Here’s an Abridged Edition of My Short Guide to California’s Initiatives

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We’re not just three days away from the presidential election, we’re also three days away from voting on California’s massive list of ballot initiatives.1 Here are my recommendations:

  1. $9 billion school bond. YES.
  2. Hospital fees. NO.
  3. Voter approval for revenue bonds over $2 billion. NO.
  4. Three-day wait before voting on bills. YES.
  5. Extension of income tax increase. NO.
  6. $2 cigarette tax. NO.
  7. Early parole for nonviolent offenders. YES.
  8. Repeal of Prop 227. YES.
  9. “Advisory question” to overturn Citizens United. NO.
  10. Condoms in porn films. NO.
  11. Prescription drug price regulation. NO.
  12. Repeal the death penalty. YES.
  13. Background checks for ammunition purchasers. NO.
  14. Marijuana legalization. YES.
  15. Plastic bag revenue. NO.
  16. Death penalty procedures. NO.
  17. Plastic bag ban. YES.

My longer write-up about each of these initiatives is here. It’s not a comprehensive description of every initiative, just enough to give you an idea of what each one is about and why I’m for or against it. It’s nice and short, and it’s written in plain English.

1If you live in California, that is.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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