A Quick and Easy Solution

There is one really simple and fast fix for California's endless budget crisis: repeal (or significantly overhaul) Proposition 13.

Proposition 13 is the force that makes it near-impossible to raise taxes in California.  It's also helping major corporations avoid property taxes, and thanks to 13, homeowners pay more in property taxes than businesses.  So while it may have kept the elderly in their homes, it's helping to ensure that no Californian will be able to get the kind of education necessary to support a salary that can cover a mortgage.

I figure that Jerry Brown's personal recollections of Proposition 13 keep him from bold action, but the same need not apply to other elected officials and District administrators.  Rather than opining on the difficult teachers and their desire to be paid in money, our Superintendent should be observing what a simple repeal vote could do to ensure the state's future.