Tens of thousands of Californians — students, parents, teachers and concerned residents — converged on college campuses and city streets earlier this month with one common message: Save public education.

The "Statewide Day of Action" on March 4 signified the transition from idea to action, effort to movement. Taking part were 3,000 students and faculty members at Cal State Long Beach, 2,500 at Cal State Northridge and thousands of marchers in downtown Los Angeles. They joined more than 10,000 people in the Bay Area, who in turn were supported by nearly 5,000 in Sacramento.

We all rallied in opposition to the nearly $600 million in cuts to the University of California, California State University and community college systems. These cuts, along with forced furlough days, abandoned academic programs, declining enrollment and a 32 percent increase in tuition fees, have become more than people are willing to stand or able to stomach.

To fully fund education, we need to stop wasteful spending. And we need to start asking some of our richest corporations to start paying their fair share.

My bill, AB 656, will generate nearly $2 billion a year for higher education in California by levying a 12.5 percent