In an ultimatum to Californians, Brown has threatened to cut $5.2 billion from K-12 public education, $1.2 billion from state Medi-Cal programs and $800 million from UC, CSU and community colleges if his regressive tax measure does not pass the November ballot. 

The possibility of additional cuts to public education has left community colleges no other choice than to consider cutting essential programs and services. De Anza College risks losing 10 or more full-time counselors as well as the Assessment Office if the funding is cut. Additionally, Brown has proposed cuts to Cal Grants, effectively throwing thousands of low- and middle-income college students under the bus who rely on state aid for their education. 

Regressive taxes, such as the 1/4 cent sales tax increase in Brown’s initiative, would hit those already struggling to survive the hardest, as 15.8 percent or 5.78 million Californians currently live below the poverty line, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures. 

Like an oversized bully, Brown has targeted essential programs that working class people depend on rather than looking deeper into the causes of the state’s budget deficit. Education and welfare services are always first to be cut because they hold little value to politicians. 

If Brown wants to bring about “a day of reckoning,” I suggest he starts with cutting his $173,987 annual salary, followed by the salaries of other state politicians, most of whom make well over $100,000 per year. Interestingly, Brown himself would escape the increase in income tax if his initiative passes, since it would effect only people making $250,000 or more per year. 

California voters have different options, however, including the Tax for Education and Early Childhood Programs initiative, which would increase income taxes based on a sliding scale to help fund K-12 education and repay state debt.