Prop 23 pro

By Dominick Delgadillo
The Guardsman

Proposition 23 has been billed by opponents as the “dirty energy proposition.” Groups like the American Lung Association of California, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, the California Teachers Association and even our Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agree that this proposition is nothing but bad news for not only our state, but the world’s environment.

But what do they know? These special interest groups and our governor are simply trying to scare voters into thinking that “big oil” and other heavy polluters are responsible for global warming.

Proposition 23 simply allows the temporary suspension of AB 32, the air-pollution law that was just another tax placed on companies who were considered heavy polluters. The only reason for this tax is the belief that global warming is man made.

All this proposition is trying to do is reduce the taxes AB 32 has put on companies in order to allow those companies to be able to hire more employees. This is a good thing, because our state’s unemployment rate has been hovering around 12 percent.

Sure, there’s no guarantee the companies will use the money to hire new employees. Maybe the taxes they were paying under AB 32 that were going to renewable energy research will simultaneously destroy the environment and entirely underfund the research that was trying to fix the problem, but it’s worth a shot to maybe get some people back in work.

Even PG&E is trying to torpedo the proposition. This is the same company that didn’t know that gas was combustible.

If you care about jobs, and you know that global warming is just a cycle the planet goes through, vote “yes” on Proposition 23.