Illustration by Maren Slobody

“It’s a stark choice. There is no middle way. There is no compromise.”

These were the words of Gov. Jerry Brown just last week, when he travelled to UC Santa Cruz, urging students here and across the state to vote “Yes” on Proposition 30.

Proposition 30 is a proposition that would raise taxes on Californians to fund K-12 and community college education costs, and forestall further cuts.

On his website the governor states, “Proposition 30 will protect school and safety funding and help address the state’s chronic budget mess. It’s time to take a stand and get our state back on track.”

City on a Hill Press, as a group of students that is personally affected by this “chronic budget mess,” officially endorses Proposition 30 and encourages our readers to vote “Yes” on the measure next Tuesday.

Proposition 30 is not to be confused with Proposition 38 — another funding measure on the ballot this November that does not prevent trigger cuts. Trigger cuts could cost the UC system a total of $250 million, with an additional $125 million in potential funding lost if Proposition 30 fails to pass. Proposition 30 would prevent this loss of much needed funding, and is the better choice for our school systems.

Currently, polls show Proposition 30 on the cusp of passing, but this may not be enough. According to ABC News, Brown’s temporary tax plan to fund education has dropped below 50 percent in two surveys released Oct. 25.

The more support garnered for this tax measure, the better. Even the Regents of the University of California have endorsed Proposition 30. President Mark Yudof has said, “As you know, we’re down virtually a billion dollars in the last four years, we’ll be down another $375 million if Proposition 30 doesn’t pass …This is a disgrace in my view, and a lack of commitment to the students, and I’m with you. I’ve said it publicly, I’ve said it over and over.”

However, in the same interview on Sept. 19, Yudof said, “We have the most generous financial aid system in the United States. … 30 percent of our tuition gets turned back into financial aid. In addition to that, we have Pell Grants and we have Cal Grants and so forth. The result is, half of our students pay no tuition. That’s pretty affordable. I don’t say it’s free, I mean, you have to have a roof over your head, you have to eat, you have to buy books, you have to travel, you have issues, but in this world, that’s pretty good.”

If we don’t have the regents on our side — ones who do not think we have “affordable” education simply because 50 percent of students pay no tuition — we cannot reach the goal of affordable education for all, regardless of circumstance.

The University should be working to alleviate systemic struggles instead of stopping short of the goal of accessible education for everyone. Although Proposition 30 will not solve all of our problems, it puts us on the path to recovery. This is something the UC system cannot do without.

Gov. Jerry Brown speaks to students about voting in Quarry Plaza. Photo by Sal Ingram

Gov. Jerry Brown stopped at UC Santa Cruz, where he rallied students to vote in the upcoming election, and to vote “Yes” on Proposition 30.

This measure is a proposed tax increase to cover the rising cost of education, and prevent trigger cuts of $6 billion in 2012–13 from taking effect. The governor is on a tour of several state campuses to rally support for his measure, which will be voted on Nov. 6.

Around 300 students, faculty and other onlookers attended the event, held in Quarry Plaza and sponsored by the Student Alliance of North American Indians (SANAI). There were multiple people holding signs, most that read “Yes on 30” and some that read “Yes on 30, No on 32.”

Brown himself held a sign that read “Yes on 30” during parts of his speech. He said it was up to voters to increase taxes and create billions of dollars, or the schools in California will lose billions of dollars.

“It’s a stark choice,” Brown said. “There is no middle way. There is no compromise.”

Brown emphasized the impact that young voters would have on Prop 30.

Lydia Renteria, member of SANAI said it was important to her organization to get people to vote, because it is a cause that is vital to her community.

“After this [event] it’s just getting people to vote,” Renteria said. “We’re just trying our best to get people to vote.”

affect students today. Several speakers from SANAI and other campus organizations like the African-Black Student Union spoke at the rally about their personal experiences with student debt and worries about their economic stability in the future.

Melody Aguilar was one such student, who gave a speech in which she said, “now is not the time to be selfish. As a student, I personally cannot afford Proposition 30 failing. I just can’t. I have an eight-year-old brother who also deserves access to higher education.”

Aguilar stressed the importance of speaking out before the election.

“Now is the time to be vocal, and to be passionate about Proposition 30 because it recognizes the value of an educated public,” she said.

GOV. BROWN stressed Prop. 30 as an all-or-nothing measure that voters will decide on Nov. 6th. Photo by Sal Ingram

However, there were several students who were undecided in the crowd. This included Brandon Vi, undergraduate student at UCSC, who came to the rally to hear what the governor had to say about the benefits of Prop 30.

“If you were to talk to me right now about Prop 30, I would have to flip a coin,” Vi said.

“I know Prop 30 will in a way help fix higher education right now, but what I’m more curious about is how it will fix education in the long-term. That’s one of my main concerns about Prop 30.”

Vi went on to state that he wishes there were long term solutions built into the measure, like “future [incentives] to balance the budget and actually spend less” in Congress. If he could add anything to the discussion surrounding Prop 30, he said it would be to tell Gov. Brown that this proposal was insufficient, and that he should also balance the budget and stop needless spending at the state level.

Greg Careaga, University Library’s Head of Research, Outreach and Instruction, said he thought Proposition 30 was an incomplete solution to the budget and economic crises as well.

“This is a long-term problem,” he said. “Proposition 30 is part of the solution, but it really depends on other decisions by the governor and the legislature and decisions outside the state that are going to affect the rate at which the economy recovers — housing market, imports … I think it’s the best plan that we have.”

Careaga said he was in support of Proposition 30 because it might help alleviate some budget cuts at the libraries on campus.

“The library is looking at budget cuts regardless of whether measure 30 passes or fails, but the magnitude of the budget cuts are likely to be greater if Proposition 30 doesn’t pass,” Careaga said.

Although the proposition means more taxes, Careaga said it is a good idea.

“On some level I think it’s a bitter pill, but it’s a bitter pill for everybody,” he said. “That’s kind of the hallmark of good legislation is that it doesn’t favor one constituency over another. Everybody has to make a sacrifice for the common good.”

Governor Jerry Brown speaks to students about voting and Proposition 30. Photo by Sal Ingram.

This morning, around 9:30 a.m. in Quarry Plaza, the governor of California made a speech at UC Santa Cruz.

Gov. Jerry Brown rallied students to vote in the upcoming election, and to vote “Yes” on Proposition 30 — a proposition that would raise taxes on Californians to fund K-12 and community college education costs, and forestall further cuts. The governor is on a tour of several state campuses to rally support for his measure.

On his website, the governor states, “Proposition 30 will protect school and safety funding and help address the state’s chronic budget mess. It’s time to take a stand and get our state back on track.”

Around 300 students, faculty and other onlookers attended the event, sponsored by the Student Alliance of North American Indians (SANAI). There were multiple people holding signs, most that read, “Yes on 30” and some that read, “Yes on 30, No on 32.”

Gov. Brown began his speech by stressing the importance of Prop 30’s passage this November.

Photo by Sal Ingram.

“We must win Proposition 30 — put money into the University, not take it out,” Brown said. “It’s money into our schools and universities, or it’s money out. It’s just that simple.”

Lydia Renteria, a member of SANAI, said it was important for her group that the governor was at UC Santa Cruz, and considers higher education a priority.

“We need to all support education,” Renteria said. “We need to take a step in the right direction by voting ‘Yes’ on Proposition 30.”

Infographic by Christine Hipp

The amount of college graduates under 25 who were jobless or underemployed was 53 percent last year. The cost of tuition at UC campuses has tripled in the last decade, causing over half of all UC students to graduate with an average of $19,000 in debt.

Understanding statistics like these and proposing solutions was the focus of “The Economy and Today’s Generation of Young Adults,” a forum put on last Tuesday by the Santa Cruz County Democratic Party and the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County. The latest in a series of “Democratic Dialogues” sponsored by the two organizations, Tuesday’s speakers included: Congressman Sam Farr, California State Assembly member Bill Monning, former Santa Cruz Mayor and UCSC Field Studies coordinator Mike Rotkin and UCSC fourth-years Jacqueline Seydel and David Ortiz.

Former Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Mathews moderated the discussion, which centered on the economy, higher education, student loans and strategies for political organization.

“We are in a time of unprecedented economic challenges, particularly for young adults who are coming into the workforce,” Mathews said.

Seydel and Ortiz spoke about their experiences of seeing classes cut and tuition raised while their job prospects remained dim. Seydel, a psychology and feminist studies double-major, owes $26,000 in student loans. Ortiz, a transfer student who dropped out of high school and worked odd jobs before deciding to go back to school several years ago, owes $58,000.

In 2012, nearly six million individuals were behind on their student loan payments by 12 months or more, representing one-sixth of all loan recipients.

“The financial endeavors of my generation [cast doubt on] this idea that the economy and capitalism are going to be able to pick back up and fix themselves,” Seydel said. “The students who are supposed to be doing that aren’t going to be financially able to.”

Rotkin, Monning and Farr, who all attended college in the ‘60s, drew sharp distinctions between their college experiences and the challenges confronting students today.

Farr said he remembered being able to make enough money in one summer of working odd jobs to pay for a year of tuition when he went to college.

“So obviously the times have changed,” Farr said.

At the state level, Monning, who sits on the budget committee, said these changes are largely a result of the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and Proposition 13 on state revenues.

Since 2008 California’s budget has shrunk to $86.9 billion from $120 billion. Prop 13, a ballot initiative that was passed in 1978, requires all spending decisions in the California Senate to be approved by a two-thirds supermajority, which made it nearly impossible for legislators to come to an agreement on bills involving spending or revenue increases.

“We’ve got a budget system in California where the minority party exercises absolute veto power on any revenue increases,” Monning said.

Rotkin and Monning also said that the drop in California’s corporate tax rates presents another problem. In addition to the fall in nominal rates, which Monning said have gone from 68 percent at their peak to 8 percent currently, the increasing prevalence of loopholes and exemptions often means that the state gets even less than expected.

“In the month of May, Apple generated $1 billion in net profit, they are now in the number one corporate position in the world,” Monning said. “They moved that one billion into Reno so that they could avoid paying taxes in the state of California. To me, that’s criminal activity that hurts California way more than somebody who’s addicted to drugs on the streets of Salinas.”

At the federal level, congressman Farr cited the lack of a coherent national education policy and political gridlock as the two main challenges facing higher education reform in the U.S.

“The first line of national security is a well-educated electorate and yet it’s a state responsibility to provide for that,” Farr said.

He proposed expanding programs such as the Peace Corps and Teach for America, which offer students opportunities for deferral or cancellation of student loans in exchange for volunteer work.

Farr and Monning also noted that the outcome of Prop 30 will dramatically affect the state of higher education in California. If passed, Prop 30 would raise income and sales taxes in California, which would go to K-12 and community colleges. If it doesn’t pass, the CSU and UC systems would be faced with an immediate $375 million in cuts.

“Your future’s on the ballot in just a few weeks,” Farr said. “There’s a proposition on there that’s a make or break.”

Rotkin said he has noticed a significant change in how students have come to view the political process in recent years, however.

“They’re certainly no less intelligent or knowledgeable about what’s going on in the world than when I went to college, but they have a cynicism that I didn’t have,” Rotkin said. “That’s a barrier that’s very difficult to break through.”

Will Mosher, who graduated from UCSC in 2007 with a degree in literature, said the years after college have left him with little hope for the future. Unable to find a job after graduation, he moved to South Korea for two years to teach English in order to pay off his loans.

“I think that my experience has altered me permanently,” Mosher said. “When I graduated I had a girlfriend and I was going to get married, but then I had to leave the country and it didn’t pan out. I’m probably never going to own my own home. I’m probably never going to get married. All of my choices are bad.”

Monning ended the forum with an appeal to younger voters to get organized and become engaged in the political process.

“We need to revive a conversation in this state of articulating a vision of the state we want to live in,” Monning said. “Let’s reclaim the ability to dream and articulate and then we can negotiate an appropriate way to fund it.”

Illustration by Christine Hipp

Check your party affiliation at the door. Gov. Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 asks taxpayers to choose between an automatic cut of $250 million to the University of California and California State Universities or higher taxes.

Brown’s proposition will raise the state sales tax by one-fourth of a cent for a maximum of four years, and will raise taxes on constituents who earn $250,000 or more a year, by 1–3 percent for a maximum of seven years.

In return, the state will not slash $250 million from the UC and CSU, will give the UC a $125 million tuition increase buyout and will increase the base budget of the UC and CSU by 6 percent every year, starting in 2013 and ending in 2017.

The initiative itself will not give any of its revenue directly to the UC or CSU. K-12 will receive 89 percent of all revenue generated from the new taxes, and the remaining 11 percent will go to community colleges. Prop. 30 will pour new revenue into the blistering wound that is education’s budget while drawing on previously allotted money from the same department to  balance the overall budget. Despite the rearrangement of the budget, K-12 and higher education will end up with more money than they have had in the past.

If Prop. 30 fails, tuition could go up as much as 20 percent midway through the school year. That would increase tuition by about $2,500, for a total of about $14,600 (not including fees) per year. However, should Prop. 30 pass, the UC Regents passed a resolution at the July 18 meeting that promised a tuition freeze for the 2012–13 school year.

Proposition 30 isn’t the only ballot measure with taxes and education in mind.

Molly Munger’s Proposition 38 provides new revenue only for K-12 education. In addition, Prop. 38 will tax nearly everyone, on a scale from a .4 percent rise on those who make $7,317 a year to a 2.2 percent rise on those making over $2.5 million a year. It promises to create a trust fund separate from legislative control that will ensure that all revenue generated from the proposition goes directly to K-12 education and early childhood care and education.

Prop. 38 will only further convolute our bloated bureaucracy and budget. An analysis by the California Budget Project found additional issues with the proposition, concluding that the initiative “may not increase total school spending by as much as some estimate because the Legislature could reduce other state education spending.”

We must vote, regardless of our choices and stances in this election. It’s our duty as citizens and constituents of the United States. If we want to change our endless budget troubles, we need to participate in the process and let our voices be heard. This starts with students registering by Oct. 22, and voting on Nov. 6.

While not a permanent solution, Proposition 30 will protect education for the next few years. As the San Francisco Chronicle put it, “Yes on Prop. 30,” and “No on Prop. 38.”

The future of higher education is uncertain. In the past, the state has not been kind to the budget of higher education. State funding to the UC alone has decreased by $1.1 billion since 2007.

The current tuition of $13,416 (which includes student fees) can be paid with this $1.1 billion for the entire undergraduate population of 16,000 at UCSC for the next five years.

Let’s make these billions a bit more personal. Let’s make a vote for education.

Illustration by Leigh Douglas

State funding for education is shrinking — not just for public universities, but for the California school system as a whole. Tuition hikes toward higher education is one thing, but diminishing the quality of the state’s educational foundation for its youth through cuts to California K-12 funding is another.

As the June 5 local city elections approach, it is more important than ever for voters to renew the parcel tax that currently supplements dwindling state funds for Santa Cruz City Elementary and High School Districts.

The renewal of this parcel tax through a two-thirds vote for Measures I and J would not only bring in $2 million in supplemental funding towards maintaining the quality of education at Santa Cruz school districts, but also provide access to resources, supplies and instructors that schools would not be able to afford otherwise.

A parcel tax involves a special tax in which a parcel is defined as any unit of land in a given school district that receives separate real property tax bills from Santa Cruz County. All property that would be exempt from property taxes would also be exempt from the imposition of the parcel tax outlined in Measures I and J.

Measures I and J, which serve as District Protection of Quality Education acts for both Santa Cruz elementary and high school districts, were last renewed in 2006 by Santa Cruz voters. Renewal of the parcel tax has been voted on the ballot every eight years.

Measure I proposes a renewal of the parcel tax from $28 to $38 per parcel annually beginning July 1, 2013 for eight years. It is aimed at directing funds not only toward retaining highly qualified teachers and librarians in local schools, but preparing students for college and careers. Supplemental funding would also provide more opportunities for academic counseling for at-risk youth, in addition to ensuring the quality of classroom academics.

The parcel tax outlined in Measure I would combat state funding cuts which, according to the California State Senate, are projected to reach $8.3 billion for the 2012–13 budget. With California’s budget crisis making little progress toward recovery, further cuts toward educational funding can be expected to threaten both the quality of academics offered in public schools in addition to electives, libraries, counseling resources and teachers within Santa Cruz school districts.

Measure J, which proposes a renewal of the parcel tax from $70 to $85 per parcel annually beginning July 1, 2013 for eight years, will be allocated toward retaining high quality teachers in addition to art and music instruction — both subjects that have been quick to receive program cuts due to a lack of funding. Supplemental funding provided through the measure would also keep school libraries open longer and served by credentialed librarians.

As revenues collected through both measures would be prohibited from use towards administrators’ salaries and benefits, the tax would solely be aimed toward maintaining and protecting the quality of education in Santa Cruz County.

With increasing state funding cuts towards education, voter renewal of measures like I and J is vital to the quality of education offered at local schools. Investment in education starts with individual communities committed to positive change through voter action.

The parcel taxes outlined in Measures I and J are a small price to pay for the betterment of educational opportunities in Santa Cruz school districts. National politics may be moot on the June 5 ballot, but making sure you get to the polls and vote in support of these measures is necessary to preserve the quality of education in the city of Santa Cruz as a whole.

Illustration by Jamie Morton

In the city of Santa Cruz, like other cities across the United States, times are tough. Unlike many places, however, we do have at least one advantage: People still want to visit. According to SantaCruzCA.org, tourism generates over $500 million for the county every year.

To capitalize on this happy circumstance, Mayor Don Lane and other city council members are working to get a measure on the November ballot that would raise hotel taxes from 10 percent to 12 percent.

While a 2 percent hotel tax increase is most likely a negligible expense to tourists, it could be a large gain for the Santa Cruz community.

In a recent press conference with student media (see p. 6), Lane said this could be especially beneficial because all tax money collected from hotels stays local.

In the past, the city has been forced to make many undesirable budget cuts. Local school districts have taken a hit close to $1 million already, and that will likely double this year. The Santa Cruz Metro has scaled back on its bus service since 2009. Not to mention the possibility of a desalination plant in our future — something that could potentially cost millions of dollars down the line.

That the Santa Cruz City Council is looking for creative ways to bring money into the community is commendable and comforting, given the precarious position the city finds itself in. That it would come from outside sources is an even bigger plus, and shows the council is looking out for Santa Cruzans first.

The only drawback is hotel owners might not be fond of having to drive their prices up even more, especially given that compared to other cities, our rates are already pretty high. However, the gains far outweigh the losses, especially when keeping in mind what’s good for Santa Cruz is ultimately good for the hotel industry — nobody wants to visit a run-down city.

To students who may not live in Santa Cruz for more than four or five years, voting on local issues may feel unimportant or arbitrary. Some abstain from voting on local issues because they have not done their research and do not want to harm the local vote with their uninformed ballot.

But getting something like the hotel tax increase on the ballot and voting yes would be a service to the community even the least informed voter can get behind.

Photos by Kyan Mahzouf

Santa Cruzans protested in front of Bank of America on Monday, declaring that corporations should pay taxes to the government like individuals do.

Around 40 people protested outside the Bank of America on River Street and later moved the protest to the downtown clock tower. Santa Cruz’s local chapter of MoveOn.org — a family of political organizations that sponsor campaigns for federal issues like the Iraq War, as well as presidential campaigns — sponsored the event.

Organizers picked Bank of America because of the bank’s previous bailout of $1 trillion, according to a list entitled “Guide to Corporate Freeloaders” by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt).

In the 2011 U.S. federal budget, corporations like Valero Energy Corporation, Carnival Cruise Lines and Bank of America were exempt from paying taxes. Businesses paying their taxes would alleviate the state financial deficit, said Pat Arnold, president of the Santa Cruz United Nations Association and Bay Area organizer of political activism group Raging Grannies.

“If the corporations just paid their fair share, all of the states’ debts would be accounted for,” Arnold said.

In “Guide to Corporate Freeloaders,” Sanders listed corporations that do not pay taxes to the federal government but received a federal bailout or large IRS refunds. The list includes Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Exxon Mobil, among others.

The number of corporations that do not pay taxes prompted MoveOn.org organizer Sara Bassler to help coordinate the rally outside the Bank of America.

Bassler and other MoveOn.org organizers manned the megaphones, took down names and passed out signs for those who turned out. Arnold said the Santa Cruz Bank of America protest was part of a campaign in 450 cities nationally to fight the budget’s tax exemption of major corporations.

“I want to give corporations more of a sense of responsibility,” Bassler said. “While it is lawful for their corporations to make money for their shareholders, they forget their shareholders are part of society.”

Protesters passed out signs bearing slogans like, “Close your B of A account,” and “Fat Cats are stealing our future.” Many were heard shouting, “Cut from the top, not from Mom and Pop,” and “1, 2, 3, 4 — pay your taxes like the poor.”

Protesters centered most of the blame for the national budget crisis on congressional Republicans. This includes Sen. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who proposed the new budget that passed after much deliberation and hesitation by Congress — deliberations that almost led to a full government shutdown.

“The Republicans say the country is going broke and they’re making cuts to the bottom,” Bassler said. “We’re broke, yet they give huge tax breaks to companies that can really help out our financial crisis.”

Bassler feels that the money the U.S. government is not collecting from corporations like Bank of America can be put to better use in American social programs.

“Politicians need to wake up,” Bassler said. “We need to work together to help keep our society what it is now, and help the less fortunate and build libraries.”

To illustrate the impacts of budget cuts on national programs in comparison to those of corporate tax breaks, a child spoke at the rally about how she would be affected by the cuts.

“I want to stop the budget cuts so that teachers can come back to work and kids can learn,” said Julia Knight, a student of Montclair Elementary School in Oakland and a “MoveOn granddaughter,” according to her grandmother.

Santa Cruz political organizations like Organizing for Santa Cruz, the community organizing arm of the Democratic Party in Santa Cruz, turned out at the event. While the rally was pronounced a success by many protesters, some organizers, like Arnold and Bassler, said they were disappointed with the lack of UC Santa Cruz students in the crowd. They said the fight for more funds to be appropriated to basic services is relevant to all students, including students in higher education and their budget needs.

Bassler and Arnold want UCSC to be represented in protests rallying for corporations to pay their taxes, or to host the next rally on campus.

“We need a sister rally at the university,” Arnold said. “There are 450 of these [rallies] happening in American cities and it’d be great to have one at the Bay Tree Bookstore.”