It makes sense to save money when you have it, so you will have it when you need it. That's the premise behind Proposition 2. I support and endorsed Prop. 2. I don't know anyone who opposes it. So why are mailers being sent out saying Catharine Baker opposes Prop. 2 when she doesn't? Ah POLITICS!
When asked about the rainy day fund in an interview in the Livermore Independent on October 10th, Baker said, "I absolutely support it." But she added, "We have to have fiscal discipline, to resist taking on more obligations when there are more funds available." She would place a moratorium on increases in spending until the state is out of debt.
This Wednesday I received an email from Justin Matheson, an advisor to Baker's campaign, asking me and/or Tim Hunt to look into a flier being mailed out by supporters of Tim Sbranti accusing Baker, of opposing the Rainy Day Fund in Prop. 2.
The flier footnotes a debate between Baker and Sbranti held at the San Ramon Community Center on September 29. The Contra Costa Times article on that debate describes Baker as saying, ". . . she strongly opposes putting a cap on most school districts' reserve funds to help the state maintain a rainy day fund . . . " The CC Times article goes on to say, "Sbranti said he supported the idea of a state rainy day fund, although he believes the proposed cap on school districts' reserves is too low and should be raised."
So they both agree that the cap on school district funds is a problem with how the Rainy Day fund is maintained. Sbranti said practically the same thing about it. Isn't it amazing how quotes can be taken out of context to make them appear to mean one thing when they mean the opposite.
A Rainy Day Fund is a sensible idea. San Ramon has had one for years. Of course when you put together a savings account, you need to take some money away from something else to put it away for the rainy day. So that's what the issue is about. Where does this magical rainy day money come from? So far we haven't even had much rain, much less money to store away for that proverbial rainy day.
So where the money comes from, in other words, which budget gets shorted to put some of that money into the rainy day piggy bank, will be determined by whoever is elected next week if Prop. 2 passes as expected. Personally I'd like a fiscal conservative deciding what to cut and what to save. So that's why I'm still endorsing Catharine Baker for State Assembly District 16.
