The good people over at Yes on 82 have launched a new ad campaign.  As of yet, I have not been able to figure out how much they are going to spend in this campaign.  The [commercials are quite good ] and feature Mayor Villaragosa, a teacher of the year as well as another teacher.  It’s great timing too, as the Contra Costa County Times and the OC Register. 

The OC Register article starts and ends with attacking Rob Reiner.  I find this a pointless exercise; it is totally irrevelant for purposes of whether or not 82 is a good idea.  I think any argument which has to rely on personal conflict has limited value.  But the heart of the article centers on taxes.  The people at the Register feel that taxes in California are such a burden on the people of Orange County that 82 “should be sent to the corner with a dunce cap.” 

However, taxes on the top 1% of the state are the lowest (by overall percentage of income) of any income group!  The California Budget Project (PDF) reports that those making over $567,000 pay 7.2% compared to a whopping 11.3% for those earning less than $18,000.  Of course, this mostly due to the effects of the sales tax, but why is it that as a state we should require our poorest citizens to pay the HIGHEST percentage in taxes.

And as I responded to Joel Fox yesterday, all children deserve the right to receive the HIGHEST quality education.  We all benefit from quality education, we should all pay for it.  And for a good review of Prop 82’s effects, check out the CBP report (PDF).  Prop. 82 has a great deal of support from politicians, such as Richard & Nancy Riordan, Gavin Newsom, and Antonio Villaraigosa and business orgs such as the LA and SF Chambers of Commerce.  Quality preschool can be California’s next step in leading the nation.  If Oklahoma can do it, so can we.

As for Prop 81, it’s a bond measure for libraries.  Like 82, 81 helps the education of the state.  Libraries work each and every day to combat illiteracy.  Yet, we continue to let our libraries degrade.  81 reverses this.  The $600 million bond package (I know, tiny compared to the November bonds) will be used to rebuild library infrastructure and collections.  It has been universally acclaimed and endorsed by the LA Times  and the San Diego U-T.  The LA Times says that:

Opponents, mainly anti-tax groups, concede that the libraries need the money but say it should come out of existing state coffers. Certainly, the state should carve out a bigger budget for libraries from the general fund, but urgent capital improvements can be more expensive than an annual budget can cover. The library proposals are written, the projects are ready to go into construction and the state’s recent track record on library bond money has been good. Californians should approve Proposition 81. (LA Times 5/15/06)

Bonds for libraries are a good idea and should be passed.  As of right now, it looks like 81 has a great shot of giving our libraries better resources.