George Lakoff's letter to California Faculty

To: UC, CSU, and Community College Faculty
From: George Lakoff
Re: Ballot Initiative

Dear Friends:

Are you tired of the repeated, outrageous increases in tuition and fees?  Are you angry that faculty and staff have been furloughed and laid off, classes canceled, and programs eliminated?  If you are, then please join me in stopping this craziness by putting the California Democracy Act on the ballot. If we are successful, public higher education will be protected and common sense restored to our state government. This battle is for all of us and I am fully committed.

But I can only do this with your help!

We need to collect more than one million voter signatures by April to place The California Democracy Act on the November 2010 ballot – and then we must win voter approval – to ensure the long-term funding and survival of the University of California, the State Universities and our Community Colleges.

What does the California Democracy Act do?  The Act is just 14 words: “All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by a majority vote.” It simply changes two words in the California Constitution – “two thirds” becomes “a majority” – that simple change will restore sanity and common sense to our budget process and priorities.  What could be simpler than that?
This simple change will immediately stop the small band of ultra-conservatives in Sacramento who are holding the rest of us hostage! These ideologues want to starve our government and privatize our education system. California Democracy Act will restore the basic tenet of democracy – that the majority shall rule on matters of public good.

California’s budget crisis – and so many of our state’s systemic problems – are the result of the absurd two-thirds requirement that allows a small minority, now just 37%, to block sensible economic legislation. Their tactics create gridlock, impoverish our government, lead to massive cuts in education, healthcare, critical infrastructure and virtually every other important public need.
California is the only state in America where one-third plus one, only 34%, runs the legislature by blocking the sensible, responsible majority at every turn.

We can change all this by enacting the California Democracy Act! Only a majority is needed. No change is more crucial.  With your help and generous support we can restore common sense to California government. The task ahead will not be easy – remember, we need to collect more than one million signatures by April – but together WE CAN DO IT!

Here’s how you can help:

1. Make an immediate and generous contribution of $200, $100, $50, or even $20. Make your check payable to “California Majority Rule PAC” and send it to California Majority Rule, 12021 Wilshire Blvd., # 542, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
2. Go to our website, register and tell us what else you can do. You can get there by going either to www.californiansfordemocracy.com or www.camajorityrule.com.
3. Help recruit volunteers for three areas: a) signature gathering, b) fundraising events and other activities, and c) the speakers’ bureau. We need organizers at every level: statewide, UC, CSU, and Community Colleges; we need organizers for faculty, students and alumni. Go to the website, click on JOIN THE CAMPAIGN and sign up.
4. We need access to large email lists from faculty, organizations, groups and campaigns. Contact Susie at susieshannon@yahoo.com. If you belong to an organization, ask it to endorse the California Democracy Act on, then go to the website and click on “ENDORSE” to inform us.

So if you are tired of those repeated, outrageous increases in tuition and fees and angry that faculty and staff are being furloughed and laid off, classes canceled, and programs eliminated, then join me in this fight. Please send a check, sign a petition, help gather signatures, organize house parties, join our speakers’ bureau, or volunteer… WE CAN DO IT!

    Thank you,

    George Lakoff,
    Goldman Distinguished Professor
    of Cognitive Science and Linguistics,
    UC Berkeley

Save Democracy, Fix California

George Lakoff has launched his campaign to put a constitutional amendment called the "California Democracy Act" on the ballot in 2010. The proposed amendment consists of one sentence:

All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote.

As it's becoming increasingly clear (as if it wasn't already) it's impossible to start addressing California's problems unless we fix the political process first.

People can join the campaign by signing up at http://www.camajorityrule.com/.

Giving the profession a bad name

This is a bit belated, but well worth commenting on. First, the facts: a group of UCI faculty from the School of Humanities have signed an opinion piece calling for the exploration of

viable alternatives, which range from levies on the state’s petroleum production and closing corporate tax loopholes to, yes, raising state income taxes, which are among the lowest in the country.

The full text of the letter is available courtesy of the OC Register. As you will notice if you follow the link, the proposal has raised a veritable barrage of criticism, much of it admittedly wide of the mark.

But the point is different. Beside being obviously oblivious of California's political climate, the esteemed colleagues are clearly misinformed. California's personal income tax rate is among the highest, not lowest in the country, as one can easily check. And the reason is well known: thanks to Proposition 13, California has to rely on income and capital gains taxes, as well as the highly regressive sales tax (also quite high). And while it has been often pointed out how intrinsically unfair Prop. 13 turned out to be (with young couples paying property taxes several times higher than those of their older and more affluent neighbors), it has also resulted in cash flow for the State that is extremely subject to the vagaries of the economic cycle, whence the current disaster.

All of this is well known and not at all difficult to find out. Why the Irvine colleagues never bothered to check their facts, it is indeed hard to understand. The whole thing just confirms prejudices and stereotypes about academics — how aloof, privileged and uncaring they are. In sum, the whole letter was just stupid not well thought-out.

The esteemed colleagues could have instead insisted on the oil severance tax (which they do mention), or repealing Prop. 13 while keeping protections for families and individuals (e.g., repeal the part about commercial properties, or second homes, and especially repeal the part about the 2/3 majority requirement). But advocating an increase in income taxes solely for the purpose of supporting the University, with no mention of the plight of the poor, the sick and the disabled was unconscionable.