Proposition 39 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposition 39 - Essay Example The organizations against this proposition are the California Manufacturers & Technology Association and Friends for Saving California Jobs. As a supporter of Proposition Number 39, the â€Å"Tax Treatment for Multistate Businesses. Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Funding. Initiative Statute,† this proposition is good for the State of California because it will result to significant tax revenues that will fund a sustainable approach to development, a development that will provide additional employment and extra funds for education. Numerous firms, organizations, business people, and individuals are in support of Proposition 39 because they know that its contribution to the increase in tax revenues is fair and will benefit the state in general. At present, California requires additional funds to finance its increasing public costs. Lawrence reports that California’s tax revenues primarily go to the â€Å"Big Three,† specifically education, human rights, and cor rections (235). With a high number of school-age population, California needs more funds, without necessarily burdening ordinary taxpayers. This proposition taxes the rich, where the money will benefit the entire state, including the taxed large businesses. State law presently allows the majority of multistate businesses to choose one of two methods to determine the amount of their income associated with California and taxable by the state: â€Å"1) Three-Factor Method and 2) Single-Sales Method† (â€Å"Analysis by the Legislative Analyst† 68-69). Multistate businesses are normally allowed to select the method that is most beneficial to them for tax purposes. Proposition 39 decrees that multistate businesses would no longer choose the method for determining their state taxable income that is most beneficial for them (â€Å"Analysis† 69). Instead, many multistate businesses would have to establish their California taxable income using the single sales factor meth od. Businesses that operate only in California would not be affected (â€Å"Analysis† 69). According to â€Å"Analysis by the Legislative Analyst,† this policy measure would raise $1 billion of additional tax revenues from 2013 (70). Around fifty percent of the revenues would then fund clean and energy efficiency programs: â€Å"For a five-year period (2013–14 through 2017–18), about half of the additional revenues—$500 million to $550 million annually—would be transferred to the Clean Energy Job Creation Fund to support energy efficiency and alternative energy projects† (â€Å"Analysis† 71). With significant funds for clean and green energy, the state will experience a cleaner atmosphere and more efficient public facilities. Aside from funding clean and green projects, the tax revenues will go to education budget increases. As the analyst of the proposition said: â€Å"For 2018–19 and beyond, the guarantee likely would be higher by at least $500 million†¦The exact portion of the revenue raised that would go to schools in any particular year would depend upon various factors† (â€Å"Analysis† 71). Lawrence reminds Californians that the state needs to build more schools and hire more teachers, while improving the curriculum (235). It cannot do so without an injection of additional funds that will not hurt common taxpayers. Proposition 39 will tax the rich companies, but these taxes will not go to waste because they will fund the long-term educational needs of Californians. While education is important,

Dust bowl Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dust bowl - Research Paper Example Henderson, a member of an affected farming family, describes the years before the storms came as a golden age ( 2001, page 15) In the 1930s though things changed dramatically. It became a period of scarce rainfall and high winds, both of which passed over the very light, over worked, soils of the region. The storms began in 1931. In 1932, as described by Ganzel (2003) 14 storms were recorded, and each year the number increased. Farmers however continued to plough and sow, destroying the established grassland. The drought which lasted from 1934 to 1937, affected 27 states according to Nelson (undated) and in the Dustbowl area poor farming practice meant that there were no longer plants whose roots had held the soil together. Black blizzards ensued, especially from the north. This was when the strong winds lifted the light, loose top soil and swirled it around into dense, choking dust clouds. In some area the dust was so dense it acted more like snow, forming high drifts, and even comp letely covering some farm buildings. The winds were so strong at times that they could move heavy trucks ( Hankel, quoted by Ganzel, 2003) with winds of more than 100 miles per hour. The cattle were choked, and even preparing or eating a meal became almost impossible. Carlson (( quoted by Ganzel , 2003) said that :- The impact is like a shovelful of fine sand flung against the face. †¦People caught in their own yards grope for the doorstep. Cars come to a standstill, for no light in the world can penetrate that swirling murk... We live with the dust, eat it, sleep with it, watch it strip us of possessions and the hope of possessions. It is becoming Real. The result for farmers and their families was that 60% of the population was forced to quit the area, leaving in many cases farms they had lived on for several generations. According to Nelson (undated ) the devastation lasted until the rains finally returned in 1939, but by then skilled workers had left for farm land elsewhere or for the cities of the distant West. The Government was well aware of the problems and did try to help over an extended period. In 1933 President Roosevelt brought in the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act and the Farm Credit Act ( Segraves, 2012) to help farmers facing foreclosure, in many cases because crops had failed and animals had died. In September of the same year the Federal Surplus Relief Organization was set up after a public outcry about the waste of such things as meat. Agricultural goods, including cotton clothing, were sent to relief organizations. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 allowed the government to nationalize large areas and then to control such things as grazing. This did a good job in halting any further deterioration caused by over farming methods, but did not actually reverse matters because the top soil was already lost. Nelson (undated) quotes from the Agricultural Year Book of 1934 :- Approximately 35 million acres of formerly cultivated land have essentiall y been destroyed for crop production. . . . 100 million acres now in crops have lost all or most of the topsoil; 125 million acres of land now in crops are rapidly losing topsoil. Early in 1935 the Government a Drought Relief Service designed to co-ordinate efforts from a number of agencies. This service bought up cattle from