much as possible, but it is an important requirement for all fields of education. However, there is another important aspect of this class, critical thinking. I believe I have been gifted with the ability to think critically. I enjoy analyzing both sides of a topic. I look forward to developing good arguments on whatever topics are discussed in this class.