Guide to voting on CA propositions: Guest Post

Juan and I have a friend named Sean Sandhu, who, like us, is into liberal politics. As he has for many years, Sean shared how he is voting. This year, I have rolled up his decisions into this blog entry for your edification.

Whether I agree with him or not does not matter. America was founded, according to what I learned in the 5th grade, on the idea of religious freedom along with the freedom of speech and press. Godspeed and good night.

If you haven’t decided about the presidential race…there really is no helping you. Whatever your political leanings are, PLEASE VOTE. 

For my fellow Californian voters, please do your own research; but if you value my opinion, here is my yearly guide to the CA Propositions:

Prop 30: Yes. It does increase the sales tax by .25%, but raises state income taxes on the rich by 2% to pay for education. Also stops planned education cuts. If you believe in public education and believe in paying for it, vote yes. (Prop 30 is in competition with Prop 38, and whichever gets more votes will pass.) 

Prop 31: No. This is one of those “balanced budget” proposals that is really just an austerity measure. This non-transparent process would stop deficits by cutting programs, funding and jobs…which is a bad idea in difficult economic times. 

Prop 32: NO. This deceptive Prop seems like an anti-Citizens United proposal, but is written by, funded by, and benefits Corporations and Super PACs. This Prop stops unions from contributing but lets the groups that have been abusing financial power to keep abusing the political process. NO NO NO. 

Prop 34: Yes. You either are for the death penalty or are against it. I personally don’t believe the State has a right to execute people. But financially speaking, it costs so much more to execute a person (and it should be expensive) than it does to keep them in prison for the rest of their life. So if you want the State to save money and/or are against the death penalty, vote yes. 

Prop 35: No. This one is a tricky one. It really seems like it would be a no brainer to come down against human trafficking. However, this poorly written law is so overbroad that many unintended people will be caught in its net. Prostitutes/escorts could be considered contributors to human trafficking, while they are not necessarily so. I also don’t like the unconstitutional ex post facto punishments it sets up. Any time one of these Propositions seems overly obvious, you should probably read it again and more thoroughly...or you're just being used. 6 hours ago · Edited · Like · 2 

Prop 36: Yes. This will finally fix the main problem I’ve had about the 3 Strikes law when it was approved so many years ago. The law had intended to lock up violent repeat offenders, and ended up locking up so many non-violent people. If this Prop is approved, 3 Strikes would not apply for a third offense if it is non-violent. 

Prop 37: YES. This no-brainer Proposition will require products that include Genetically Modified ingredients to be labeled as such. Prop 37 won’t increase food costs and is not a “flawed” or “unfair” system. Don’t be fooled by the overwhelming amount of dishonest ads you have been bombarded with that say otherwise. I’d like to know if I may be eating frankenfood and would like to have the option to not poison myself. 7 hours ago · Like · 4 

Sean Sandhu Prop 38: No. This Prop is in competition with Prop 30 and really comes down to who you want to pay more for education funding. If you want the middle class to bear more of the burden, vote no on 30 and yes on 38. But if you’re like me and want a more balanced burden, vote yes on 30 and no on 38! 7 hours ago · Like · 2  

Sean Sandhu Prop 39: Yes. Out of state businesses have a tricky way of avoiding California taxes. This Proposition closes that loophole by requiring them to pay taxes by percentage of their sales in CA. Proceeds from this change will fund renewable energy projects. Two birds, one stone. 7 hours ago · Like · 3 

Sean Sandhu Prop 40: Yes. I’m tired of voting on redistricting Props every year. However, this one simply allows the state to move forward with what California voters already approved before. Vote yes if you want the voter-approved, non-partisan commission in charge of drawing the district lines. Vote no if you want “officials supervised by the California Supreme Court.” Um, I’ll take what we already voted for and paid for, so Yes on Prop 40.