The Water Cooler
Bubble Up Report Date: October 24th, 2012 From: Advancement Project Re: 40% of Californians Won't Face Any New Taxes Under Prop 38 but the Whole State Will Benefit Use Social Media to Tell a Friend Why Prop 38 is Great Passage of Prop 38 Can Prevent Trigger Cuts Ways Your Organization Can Support and/or Educate Voters About Prop 38 Countdown to November 6th Election: Voter Information
Ensure a Bright Future for California's Youngest Learners with Prop 38 Do you know that Prop 38 is the ONLY proposition on the November ballot that guarantees increased funding for children from birth to age five? Do you want young children to have a voice in the upcoming election? Do you want to be part of a transformative investment in early childhood education in California? You can make that happen at the ballot box this November 6th. 1
40% of Californians Won't Face Any New Taxes Under Prop 38 but the Whole State Will Benefit According to the Legislative Analyst's office, if Proposition 38 passes, 40% of taxpayers won't see an increase. Various tax credits (personal, dependent, senior, etc.) and other factors would eliminate additional tax liabilities caused by this measure's rate change for most lower-income tax filers. This means that most low-income families will not owe any additional taxes under Prop 38. To read the full analysis from the Legislative Analyst's Office, click here!
Use Social Media to Tell a Friend Why Prop 38 is Great! This campaign season, use social media to educate your friends and followers about issues that are important to you! Are you or your organization on Facebook? Like and share information from the Yes on Prop 38 Facebook page. You can also copy and paste these sample statuses (Tip: tag your friends that would be most interested in this information so that your status shows up on their page): Prop 38 transforms Early Learning because it raises over $10 billion per year for schools and early childhood education with no interference from Sacramento. Like this status if you want to transform Early Learning in CA! Prop 38 invests in our youngest children by raising $1 billion to $2.5 billion per year to expand early childhood programs. Like this
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status if you want to improve access to early childhood programs! Prop 38 invests in infants and toddlers who can benefit the most from early learning experiences. Like this status if you want to provide early learning opportunities for children that need them the most! Are you or your organization on Twitter? Here are a few sample tweets to educate your followers about Prop 38: #Prop38 raises $10 billion per year for #caschools and #earlyed with NO interference from Sacramento #yeson38 #ECE Did you know that #Prop38 is the only initiative on the ballot that guarantees additional funding for early learning? #ECE #earlyed Did you know #Prop38 will fund new #earlyed opportunities for 100K low-income children in its first year? #ECE #yeson38 #Prop38 restores $300 million in budget cuts to existing #ECE programs #yeson38 #earlyed #Prop38 supports infants and toddlers from low-income families by creating CA #headstart programs for ages 0-3 #yeson38 #ECE #earlyed Use these hashtags to bring the Prop 38 discussion to the forefront and encourage your followers to retweet! #Prop38 #yeson38 #headstart #caschools #ECE #earlyed #LAUSD #thinkED #edchat #voteCA #CA2012 #CAbudget #caeducation #schoolfunding You can find other ways to support Prop 38 by clicking here! http://www.prop38forlocalschools.org
Passage of Prop 38 Can Prevent Trigger Cuts
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Prop 38 is the only initiative that guarantees a transformative investment in California's educational system, but some have asked about the impact of the "trigger cuts" that the Governor and Legislature created as a part of the budget deal adopted in June. The trigger cut provision states that if the Governor's Prop 30 does not pass, $6 billion in cuts will be incurred by K-12 and higher education (not early childhood). However, if Prop 38's $10 billion new revenue measure is enacted, the trigger cuts WOULD NOT HAVE to be enacted. In fact, the legislature "would face tremendous political pressure to restore those trigger cuts," explains political science professor Thad Kousser to KPBS San Diego (full interview below). Here are some helpful facts about the trigger cuts: If Prop 38 passes, there is no need for trigger cuts. In addition to guaranteeing increased investment in K-12 and early childhood programs, Prop 38's education debt service provisions provides $3 billion a year in relief to the state general fund. These funds can be used to support other general fund priorities, including higher education and health and human services. The state legislature can change any law that it creates, including the trigger cuts, which were signed in to law as a part of the most recent budget bill. In fact, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said he believes the Legislature and districts would revisit their trigger cut arrangements if Proposition 38 prevails. "If there is a pot of money generated outside of the budget deal, it still addresses priorities the Governor and Legislature said they care about," Torlakson said. "So I think the Legislature would find a way to bridge the budget gap knowing the money is coming in." Most school districts have created their budgets for the coming year in anticipation of the trigger cuts taking place, essentially "de-fanging" the trigger's bite to their budgets.
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Ways Your Organization Can Support and/or Educate Voters About Prop 38: Consider distributing an impacts document to your network! Click here for the LA County Office of Child Care's neutral, nonpartisan assessment of Prop 38, or click here for a "Yes on 38" fact sheet detailing the impacts the proposition will have on young children and their families. Consider creating your own regional impact document, similar to the one HERE, created for the Los Angeles region by the LA County Office of Child Care! There are many ways that nonprofits can work on or support ballot initiatives. Click here for more information about the regulations and opportunities that apply to your organization!
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Countdown to Election 2012: NOVEMBER 6TH IS LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY! Here is all of the information you need to register and vote!
1. You still have time to apply to vote absentee (deadline is October 30th): click here for more information 2. State law allows time for you to vote during your workday if needed: click here for more information 3. For more information on voting in CA, finding your polling place and absentee, please click here 4. Election Day: Tuesday November 6th, with the polls open from 7:00am until 8:00pm In order to maximize turnout, we must all reach out to friends, family members and colleagues to ensure that they are prepared to vote on November 6th!
Advancement Project's Educational Equity team is committed to protecting and supporting early childhood education in LAUSD and in California. Please click on the logo below for more information about our work.
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