Tax Initiatives: Proposition 30

“Proposition 30”

Proposition 30 (prop 30 or SB11) is supported by the schools and local public safety protection Act of 2012. Prop 30 is a tax initiative led by California governor Jerry Brown. Prop 30 is aimed at reducing forecasted budget cuts to public schools also higher education, by increasing the California sales tax from 7.25% to 7.50%for the next four years. It also will create three new tax brackets for taxable incomes. Incomes exceeding $250,000, $300,000 and $500,000 will pay more in taxes for the next seven years. With the extra money being saved will go towards adding more classes for higher education students. Also to help reduce California’s state budget, prop 30 should raise $6 billion annually form raised taxes.

If Prop 30 was a around when I graduated from high school I would of went to college right away. Prop 30 would of provided more classes for students to attend instead I decided to go a different for a few years. Plus college was out of my budget at the time. So I decided to join the merchant marines, which allowed me to make good money and save for college. I was in the merchant marines for 5 ½ years. With more classes and lower tuition I believe you would see more people choose to further their higher education instead of working a dead end job.

Conservatives believe that prop 30 is unconstitutional. Californians will endure the biggest tax hike in years. Tax payers will cough up $6 billion annually to fund the education expense. Michelle Steele states “Prop 30 won’t fix our schools or stabilize the state budget; it will increase tax volatility and leave our children facing more of the same debt” (Steele). You can’t make a judgment like that till has been in effect for a few years Michelle Steele ...

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...e able lower tuition because of prop 30.

Before prop 30 was in affect students were going different directions. Students are taking up careers that don’t require a higher education degree. Its not just tuition that is holding people back from attending higher education, it’s the lack of classes which are one a first come basis. With prop 30 it puts more people in classes. Jessika Jones believes "Affordability of higher education was a problem even before the state’s current budget crisis. But with recent budget cuts, the situation is worsening. Students and their families are taking on higher debt, and costs may deter students from attending college"(Jones). Students are taking up an apprenticeship which leads to pretty decent careers. Because college tuition is so expensive and less classes this drops college reputation as well as their graduation rate.