By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

LOS ANGELES – If California’s Proposition 30 passes on Nov. 6, you can bet it was because residents were scared.

Gov. Jerry Brown has done a fine job of traveling around the state making voters feel as though they have no choice but to approve the measure, which would increase sales taxes statewide and impose higher income taxes on people making more than $250,000.

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If his measure fails, the governor says, the state will cut $5.4 billion in aid to public schools. And Brown has already signed a bill allowing K-12 school districts to cut the length of the school year starting next year if Proposition 30 hits the rocks.

On Tuesday, Brown took his scare campaign to UCLA, where he warned students they had better help make sure the measure passes or the state university system will raise tuition 20 percent.

“My plea to you is, don’t be complacent,” Brown told a crowd of students, according to a report published by Sacream Bee.

Brown is the worst example of what a public servant should be.

The governor and legislature have made no serious effort to prioritize, make tough spending choices and get the state budget under control. They have made no effort to demand concessions from public employee unions, so that public schools, community colleges and universities can get more mileage out of the revenue they currently have.

Instead they’re just demanding more money from the people, and threatening to make painful cuts to necessary education services if the people don’t cooperate.

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That isn’t leadership. That’s extortion. How do Brown and his political allies manage to look themselves in the mirror each morning?

Despite polls that suggest the contrary, we wouldn’t be shocked if Brown’s tactics backfire on Election Day. Voters across California may decide that they resent the governor’s threats and tell their state government to stick it. If that occurred, perhaps Brown and the legislature would actually be forced to confront the state’s budget nightmare and fix it the right way, without sending the tab to overburdened taxpayers.