Desperate times call for desperate measures, like Proposition 1A ‘mdash; and in light of the University of California’s $450 million budgetary deficit, it’s safe to say that we’re presently in a state of grave desperation. Fact is, no one really likes paying higher taxes, but when it can help prevent future budgetary crises like the one we currently face, we’ve got to suck it up for a while (Proposition 1A calls for the extension of current tax increases for up to two years) and fork over the cash in the interest of preserving higher education.
If it passes, following the statewide special election on May 19, Proposition 1A would more than double the size of the state’s rainy-day reserve fund and restrict state spending ‘mdash; resulting in a more stable state economy (i.e. a state economy that won’t be forced to cut funding to the UC system to alleviate its own debt). Some opponents of the measure say it cuts too much spending, and some say it cuts too little. But in reality, the proposition, fittingly dubbed the Budget Stabilization Act, will do just what California higher education needs: Restore university access to sufficient state funding, so that UC campuses aren’t forced to rush into destabilizing our university with drastic cost-saving measures like those we are currently enforcing.