The Sly Cruelty of Right Wing Politics

Here's a bit from a blog on Discover magazine by John Conway, physics professor at UC Davis. He is talking about the effects of the budget shortfall in California on the California educational system, specifically the University of California system of universities:

Anyway, things simmered along during the summer, with anger building steadily. The walkout was planned about a month ago, and has really caught fire now. But then, last week UC President Yudof, faced with the spectre of even deeper cuts next year (when federal stimulus money for the state of California runs out), and a continuation of the “fiscal emergency” he declared into the next academic year all but certain, he announced plans to dramatically increase student fees by 30%, to over $10,000 per year for the first time ever, in addition to the 9.3% increase pushed through in May to help close the budget gap.

Ultimately, we all realize that the budget problems we face stem from the poor economy coupled with the effects of Proposition 13, passed over 30 years ago. By requiring a 2/3 majority in the state legislature to pass budget actions, it has led to a tyranny of the minority, a minority of, yes, Republicans who simply will not accept any new tax no matter what it does to the future of the state. Prop 13 caps property taxes at 1% of assessed value of a home, and caps the rate at which that value can rise to 2% per year, unless the house is sold. Clearly in a housing market that saw huge increases past decades, with far faster increases than 2%, this has led to enormous inequities in tax rates. For example, though my neighbors across the street have a house worth about what ours is, they pay about a quarter of what we do in taxes. This has benefitted the elderly greatly, and was a strong motivation for Prop 13 originally, but it has hamstrung the ability of both the state and local governments to support education, both K-12 and higher education.

We, as a state, are eating our seed corn. The University of California and the California State University systems are a tremendous engine for both long and short term economic growth.

My mind boggles at the American obsession with not paying taxes. It goes back to tossing boxes of tea into Boston harbour. Sure, everybody hates taxes, but in any civilized society the citizens recognize the need to pay into a common kitty to provide the infrastructure and services that make a civilized life possible. But not Americans.

The horrors that Proposition 13 has created are obvious to everyone but the fanatical right.

The radicalism of "Live Free or Die!" still lives in the political body of the US. It is corroding the society from within but seemingly people of good will can't fix it because the infection is deeply internalized. Sad.