Proposal

Title: Proposition 30 affects all of us, not just students.
Author: I am an 18 year old first year student at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA, who receives financial assistance from the state of California.
Date: Written during fall of 2012, a time when the economy is still recovering from the recession and taxpayers would like to have their funds allocated to a department which they fell needs the most support. 
Topic: Proposition 30 would increase the income tax in California for those who makes over $250,000 for seven years, as well as increase the sales tax by a quarter of a cent for the next four years. The money raised would fund local public safety services as well as the K-12 and community college school systems.

Exigence: The current state of California public school systems and their grim future, and the emergence of Proposition 30 to help stabilize this issue.
Intended Audience: All registered voters in the state of California who want to make the future of California, and even our nation, a more successful and thriving society.
Purpose: To inform citizens of California the benefits of voting in favor of Proposition 30.
Claim(s): In order for our future generations to successfully increase our nation's socio-economic status, we must make sure our educational system is being operated at a qualified and sufficient rate. Proposition 30 provides the necessary funds to make sure this remains possible.

Main Evidence: 

Ethos: As a product of the K-12 compulsory public school system and current community college student in the state of California, I can personally attest to drastic financial cuts that have shaped my educational experience thus far. The effects were easily seen in my high school years, when classes were getting cut, teachers were given "pink-slips" yearly, and departments were getting underfunded. I witnessed teachers that would dismiss their class a minute early at the end of the day so they were able to run to the student pick-up lot and hand out fliers to parents regarding the drastic cuts towards their child's education. This effort to bring awareness to the community proved that this was not a joking matter.

Pathos: I frequently think about how my educational experience drastically differs from what my parents or even my oldest sibling (who is 33) went through. When my parents went to school, they were given a tremendous amount of flexibility in terms of the variety of classes they could sign up for and the quantity of those classes. This freedom ultimately provided them with a stress-free and opportunistic approach towards completing their education goals. Now, not only are the variety of classes diminishing, but the number of classes offered towards a student's major are shrinking, causing some students to stay in school longer and taking "filler-classes" to fulfill their financial-aid credit requirements. This epidemic has even spawned a new grade of college students, noted as "Super Seniors," or, those students who are required to remain in college after their fourth year. I hope that with the money being sent to our school system from Prop. 30, schools will begin to reverse their problems and begin to grow and advance into a system that will better prepare the future of this nation. I long for my future children to receive the type of education my parents received, where they are not constantly reminded of the financial cuts that are affecting them daily, and they can finally able to relive the golden years of education in California.

Logos:  The preparation of citizens in a democracy is vital for our people to take educated stances on topics such as politics and our economy. There is an easily identifiable correlation between a society  with an advanced form of public education and that nation's ability to prosper in the world economy. In regards to the proposed increase in taxes, the income tax will only affect the top 1-3% of California, and the sales tax will only be raised a quarter of a cent, which is easily affordable and manageable by all residents of California. The revenue raised from this taxation would be greater than $6.5 billion dollars, which would be dispersed to state's school systems. With this money, we can have smaller class sizes, obtain newer and up-to-date textbooks, and rehire teachers. If Prop. 30 fails to pass, our schools would collectively loose over $6.5 billion dollars, increasing our already severe educational plague, and making it an even harder up-hill battle to climb.