As Californians go to the polls today, they'll be voting on more than the primary candidates hoping to appear on the ballot in November. They will also be considering Proposition 1. This is a proposal being touted by Governor Gavin Newsom that would seriously alter the way that funds from the state's "millionaire tax" are distributed to address mental health issues in the state. If passed, the state would take more granular control of the funds and channel them toward housing for the mentally ill and homeless people. Critics are quick to point out that there is a lot not to like about this plan and it could cause more problems than it solves. Others are expressing the usual concerns that the funds will end up going to illegal migrants rather than citizens of the state. (Associated Press)
Californians are set to vote Tuesday on a statewide ballot measure that is touted by the governor as a major step to tackle homelessness and would be the first major update to the state’s mental health system in 20 years.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom says Proposition 1 is needed to tackle the state’s homelessness crisis by boosting investments in housing and substance use programs, but social providers worry it would threaten programs that are keeping people from becoming homeless in the first place.
The measure would restrict how counties use money from a voter-approved tax enacted in 2004 on millionaires that currently is earmarked for mental health services under broad guidelines. Revenue from the tax, now between $2 billion and $3 billion a year, provides about one-third of the state’s total mental health budget.
As with most things involving the California state government, the more you allow the state to get its fingers into the pie, the greater the chance that the pie will be ruined or destroyed. That millionaire tax has been around for twenty years and the voters approved it for the purpose of providing mental health services, not addressing homelessness. Granted, many of the severely mentally ill are also homeless but that's not the point. When the government convinces the voters to approve a "special tax," the funds should go toward its stated purpose.
Even if that weren't the case, the state's proposal is regarded as being too rigid. Each county would be forced to spend roughly two-thirds of the funds on "housing and programs for homeless people with serious mental illnesses or substance abuse problems." Once again, while drug and alcohol addiction are serious issues, they do not directly equate to mental illness. Newsom would be diverting funds away from their original intended purpose.
It's being pointed out that some counties have far lower rates of homelessness than others while still having to deal with significant mental health challenges. Under this scheme they would be forced to construct or renovate more housing, robbing mental health programs of funds. And if you have more housing than is needed for the homeless who are citizens of California, you just know that those spaces will soon be filled up with illegal migrants.
Proposition 1 would also authorize the state to dip into the existing funds from the millionaire tax to the tune of $6.38 billion (with a "b") to cover the construction of thousands of new housing units. They're saying that half of the units would be reserved for veterans, which is an arguably stronger selling point. But the rest would be used to create beds for both the mentally ill and those with substance abuse issues.
Sadly, Newsom has pumped so much money into a campaign promoting Proposition 1 (around $13 million) that he'll probably pull it off. Opponents of the measure reported only raised $1,000. If this plan doesn't turn into yet another massively expensive boondoggle it will be nothing short of a miracle.
