EDITOR: Having read George Skelton's column in Tuesday's paper ("An escalating ballot war on taxes"), I am curious why he didn't give Molly Munger's plan for broad-spectrum tax increases more credence.
California's budget has been constricted for years by minority Republicans refusing to accept tax increases, causing a yearly shortfall since 2008. Even after passing a budget on time for the first time in years, there are funding cuts everywhere, with public employees and state parks some of the hardest hit.
Though new taxes are historically nearly always considered unwelcome, it is important to consider the effects their absence is having in our community. K-12 teachers are having trouble fitting their whole curriculum in the school year with the myriad furlough days they are presented with, and our local Sugarloaf Ridge State Park no longer allows camping.
It's time for Skelton and the people of California to understand the tangible harm of these cuts and the necessity for greater taxes.
CALVIN HOUSER
Santa Rosa
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