Proposition 92: "Bad Idea"

The Ventura County Star publishes an opinion piece today about proposition 92, acknowledging the value of the community college system while decrying "the pursuit of another special niche in the budget" and knocking the "misleading" arguments of the initiative's proponents.

But the real stinker here is that the initiative disconnects yet another spending formula from accountability for how the system spends the money, and out of reach of the Legislature. It does nothing to encourage the system to increase its low completion rates or otherwise reward success.

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Proposition 92 is part of what's now a long line of ballot-box budgeting initiatives, most of them pushed by interest groups trying to guarantee themselves a piece of the budget, in most cases without additional revenues to cover the cost or concern about the effects on other programs.

Links:

• Proposition 92 a bad idea (Ventura County Star)
• Summary of Proposition 92 (Legislative Analyst)