With horror, we watch the once magnificent and widely admired public institutions of California crumble into a smoldering pile that is buried under budget deficits as far as the eye can see. There is plenty of blame to go around for this catastrophe, but we only need to look in the mirror to see where a majority of it belongs.

While we must demand fiscal responsibility and accountability in government at all levels, part of this equation is realizing we can only get what we can pay for. Our fate was sealed with the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978; a meat cleaver approach to solving a problem better suited for a scalpel. Voters were duped by scare tactics and misinformation distributed by a well-heeled campaign, which resulted in most of the benefit going to the prosperity of business and industry. Since then, state government has been hamstrung in raising revenue to cover even the most basic services by the ridiculous requirement of a super-majority in state congress to raise taxes for anybody. And so the tidal wave of red ink has now caught up with us. Even in this dire situation, office holders risk political suicide by making any suggestion of raising revenue, much less uttering the “t” word (taxes).

In other times and other cultures, the highest priority of societies has been to make sure that following generations are healthy, well educated, and prepared for a successful future that ensures perpetuation of the highest social values. No sacrifice was too great to make this happen. This part of the U.S. culture seems to have been lost under materialism, shortterm gratification, and selfishness.

Much of this apathy is nurtured by our elected officials who respond with shows of knee-jerk rejection of taxes, and continuous blather of soothing misinformation rather than making the difficult changes that will benefit us all, and restore our state. The state constitution is a convoluted, corruptible mess that requires a sincere, nonpartisan revision through a constitutional convention. In the meantime, however, Proposition 13 must be dissected so that it functions as it was sold to us: to keep people from being taxed out of their homes, not to starve essential state services. This also means a more fair distribution of taxation to those who have prospered most in our society and economy.

So what kind of legacy are we leaving our children who are stuck in crummy schools, can’t afford to attend universities of rapidly diminishing quality, and will be burdened with the cost of our illusionary prosperity? Two quotes resonate (paraphrased, I’m sure): “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society,” and “Societies are judged on how they take care of their most vulnerable.”

As citizens, we must become activists for change that may not benefit us directly, individually, or immediately, but will result in a more humane, enlightened, educated, altruistic state community which will fairly benefit all, with emphasis on what really matters in our collective future.

Steve Thompson