Even Orange County Hates Prop 6
October 1, 2008 by Johnny California
Filed under Ballot Propositions, Uncategorized
California’s Proposition 6, cynically titled “The Safe Neighborhoods Act”, reads like a 1950s dystopian futurist novel: Teenagers (especially the black and immigrant variety), as young as 14, are tried as adults for non-violent crimes or forced to wear GPS tracking devices and enter their names into police “gang” databases (no evidence of gang-affiliation needed); state funds for schools are redirected to the building of juvenile halls and prisons.
Under Prop 6, gobs of money are funneled to some shadowy organization called “Citizen Options for Public Safety”, an organization that, according to the non-Partisan California Legislative Analyst has “no definable goals” and “no identifiable results.”
Prop 6 seems tailor-made for the voters of Orange County. For months, I’ve thought their votes, along with the millions of other voters around the state who are afraid to vote against something called “The Safe Neighborhoods Act”, would propel Prop 6 into law; thus writing another chapter in California’s bizarre and failed history of ballot-box crime fighting.
Perhaps I’ve misunderestimated the people of Orange County. In a moment of lucidity, and unable to deny that California is paying the bills with loose change from inside the couch, the cowboy-justice-lovin’ Orange County Register actually opposes Prop. 6:
“The initiative, which is little more than a massive funding and power grab by law enforcement agencies, engages in the basest form of fear-mongering to expand government, increase government spending and toughen up sentencing to unjust levels…It throws nearly $1 billion a year in taxpayer funds at the problem – up from $365 million provided in the 2007-08 state budget – at a time when the state cannot make ends meet.”
The entire editorial is spot-on. Read it here.
I’m still concerned that Prop 6 will pass, especially because there’s no polling data yet; but today I’m a bit more optimistic.
For more info about this insane ballot proposition go to No On 6
