Fed Up With State Crisis and Cuts, Activists ‘March for California’s Future’

[marmar]

from In These Times:



Fed Up With State Crisis and Cuts, Activists ‘March for California’s Future’

Saturday
March 13
1:01 pm

By Seth Sandronsky


Jennifer Laskin, 37, a school teacher who specializes in reading instruction at Renaissance Continuation High School in Watsonville in central California, is fed up with the state of her state. So she's marching with like-minded activists, including Emmanuel Ballesteros, 21, one of her former students, from Bakersfield to Sacramento.

“We’re marching to bring attention to the legislative budget issues we have in California, to bring attention to solutions to restore public and social services, to register people to vote and to collect signatures for the Majority Budget Act Initiative,” said Laskin, a member of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teacher, Local 1936, California Federation of Teachers. “We’re also talking and listening to people along the way to learn what is going on across this state. So far it’s been incredibly sad.”

The backdrop to the six-week march is the ongoing recession, which has rapidly decreased tax revenues in California, leading to sharp budget cutbacks throughout the state's education system, from kindergartens through universities. California has a 12.5 percent jobless rate, well above the 9.7 percent nationwide rate.

The Majority Budget Act Initiative (MBAI), which would appear on the November 2010 ballot, would change the process for approving a state budget. A super-majority of 67 percent of legislators currently must approve a budget. The ballot measure would change that to a simple majority of 50 percent (plus one) for passage. Moreover, the MBAI would penalize lawmakers by curtailing their pay each day past the June 15 deadline that they fail to pass a new state budget. ........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/5677/in_calif._marching_for_a_better_future/