California Gov. Jerry Brown kicked off his effort Thursday to win voter approval for Proposition 30, a November ballot initiative that would raise the state sales tax and income taxes on the state’s wealthiest individuals.
Brown timed the event at a technology high school to coincide with the beginning of the new academic year, according to
The Sacramento Bee.
The Democratic governor has vowed to use the revenue generated from Proposition 30 to help fund education. If the initiative fails, automatic spending cuts to education programs totaling about 5.4 billion could be triggered under the new state budget passed in June.
Brown has been criticized for pursuing the tax increases to offset education cuts instead of trying to reduce wasteful spending to help resolve the state's budget issues.
Opponents of Proposition 30, including the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association, insist cuts could be made to shore up education by taking some of the money from the state's new s $68 billion high-speed rail project and other "frivolous" programs.
According to polls, support for the tax increase initiative is slightly above 50 percent.
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