SO WHO IS TO BLAME?

The Regents? Yudof? The Dems? The GOP? Arnold?

Scapegoats!

In truth, we’re set up to fail by…

California’s broken system

of government.
PROBLEM 1: TAX RULES
HANDCUFF LAWMAKERS

 California needs tax revenue: California’s 2009-2010

budget gap is the third largest in the country.

 Due to Prop. 13, we don’t get any from property taxes:

Proposition 13 (1978) denies California property tax revenues
that other states use to fund core social services, like higher
education. (Because Prop 13 keeps property taxes very low, it
is very popular with voters despite the problems it creates.)

 As a result, we get all our revenue from income/sales

taxes: California is forced to rely heavily on income and
sales taxes, which decline rapidly in recessions.

 Prop. 13 also makes it impossible to raise new taxes:

Proposition 13 requires a 2/3 supermajority to raise taxes.
PROBLEM 2: CA’S UNIQUELY
DYSFUNCTIONAL DEMOCRACY
So you've got a huge budget shortfall. Times are tough all over, right?
Yes, but no state government is as screwy as California's:

 Gerrymandering. Politicians have gerrymandered our legislative districts to the

point where they are far left or far right. Inevitably, our politicians represent the
margins.
 Term limits. California kicks lawmakers out of the Senate in eight years and out
of the Assembly in six. That means no one has the time to get to know the other
side of the aisle. Coalitions = impossible.
 The initiative system. People make crazy laws! Initiatives in California “lock in
spending,” “lock out” spending, and create unfunded mandates.

So you've got politicians who are completely different politically, and who don't know
each other personally. You hand them a huge budget mess, layer on some crazy
mandates created by initiatives, and basically prohibit the raising of new revenues.

And then you really get crazy…

PROBLEM 3:
IT’S THE SUPERMAJORITY, STUPID

And then you say,

“Get two-thirds of you to

agree to a budget, or no one
leaves the room.”

As UC Berkeley political science

Professor Henry Brady says,
"California has created an ungovernable state."
SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENTS ARE
ANTI-DEMOCRATIC
It’s Undemocratic: This is a Different California:
Simple majority decision- The constitutional provision that
making is the foundation of requires a 2/3 vote for passing a
American democracy. When we budget dates back to 1933 when
think of national ideals, we the population of CA was less
don’t think of minority rule. than 6 million people. Back then,
California resembled the
Minnesota of today.

Only Two VERY Different The Legislative Minority has a

States Have Such a Rule:
Arkansas and Rhode Island,
both small and homogeneous
states, have supermajority
voting requirements like ours.
De Facto Veto:
A minority of lawmakers control
spending decisions in California.

Source: California Department of Finance, Demographic Research Unit

SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENTS
HURT HIGHER EDUCATION
Case Study A: Case Study B:
Who the Supermajority Who the Supermajority
Hurts – Higher Education Helps - The Prison Lobby

Compromises made to meet the 2/3rds  The Prison Guards‘ Union is one of the
requirement in last year’s budget (just 2 most powerful special interests in the
Senate votes and 4 Assembly votes): state. It is tight with the minority.
$1.2bn for Higher Ed. Traded Away
 Criminal justice spending up:
The majority tried to cut $1.2 billion from
Just 6% in 1985, 14% today.
the prison system in last year's budget,
as requested by the Governor, much of
 Higher education spending down:
which would have been funneled to higher
16% in 1985, just 11% today.
education. They were thwarted.
Special Interest Bargains  The Prison Guards’ Union contributed
The majority was forced to agree to more over $2M in 2005 to defeat Arnold’s
than $2 billion in special interest initiative to reform the prison system
corporate tax breaks at the last minute. and decrease prison spending.
These giveaways never would have been
included in a majority vote budget.

Source: UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies, Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice