"I celebrate the demonstrations this week to support public education in California, both K-12 and higher education."
But those demonstrations will mean little unless the California Democracy Act gets on the ballot by April 12 and passes in the November election. That is the only way that revenue can be raised to fund California's needs, including education.
The California Democracy Act is simple. It changes just two words in the Constitution: "two-thirds" becomes "a majority" in two places. That's all. The initiative is one sentence long: "All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote." It's simple democracy. And because it is a ballot initiative, a simple majority can bring democracy by eliminating the two-thirds vote requirements.
The California Legislature is run by a minority of 37 percent - extremist conservatives who think that government should NOT serve public needs. They have taken a pledge not to raise revenue and are happily forcing the budget cuts that are hurting so many Californians and destroying our system of public education.
How can 37 percent run the Legislature? Because it takes a two-thirds vote - 67 percent - in BOTH houses to raise revenue and to pass a budget, one-third plus one can exert control by saying no and creating gridlock until the 63 percent Democratic majority gives in. California is the only minority-rule state in America.
In California, it takes 67 percent to act on virtually anything.
In California, the majority of voters can change this, simply by voting for the California Democracy Act. But first we have to get it on the ballot. Since there is no big money behind this initiative, it has to be a grassroots operation. The voters have got to act.
Luckily, it's not hard. You can do it online (see box). Don't be fooled by similar-sounding
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/02/ED6O1C9LQU.DTL#ixzz0h7QHDrgy
But those demonstrations will mean little unless the California Democracy Act gets on the ballot by April 12 and passes in the November election. That is the only way that revenue can be raised to fund California's needs, including education.
The California Democracy Act is simple. It changes just two words in the Constitution: "two-thirds" becomes "a majority" in two places. That's all. The initiative is one sentence long: "All legislative action on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote." It's simple democracy. And because it is a ballot initiative, a simple majority can bring democracy by eliminating the two-thirds vote requirements.
The California Legislature is run by a minority of 37 percent - extremist conservatives who think that government should NOT serve public needs. They have taken a pledge not to raise revenue and are happily forcing the budget cuts that are hurting so many Californians and destroying our system of public education.
How can 37 percent run the Legislature? Because it takes a two-thirds vote - 67 percent - in BOTH houses to raise revenue and to pass a budget, one-third plus one can exert control by saying no and creating gridlock until the 63 percent Democratic majority gives in. California is the only minority-rule state in America.
In California, it takes 67 percent to act on virtually anything.
In California, the majority of voters can change this, simply by voting for the California Democracy Act. But first we have to get it on the ballot. Since there is no big money behind this initiative, it has to be a grassroots operation. The voters have got to act.
Luckily, it's not hard. You can do it online (see box). Don't be fooled by similar-sounding
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/02/ED6O1C9LQU.DTL#ixzz0h7QHDrgy