Voting; it’s a contentious topic. College students are urged every two years by passionate political science professors to participate in the electoral process. Yet still, less than half of 18-25 year olds do not vote. While there are many explanations for this, one common complaint among citizens within this demographic is that voting does not necessarily affect their daily lives.
However, within California, citizens have the right to bypass the legislature and enact laws themselves via propositions. California is in the worst recorded drought in history, and voting “Yes” on Proposition 1 will be able to mitigate the dire situation we are in right now.
According to the National Drought Mitigation center, a majority of California is currently experiencing an “exceptional drought,” which is the highest intensity used to categorize droughts. This has been caused due by the minimal amount of rain and snowfall the state has received over the past year. Temperatures have steadily been rising due to climate change (2014 is the hottest year so far on record in California, according to Paul Iniguez, the science and operation officer for the National Weather Service).
Water sources have been so depleted that according to “Economic Analysis of the 2014 drought for California Agriculture” released by UC Davis, California is entering its 3rd driest year on record. With climate change continuing to affect weather patterns, severe droughts are expected to continue plaguing the state. Basically, the situation looks bleak, but you as a voter can take action.
Proposition 1, if passed, would authorize $7.12 billion in general obligation bonds to upgrade the current water infrastructure in California in order to make the state’s water usage more sustainable. $2.7 billion of this money would be used to upgrade water storage projects, dams and reservoirs so they will collect more rainwater instead of it letting run-off into the oceans. The proposition would allocate $900 million for competitive grants on projects to prevent contamination of ground water; additionally, it would set aside $725 million for water recycling and advanced research projects.
With the state’s finances in much better shape than a decade ago, now is the time to tackle California’s water preservation issues. Despite the fact that Republicans and Democrats traditionally hold staunch opposing views on whether a piece of legislation is passed, both the California Republican and Democrat parties endorse Proposition 1. When it comes to necessities of life such as water, not even the most bitter of political rivals can disagree that our state needs to take action in making sure future generations have access to this vital resource.
If you want to make a difference via voting, a “Yes” on Prop 1 will fulfill that cause!
We all know that the government is the most wasteful, inefficient, and often corrupt institution, so the last thing we want to do is to give the government more money to waste.
It is foolish to think that the government will use that money for the purpose intended.
We’ve seen it time and time again how the government raises taxes and takes our money supposedly to solve some urgent problem, and once they get the money, they spend it on other things.
Remember that issuing those bonds means that all of California’s taxpayers are now liable to pay back those billions, plus interest, at a time when so many are still struggling in a weak economy.
What the State of California needs to do is to find ways to eliminate waste and cut spending.
If we vote to give the government more money at taxpayer’s expense, they will never learn to be fiscally responsible.
“NO” on Prop 1
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