Prop. 29’s big bump in the tax on cigarettes
Not a dime will go to state’s struggling schools Let’s fund cancer studies, reduce smoking
California’s ability to thrive in the future depends on our ability to provide our kids a first-rate education today. We so recognize education’s importance that in 1988, we passed Proposition 98, a constitutional amendment guaranteeing schools a percentage of state funding.
Unfortunately, California’s budget — and schools — are in dire straits. Not only has school funding been cut $20 billion over the past four years, but Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing an additional $4.8 billion cut to K-12 education spending this year.
You would think that any measure raising new tax revenue would put at least some funding toward our struggling schools. You’d be wrong.
Proposition 29, a $735 million tax increase on the June 5 ballot, doesn’t put a dime toward education.
This initiative, written by career politician Don Perata, circumvents Prop. 98’s protections, shortchanging schools $300 million-plus annually. Instead of paying for existing programs or fixing our budget deficit, Prop. 29 creates a new state commission filled with political appointees who can spend $110 million yearly on office space and facilities, plus an additional $15 million on consultants, salaries and travel. Prop. 29 allows our tax dollars to be spent out of state, meaning taxpayers would be paying to create jobs in other states and countries.
If this kind of ballot-box bureaucracy sounds familiar, it’s because Californians have a history with well-intentioned but flawed initiatives that have cost the state dearly:
Prop. 10, passed in 1998 — Audits have shown several First Five commissions to be overstaffed, mismanaged and wasting money on items such as giant fish statues, while doling out contracts to groups that employ its own board members.
Prop. 71, passed in 2004 — The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine promised voters groundbreaking stem-cell research. To date, it has grossly overpaid employees and given out $930 million to institutions directly connected to its board.
Prop. 1A, passed in 2008 — The High-speed Rail Authority has burned through hundreds of millions of dollars but is years away from laying a single track. Recent polling shows most voters would stop the project if given the chance.
Prop. 29 ignores these ballotbox errors and asks voters to do it again. We all agree cancer research and tobacco prevention — the measure’s stated goals — are important. That’s why the federal government spends $6 billion annually on cancer research and California funds $70 million of antitobacco programs every year.
But given our tough fiscal straits, we should be streamlining expenditures, not duplicating them.
When you look at the fine print, it’s clear Prop. 29 lacks accountability, oversight and strict controls to ensure our money is spent wisely. This measure directs money away from our schools. That’s something Californians should be able to say no to very easily.
Of course you support cancer research. Of course you know that smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in California. That’s why you need to support Proposition 29, the initiative on the June ballot that will charge those who buy cigarettes an extra buck a pack. You know the California Legislature doesn’t have the guts to do it. In the past decade, 47 other states have increased this lifesaving tax — but not California. Its pioneering tobacco tax of 87 cents a pack ranks 33rd.
On June 5 — or earlier if you vote by mail — you’ll have a chance to cast a vote that might save a life. Prop. 29 certainly will have an immediate effect on the health of hundreds of thousands of Californians. How? We know that every time we raise the cost of tobacco products, thousands of people quit. We also know that increasing the price is the single most effective way to prevent teenagers from taking up the deadly habit.
The revenues raised will be used to fund lifesaving research, which might lead to cures. Everyone is in favor of finding cures for cancer, right? No.
Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds have started their media blitz against Prop. 29. Soon you won’t be able to turn on your television or tune into your favorite radio show, or even go to your mailbox, without hearing claims by Big Tobacco.
First they sent the taxpayers association — forgetting to tell us that the California Taxpayers Association has a history of accepting money from Big Tobacco.
Then they used a doctor in their television spot. She’s the same doctor who opposed the last tobacco tax. This time she says “she started out as a supporter” of the initiative. Really? We seriously doubt that, given her past role as a spokeswoman for Big Tobacco.
And now Big Tobacco is trying to confuse voters with spurious charges of “out of state” spending, concerns about schools and teachers and the argument that none of this money will go for treatment. The fact is, the only way to deliver new treatments from the labs to the doctor’s office is through sustained funding of cancer research.
Don’t be fooled by Big Tobacco’s smoke screen: Prop. 29 won’t hurt schools — in fact, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and the state Parent-teacher Association support Prop. 29 because they know it will keep kids from smoking.
Prop. 29 isn’t about creating bureaucracies, or employing politicians. It’s not even about a tax on all Californians. It’s about life, and if you don’t smoke, you don’t pay.
Big Tobacco knows that if 29 passes, more people will quit smoking and Big Tobacco’s profits will plummet.
You know whom to trust here: Prop 29 was written by the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association. It’s opposed by Big Tobacco … enough said!