10/05/2005
On Nov. 8, Californians will be voting to reform the way our state government is run. NFIB has endorsed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Reform Agenda because it will dramatically improve the state's business climate. We need reform!
Yes on Proposition 74!
Put the Kids First Act: An Education System in Need of Reform
- Regardless of performance, once California public school teachers complete just two years on the job, they are virtually guaranteed a job for life. Under the present system, poor-performing teachers can have multiple unsatisfactory evaluations without concern of losing their job.
- Public employee unions control the legislature and have created a maze of complex rules and requirements designed to protect poor-performing teachers from dismissal. In fact, California is one of only 10 states in the nation with such requirements.
- The "Put the Kids First Act" helps ensure our kids get the best teachers and the best education possible. Before we give teachers a job for life, we must ensure they are up to the job. Under this proposal, teachers must have five consecutive satisfactory reviews before receiving tenure.
- It gives more authority to elected school boards, local principals and school districts to decide whether a teacher is performing well before granting them a job for life.
- Small businesses need qualified, educated employees in order to be successful and grow California's economy. "Put the Kids First Act" improves our education system and economic future.
Yes on Proposition 75!
Paycheck Protection: No Forced Political Contributions
- There is a fundamental unfairness in California. Public employee unions force hundreds of thousands of employees to contribute their hard-earned money to political causes they may oppose.
- Union leaders make unilateral decisions to fund political campaigns with public employee union money without the employees' consent. The employees have no choice because the money is automatically deducted from their paychecks.
- Firefighters, police, teachers and other public employees provide a vital service for the people of California, and they do their jobs well. That is why it is only fair that public employee union members give their permission before their hard-earned dollars are taken for political purposes.
- "Paycheck Protection" provides public employees with the same free-speech rights as every other Californian, to make their own decisions whether or not to contribute their hard earned dollars to the political cause of their choice.
- Proposition 75 brings some fairness and balance to a political system that produced an anti-small-business legislature and continually attacks free enterprise at every turn.
Yes on Proposition 76!
Live Within Our Means Act: Control Spending
- California doesn't have a revenue problem – it has a spending problem. Our legislature is addicted to spending taxpayers' money.
- Between 1998 and 2004, the legislature increased overall spending by 44 percent – from $75 billion to $108 billion – even though the state did not have enough money to pay for it all.
- Proposition 76 will control spending to end state deficits and balance the state budget without raising taxes. It places reasonable, responsible limits on state budget growth by limiting year-to-year budget increases to the average growth in revenue for the past three fiscal years.
- Proposition 76 requires the state to use extra revenue from peak years to build "rainy day funds" to prepare for inevitable future economic downturns. When revenue shortfalls occur, it will allow the state to spend reserves to maintain essential state services. It also allows the governor to make mid-year cuts when the state faces a fiscal crisis.
- Proposition 76 will force the legislature to live by the same basic rule California small businesses and families live by: Don't spend more money than you earn.
Yes on Proposition 77!
Fair Elections: Make Politicians Accountable
- Allowing politicians to draw the boundaries of their own districts is like asking the proverbial fox to guard the henhouse. When there is no competition between the political parties, the public loses because legislators, who don't have to compete for votes, don't have to stay accountable to the people.
- Today the redistricting process in California is controlled entirely by entrenched politicians. Incumbent members of both political parties meet behind closed doors and agree to carve up the state into very safe legislative districts where politicians pick their constituents. Of the 153 congressional and state legislative races in November 2004, not a single seat changed parties.
- One vote should mean one voice. Redistricting isn't about Democrats versus Republicans; it is about making sure we have fair elections.
- Proposition 77 will allow independent judges to draw election districts instead of the politicians and allow voters to approve or reject those districts. It takes redistricting out of the hands of politicians and makes them more accountable to the voters.
