A new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California finds that a majority of Californians are worried about budget cuts to education, and that they would be willing to pay higher taxes to avoid those cuts.
To me, this represents a shift from the conventional wisdom we've heard in recent years that Californians will not accept any tax increases. And it's fascinating that this finding comes on same week as news that Oregon voters have passed not one but two tax measures.
Last week, San Franciscans got the bad news that our school district's budget shortfall over the next two years will hit $113 million, a hit that will likely mean teacher layoffs, staff furloughs, increased class size, and a host of other terrible cuts. Districts all over California are grappling with similar budget crises; does this mean that the "no new taxes" resolve could weaken? John Fensterwald of The Educated Guess blog thinks it could:
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/rnorton/detail??blogid=184&entry_id=56332#ixzz0e6jvNvG6