Proposition 100 Passes

Proposition 100 Passes

My first reaction was WOW. I could not believe that it passed by such a large margin. I kept going back and forth over this. I do believe that education can be a great equalizer. Equalizing opportunity for the rising generation.

I did vote no because I truly felt like it was best. I do believe that reform can cause more dollars to be spent in the classroom. I feel like we were going in the direction of bankrupt California. Not that this was going to be the last straw but that it was one of a thousand cuts to drain us financially.

Anyway, I accept what the voters have chosen. I am happy that it has a constitutional expiration date. It will be interesting to see if this really will be for only 3 years. I expect a campain in 3 years of "Yes on X, not a new tax" campaign. I hope we take this opportunity to reform education and make it more efficient.

Vote Tomorrow on Proposition 100, AZ Sale Tax Increase

Tomorrow we vote as a state whether or not we increase our state sales tax by 1% for a constitutionally limited 3 years. Regardless of how you vote, you should make an informed decision.

I have found some other information concerning Proposition 100 that we are voting on tomorrow. See also my previous post on Prop 100.

ABC 15 has a news piece about it. Click on "Governor Brewer, Byron Schlomach discuss Prop. 100" on this page. Following are some notes I took on the video.

0:00 - 0:20

ABC 15 News intro to story on Proposition 100

0:20 - 2:35 (2 min 15 sec)

Interview with Governor Jan Brewer who wants us to vote for Proposition 100

Stats from Jan Brewer:

2.2 billion cut out of the 1/3 we are able to cut

2/3 we are not able to cut because of mandate from voters and Federal government

2:35 - 3:25 (2 min 50 sec)

Some time spent on AZ Senate Bill 1070

3:25 - 5:25 (2 min 0 sec)

"Never voted for a tax increase" Jan Brewer

5:25 - 8:29 (2 min 56 sec)

Interview with Byron Slomac of The Goldwater Institute who wants us to vote no on Proposition 100

"1 billion dollars out of the private sector in to the public sector"

"We have nearly one non-teacher for every teacher in our schools right now"

I would like to see a graph or chart that shows what is in that mandated 2/3 of the budget and what is in the remaining third. The point about there being nearly 1 non-teacher for every teach also stood out to me.

I also found "Sales tax vote would solve only one-third of Arizona’s budget deficit" from the Tuscon Citizen.

An article from ASU's site seemed to indicate that the budget passed that includes the sales tax increase accounts for the other 2 billion in shortfall. ("Arizona's Budget Crisis: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going?" from ASU's W. P. Carey school)

This new information has not changed my vote. I am still planning to vote no tomorrow.

Tax brackets over the past century

From flowingdata.com. I would like to see actual tax return data that included all the tax credits and such.

Anthem

Here is "Anthem" as sung by Tommy Korberg from the musical Chess.

Tommy introduces the song like this, "It's a song of praise to his old country. At the same time he's not happy with what his country has become. It has a great deal to do with longing"

Lyrics

No man, no madness

Though their sad power may prevail

Can possess, conquer, my country's heart

They rise to fail

She is eternal

Long before nations' lines were drawn

When no flags flew, when no armies stood

My land was born

And you ask me why I love her

Through wars, death and despair

She is the constant, we who don't care

And you wonder will I leave her - but how?

I cross over borders but I'm still there now

How can I leave her?

Where would I start?

Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart

My land's only borders lie around my heart

Why I am voting no on Proposition 100, the Arizona Sales Tax Increase

I am planning to vote no on Proposition 100 coming up on the May 18 election. I cannot believe that all avenues have been explored to balance the budget. I cannot believe that adding a tax will help speed up the recovery of jobs in Arizona.

See ballotpedia for a write-up of both sides of the issue.

What you you all think?

--Update 5-5-2010--

A couple more links

http://www.noprop100.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-on-Prop-100/107608792611918

There are two video links here and one hours long audio one.

Here is one of the videos that hit me strongly.

--Update 5-11-2010--

Deciding how to vote on this proposition has been the hardest to decide in a very long time. I have 7 children in the public education system and two more that will be. I want the best education possible. I am pretty settled on voting no for the following reasons.

Washington DC has one of the highest per student spending in the country and among the worst results.

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2008/04/07/the-real-cost-of-public-schools/

Maybe a better solution would be to cut out the education middleman.

http://goldwaterinstitute.org/article/2810

Since the passing of proposition 301 in 2000, a smaller percentage of education money actually gets to the classroom.

http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/4575

"If passed, Arizona would have the 5th highest sales tax rate in the country" http://www.noprop100.com/

Even if the tax expires in three years, it will put the brakes on a not so vibrant AZ economy. I think there are better ways to reform the system to cut out waste and still produce excellent students.

--Update 5-13-2010--

My friend Jen is on the School Board for Dysart School District. I called her this morning after a few emails back and forth. I wanted to understand her position well. She is for proposition 100. I respect Jen. She has worked hard for 1 1/2 years on the board.

To me it has come down to what will cause the least short term harm, because both ways will cause that. What will cause the greatest long term good?

By voting no, I will not put a brake on the recovery of the Arizona economy. Ronald Regan reduced taxes in the 80s and increased tax revenue. See the Wikipedia article on the Laffer curve and some videos explaining it.

The Laffer Curve, Part I: Understanding the Theory

The Laffer Curve, Part II: Reviewing the Evidence

The Laffer Curve, Part III: Dynamic Scoring

I am also very concerned that we do not go the same direction as California and Washington state. They have increased tax so much and are not willing to cut to have a balanced budget.

Also by voting no, more teachers will be laid off, class sizes will increase, some computer of other resources may not get replaced.

By voting no, I will provide a greater chance for reform in the school funding formula so that the full amount of funds per student follow the student. Perhaps there can be a reduction in administrative costs at schools so that more money gets to the classroom. I will not hinder the recovery of the Arizona economy.