Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
What Does Prop 15 Say and Want?
Prop 15, also called California Fair Elections Act, wants to establish public funding for candidates running for its Secretary of State in the years 2014 and 2018. Public funding is used to help candidates on their campaigns, advertisement, and such. The key is that this money is provided by the people as well as the government. Currently, there is a state ban on public funding. Therefore, Prop 15 has three main goals:
- Create a public fund for the candidates of 2014 and 2018 running for CA Secretary of State
- Lift the state ban on public funding for political campaigns
- Increase the charges on lobbyists
More in Depth Provisions
-Lifts the state ban on public funding
-Candidate can choose whether to apply for the funds or refuse it
-Candidates have to apply for the funds through sets of requirements
-Candidates have to limit both spending and fundraising in order to keep the funds
-There will be a record of all the spending and earnings
-Public funds will be supplied by charges of $350/year on lobbyists, generous donations, or even -taxes if the required amount of funds are not met.
Its Impacts!
- Eliminating the ban on the use of public funding for political campaigns will give opportunity to organizations willing to establish a public financing program in the future. Even though this proposition is specifically for the Secretary of State of California, the proposition might expand to all states.
- The funds will help fund campaigns as well as the administration of the winning candidate. Eventually, the amount of money will continue to increase based on the inflation of the state. Also, if lobbyists are not paying the $350/year, the funds may be supplied by increase in taxes.
Why?
This proposition was proposed to try and give equal opportunities to candidates who are running for Secretary of State. Prop 15 ensures that all candidates that choose to receive public funding get the same amount as long as they show sufficient public appeal. The idea of the proposition is to stop the idea of who can raise the most money.
Supporters/Opponents think…
Supporter: The amount of money in politics is outrageous and corrupts the system. The League of Women Voters of California says Prop. 15 will get politicians out of the fundraising game so they will focus on California's priorities. Elections should be won, not bought by special interests.
Opponent: Proposition 15 is a trick. A coalition of taxpayers, governmental advocates, and small businesses believes that it raises taxes with no accountability to provide millions in taxpayer money to politicians to fund their negative campaign. It also allows politicians to continue to raise money from special interest groups. Prop. 15 is not real campaign reform.
Luu's Opinion
I would vote yes on Prop 15 because I really do think it will make the elections fair. The candidates are allowed to choose whether to apply for the funds or not. Therefore, whatever outcome they get is based on their decision. Furthermore, I also think it makes the elections fair because candidates are given the same amount of funds and limitations. This ensures that the funds are not favoring any candidates.
Viviana's Opinion
Proposition 15 can cause a slight change in our state’s budget but I believe it is not large enough to cause any long term damage. I would vote yes on proposition 15, because of a few reasons. Most of the money that would be part of the funds would come from donors who wish to donate their own money towards the cause and the remainder would be limited to simply $350.00. The candidates would have to undergo go a more strict review in order to qualify for the funds. It is a small price to pay to be able to get to know your candidates and their ideas well. Although it would lift the state ban on public funding of political campaigns that is not necessarily a something that would penalize our economy, mainly our money would be going in the direction that we would choose it to go. All in all I feel like proposition 15 would be more helpful if passed than if not.
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