Post-Affirmative Action

There are many positive affirmative action ideas that can be implemented to help create a more equitable and inclusive society. Some examples include:

• Recruiting and hiring more women and minorities in leadership positions. This can help to ensure that all voices are heard and that decisions are made in the best interests of everyone.
• Providing scholarships and financial assistance to students from underrepresented groups. This can help to level the playing field and make education more accessible to everyone.
• Creating training programs and mentorship opportunities for women and minorities. This can help them to develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the workplace.
• Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This can help to create a more welcoming and supportive environment for all employees.
• Addressing unconscious bias in hiring and promotion decisions.  
• This can help to ensure that everyone is treated fairly, regardless of their race, gender, or other personal characteristics. These are just a few examples of the many positive affirmative action ideas that can be implemented to help create a more equitable and inclusive society. By taking these steps, we can create a world where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
• Here are some additional ideas:
• • Reducing the impact of standardized testing in college admissions. Standardized tests can be biased against certain groups of people, such as women and minorities. By reducing the emphasis on standardized testing, we can create a more level playing field for everyone.
  • Providing more support for early childhood education. Early childhood education can help to close the achievement gap between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
  • Investing in programs that help to reduce poverty and inequality. By addressing the root causes of inequality, we can create a more just and equitable society.

Affirmative action is not a perfect solution, but it is an important tool that can help to create a more equitable society. By implementing positive affirmative action ideas, we can make progress towards a world where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

Read more

Why Prop 13 is Fair

To understand why Proposition 13 is fair, one must understand how it works. Proposition 13 curbs property taxes by restricting the maximum rate (1%) and, more important, by limiting increases in assessed valuation (2% annually). With the latter provision, it is easy to see how a home’s current value can greatly exceed it’s taxable value over a span of just a few years.
The substantial difference between a property’s actual value and its taxable value disappears when the property changes hands. When this occurs, county assessors reassess the property at full market value. Thus, recent purchasers derive no immediate benefit from the limitation on annual increases in taxable value.

Shortly after Proposition 13’s adoption by the voters in 1978, the California Supreme Court recognized its inherent fairness. Justice Frank K. Richardson, speaking for a nearly unanimous court, concluded that “an acquisition value system…may operate on a fairer basis than a current value approach.”


Yet Proposition 13 has been mostly fair to homeowners, though inequities have crept up in the commercial property market and the resulting tax structure has become increasingly vulnerable to ups and downs in the economy, resulting in the yearly deep budget deficits we have seen over the last several years.

But looking strictly at homeowners, Proposition 13 has worked pretty well for two main reasons: one, the short-term inequities of neighbors paying different property tax bills even out over time as taxpayers move around and, two, it gives taxpayers certainty, the key to fair taxation.


I was in middle school in VUSD when Prop. 13 passed and remember the quality of the schools I attended somehow eroding after that (obviously due to a lot more than just Prop. 13). At the same time, I appreciate that many members of my family have been able to retire in the homes they purchased before Prop. 13 due to affordable property taxes. I also appreciate that Prop. 13 has helped commercial property owners stay in business. For me, however, Prop. 13 means that my generation is paying far more in property taxes for homes smaller than older property owners living in larger houses.

As voters, we have passed a lot of propositions that sound good when we vote for them, but when you put them all together later they appear to have tied the hands of legislators to do their primary job—draw up a reasonable spending plan every year for the state.