Peter Schrag is a man of the left, but he is strikingly honest here on the desire of Californians for well funded education in the face of lower taxes. Even more interesting is his theory that after Proposition 13, “fiscal conservatives” and business interests lost interest in local governments and school districts, after these entities lost authority to set tax levels (though, as I’ve said here, local governments can rule on just about everything in your life other than that). In consequence, the public sector unions have all the more been able to dominate both local governments and school districts and impose their policies in all matters other than tax levels.

Related “The New Polls: Plumbing Gridlock” by Peter Schrag at California Progress Report