The refund California Pledge

November 29, 2018January 16, 2018 Gerardo Smith

What is the refund California pledge?

The pledge was for political, corporate and educational leaders to commit to doing everything in their power to help get various financial and Wall Street corporations along with the very wealthy to pay their share for essential public services.

The growing “Occupy Wall Street movement”

Student and educator’s representatives joined together to call for a week of action to “Refund Public Education” to get the UC Regents, CSU Trustees and various corporate and political leaders to sign the “Refund California Pledge”
The pledge was that these leaders would do everything in their power to get Wall Street and the wealthy to pay their fair share for affordable and necessary services and equitable education from preschool to post-doctoral education.

They pledged to support:

Closing Proposition 13’s corporate property tax loophole
To reduce the underwater mortgage debt to Wall Street in an effort to improve the economy
A federal sales tax to be implemented on Wall Street financial transactions
Reversing tuition increases and cuts to jobs, public education and essential services to ensure stable jobs with healthcare and a good retirement
Increasing wealthy Californian’s income taxes

Conclusion

As some food for thought but statistics point to California having very high taxes a fact that has not acted in favour of the state’s business climate making it rank near the bottom of favorable business climates in the USA.

To join in the cause you can go to the websites of ACCE Action, ACCE Institutes and Refund California. All the contact information and registrations can be found on their websites along with other helpful resources, tools and advice

You can read the pledge at the following link: https://awduucla.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/refund-ca-pledge-policy-solutions1.pdf

And find a copy of the pledge form at the following web link: http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/makebankspay/pages/113/attachments/original/ReFund_pledge.pdf?1320178681

Californians hard hit since Wall Street crashed the economy in 2008

July 11, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Californians have suffered from brutal budget cuts since 2008

The financial crisis of 2008 saw Californians taking a hard-brutal knock as literally billions of dollars’ worth of budgets cuts slashed through the healthcare, educational and various other essential programs causing strain on the states working class and students.

The $5 billion dollars that could refund California

There have been divided opinions and reactions to the “rainy day fund” proposed by Governor Brown, now in his 16^th and final year as Governor. This new fund proposal of Governor Browns, while could be good for a lot of things it puts extra strain on the poorer working class, children and seniors who would have to sacrifice more of the average earnings in order to fill this fund.

While some watch the as economic growth slowly increases and the increased taxes for the wealthier Californians start to make a difference the fact remains that California still has the highest poverty rate in the country. A lot of work still has to be done in order to bring about a balance as the Governor’s budget still leaves a majority of Californians struggling to make ends meet each month.

More has to be done and although the state offices like you to believe otherwise there are still a lot of loopholes and benefits for the wealthy that if changed could bring about more revenue for the economy to help reverse the effects of these brutal and damaging budget cuts that have ripped through California since 2008.

Californians have long been pushing for Californian Oil industries to start being taxed as California remains the only oil-producing state that does not tax oil. The tax-oil activists have been pushing for this to be changed for years as the billions of dollars each year that could be put towards education and healthcare initiatives are thought to land in the pockets of the greedy oil corporations instead.

As the threat of climate change starts to become more and more of a dark cloud over the planet Californians are wanting their oil to remain where mother nature intended it to be – in the ground and the fight to stop fracking and the damage it is causing by trying to get oil drilling blocked on every front. Which causes more anger over the fact that these oil companies are still permitted to drill for oil and yet are not taxed for it even though it is a highly profitable market.

Conclusion

As California slowly recovers from the recession, which has been a long and tedious journey, they are calling on legislators to come up with a decent budget that supports and reverses a lot of the damaging effects to the various essential, healthcare and educational programs for the state.
The new budget proposal for California can be seen at this link: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/budget/2018-19/#/Home

Refund California statement on the November 15th, 2011 Berkley Strike

June 11, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Berkley strike on November 15 at the Berkley Student Plaza

On November 15, 2011, students built tents on the University of California’s steps with a list of demands they were getting ready to vote upon and hear a speech that was to be given by a UC Berkley professor on warfare.

Shots fired in the Haas School of Business

There was a shooting incident at the Haas School of Business as one student was spotted with a gun which as he raised the police shot him, the man died in hospital later that day.

The shooting was an unfortunate incident that will forever mar what was supposed to be a peaceful demonstration.

That was not the only incident to mar the rally as UC Berkley was forced to launch and investigations into the use of excessive force by campus police as the students attempted to block them from taking down their tents that had been erected.

The Occupy Cal’s strike was to get educational officials to roll back tuition fees to the 2009 status

The UC Berkeley Chancellor later issued a statement about the investigation into the accusations of alleged force by campus police and how the university leadership had taken note of the students demands as well as sympathizing and sharing in the student’s anger and frustrations over the ever-increasing student fees and the heavy burden it was putting on their families.
The Chancellor also called out to the Sacramento political leaders to join him and the student representatives in a public forum for a debate on public educations future.

The Chancellor expressed his deep concerns over the past three years and the sharp reductions in the funding of education which directly related to the very steep hike in tuition fees, the need to lay off various staff faculty and cut back on student enrollments.

The unfortunate shooting incident did not deter Robert Reich a UC Berkeley professor and former U.S. Labor Secretary delivering the famous speech once given by the well-known Californian activist and one of the first leaders of the Berkeley Free Speech movement, Mario Savio’s speech on the same steps as he did some fifty odd years ago.

As the Occupy Cal students set up their occupation around the universities Sproul Hall they were joined by Occupy Oakland demonstrators who took to marching the five miles to Berkeley and were heard to be chanting “Here comes Oakland” along the way to join in the protest and listen to Robert Reich deliver the infamous speech.

Conclusion

Despite the alleged allegations of campus police use of excessive force and the shooting incident on the day over 2000 students and demonstrators too to standing their ground to get there demands heard and needs to be met.

Fair share solutions that could refund and rebuild California!

May 12, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Massive divestment’s in the public services, education and other vital institutes sours California’s economy

Most of California’s health care, human, parks, schools, colleges, vital services and universities have experienced huge divestment making California the top USA states in the ranks of high unemployment, poverty and education funding which makes California a state less likely for corporations to invest their businesses in.

Fair share solutions that could bring about change in California

Continued budgetary cuts since the 2008 recession that show no signs of letting up or being worked towards being sorted out are keeping California in a constant state of crisis.

State budget cuts continue to increase with no clear view of letting up

As state budget cuts continue to increase with no clear plan to be rectified anytime soon California is a long way away from being able to adequately and effectively fund much-needed community program, education and vital services.
As government just expects the general public of California to meekly accept these growing budget cuts, day to day price increases of various services and goods whilst even with the tiny salary/wages increases people are struggling to make ends meet and can no longer afford to tighten their belts any further than they already are.

Some of the fair share solutions being campaigned for are:

Sustainable Communities Due to being marginalized and huge divestments over the recent years neighborhoods affected by these have fallen short of many services due to them, such as good jobs, public health care and health care facilities and education. Campaigns led by various movements and causes are working towards getting various institutes such as the police force to work with the communities to help set up factions such as “community policing” for safer neighborhoods. Getting various organizations to fund and lend a helping hand in cleaning up these neighborhood streets, vacant lots and help get crime off the streets.
These movements lobby for both business and legislative offices to provide help and support for these projects as well as invest in them. To build better, safer and more sustainable communities.
Housing Justice By working together with both the homeowner and tenants to improve the quality of living standards, stopping evictions, foreclosures and basic discord between the two by use of a range of various tactics put in place to protect and ensure both parties are covered and can come to amicable conclusions.
Worker Justice

Striving to bring about higher minimum wages for low-income workers who are living beneath or just over the bread line and struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis and ensuring better working environments and conditions.

Refund California
Coalitions throughout the state work tirelessly to get proper funding for vital services, education and healthcare to better benefit Californians

Conclusion

The government needs to start implementing solid plans of action to start to refund and rebuild the great state of California.

Who are Refund California and what campaign’s do the champion?

April 12, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Who is Refund California?

Refund California is a combination of concerned community members, students, faith leaders and various organization throughout California who are intent on rebuilding the Californian economy by engaging in campaigns designed to bring about the necessary changes to do so. They are committed to doing this by exposing the unjust state of California’s economy.

Refund California’s major campaign goals

As California was the worst hit by the Wall Street crash of 2008 it affected the hike of tuition fees that came in as the highest in the country. With student tuition fees almost doubling since the crash of 2008. The budget cuts to public services also saw the driving up day to day expenditure even higher for families, students and the working class.

The Refund California movement took on a pledge to the Californian people whereby with their help, they would lobby to:

To get at least a 2% tax increase for the top 1% of the wealthiest Californian’s
Change the way commercial property is being taxed to bring it into an equal bracket as other small businesses, startups and other paying market value property taxes
To find solutions and implement a plan to solve the housing crisis
Reverse cuts to essential services and education

Refund California is the movement, along with other acclaimed movements, are fighting back against these budget cuts and seeking alternative means to the sourcing of funding for vital services, healthcare and educational programs.

By closing various loopholes such as the Property 13 reform, increasing the wealthy taxes and putting a tax on Gas and Oil extraction California would be well on it’s way to rebuilding and working towards a tax system that is not only beneficial to the state but also makes it a fairer system for all Californians.

Conclusion

Movements such as Refund California and their associated organization work tirelessly making an effort to spread the wealth that is to be found in California in a way that benefits all Californians and rebuilds their economy to the state it once was.
If you are interested in finding out more about the various movements intent on bringing about changes to the state you can contact the various movement such as ACCE Action, ACCE Institute and Refund California.

If you have anything to add or have questions or queries for us our contact information can be found on our “Contact Us” page of our website.

Overview of the Refund California’s statement on the UC meeting cancellation of 2011

March 12, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Refund California concerns that UC Regents would meet behind closed doors

Protestors gathered amidst loud demonstrations in November of 2011 expressing their concerns that the UC Regents were planning to approve their 2012 budgets by teleconference and behind closed doors in light of the demonstration!

The UC Regents meeting for the 2012 budget proposal

With disregard to the protests going on outside their meeting rooms the CSU trustee voted in a 9% tuition fee increase for the university to start in the fall of 2012.

Whilst this vote was being taken CSU police were violently clashing with the protestors, protesting against the fee hike. The CSU police allegedly use batons and dispersed pepper spray upon the crowd.

One of the glass doors into the building was shattered as protestors tried to gain access to the building only to be pushed back by the CSU police. One officer and four protestors involved were hospitalized with injuries whilst three others were arrested.

Anger prevailed within the student body as students felt that the board of trustees totally disregarded the students right to be included in the meeting and their concerns and demands were not heard.

Along with the fact that the board of trustees rescinded their early provision that stated should the state come through with at least an amount of $138 million for CSU, there would be no hike in the tuition fees.

The trusted voted for $471 million from the state for the following year amidst the disruption of the meeting by the students inside and outside forcing the police to clear the room and leaving the trustees to meet by themselves behind closed doors.

A doctoral student from UCLA who was able to attend the meeting to persuade the trustees to sign the pledge called the tuition increase “basically a tax on students”! He later confirmed seeing police use pepper spray on the crowd of protestors outside the meeting.

This was the second time within that year that the trustees had raised the tuitions fees for California State University students.

Conclusion

Concerns still remain over the ever-increasing hike in tuition fees and the impact it is starting to have on the higher education of students in today’s economy. As more and more students a feeling the financial strain and burden on both them and their families some are being forced to drop out of university altogether.
We all need to stand together in order to pave the way for better educational funding for the sake of the education of future generations.

An open letter from the Associated Students president addressing future tuition increases!

February 11, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Tuition Fee hike for the fall of 2017

In an open letter from the AS President delivered dire news to students of the University of California in that due to a shortfall of around $169 million the universities Board of Trustees will be discussing the possibilities of a fee hike to balance out the shortfall.

The AS Presidents open letter to the Caltech students

On the 31^st October 2016, an open letter addressed to the students of the University of California addressed the issues of budget deficits which could be a potential for fee hikes.
The letter showed a summary of the possible fee hike for the average Undergraduates annual tuition fees.

The letter went on to lay out what initiatives were being put into place in order to advocate as to why yet another increase in tuition fees would have a negative impact on students.
Some of these initiatives, as laid out in the letter were:

Host a phone-banking session during on the 28^th November 2016 for a couple of hours where students could contact Governor Brown’s office and the state legislatures offices to request the full funding of CSU.
To get all the student bodies mobilized to collect full accounts from all the students they represent on how the hike in fees will affect them. These stories would be shared with the state legislature.
Town hall meeting to further inform students of the on the potential fee increases and have a questions and answers session.

These lobbying efforts are in the hopes of getting full funding for CSU from the state in order for the CSU system to live up to their prideful standards of affordable, accessible and high education standards and to predominantly keep it that way.

Administrators and student bodies continue to fight to keep tuition fees down, making this one of their top priorities in order for everyone to gain fair, equal and affordable tuition of the best quality.
Caltech’s budgets of past years and that for 2018 can be found at the following link: https://www.gradoffice.caltech.edu/financialsupport/budget

These budgets show the estimated costs of student attendances which include both that of tuition and the cost of campus living expenses, of which there are several different variations of costings for campus-based living expenses.

Conclusion

As the economy gets tighter so the cost of fees will continue to rise in order to help alleviate some these costs all students should take an interest in their various supporting groups and movements working hard to try and find a balance for everyone.

One to watch – a famous speech delivered by activist Mario Savio in 1964

January 12, 2018March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

Who is Mario Savio?

Mario Savio is was a well known American activist and one of the top members of the “Berkley Free Speech Movement”. His passionate speeches resounded through many a Californian university hall as he advocated for many causes such as helping to gain voting rights for African Americans, taught at black children in McComb, Mississippi before returning to Berkeley. He joined the “Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee” whereby he tried to raise funds for them only to find out that the university had put a ban on fundraising and political activity. This, in turn, led many a famous quote and conversation from Mario which led him to become one of the most prominent leaders of the “Free Speech Movement” which was formed in 1964.

The famous “bodies upon the gears speech”

A long-standing protest by the students of the University of California, Berkeley called the “Free Speech Movement” was started in 1964 and followed through that academic year to 1965. Students of the university, led by Mario Savio, who at the time was a Berkley graduate student, were demanding that the universities ban on political activities is lifted and that their right to academic freedom and free speck be recognized and acknowledged by the university.

On the 2^nd December 1964, upon the steps of Sprout Hall, at the University of California, Berkley, Mario Savio delivered his speech “bodies upon gears” (also known as the operation of the machine) that became a turning point for the movement in the lifting of various bans and giving rise to freedom of speech for all. The speech highlighted how over the years the strength of movements such as the “Free Speech Movement” were made stronger by the overreactions of the 1% suppressing free speech!

For his efforts, Mario Savio became a person of interest to the FBI and was designated by them to be detained without judicial warrant in any national emergency event. He was also surveilled and continuously hounded by the FBI, spent time in prison for his passion but through it all, he never gave up on what he believed in and continued to fight the good fight for the good of all American students.

Conclusion

The “Free Speech Movement” was associated with the “New Lift”, “American Civil Rights Movement” and the “Anti-Vietnam War Movement”, these movements were the foundations that brought about a lot of changes in values and political views for the following generations of the general public, students and university administrators alike throughout the USA.

November 28 UC Regents meetings

December 29, 2017March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

The rescheduled bi-monthly meeting of the UC Regents

The November 16^th meeting of the UC Regents was rescheduled for the 28^th November 2011 and was held by teleconference which included conference calls from UCSF-Mission Bay Community Centre San Francisco, Activities and Recreation Centre Ballroom, Davis campus, James West Alumni Centre, Los Angeles campus Kolligian Library and Merced campus.

The minutes of the meeting

All of the records for the Regents of the University of California are kept at the “Office of the Secretary of the Regents” and have been since the year 1868 to present day. You can read the open sessions of the meeting at the following website: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/minutes-index/index.html

The issues over the hike in fees were addressed by a student of the university and how into her now the second year at the university she had already experienced a 40% increase in fees which equated to $4000 more a year. She went on to discuss how this negatively effects parents who start to save for their children’s college funds for years only to come up short due to these hefty increases.

Another student, raised the issue of the budget transparency in that the income from sales like the UC bookstores and apparel was not readily available but restricted access only and why it is not being used for funding of fundamental academics. The questions were raised as to how this revenue was being allocated and the actual cost of an undergraduate education was.

It was stated by an unidentified student that education was not a privilege but a right that everyone should have access to.

One UCSD student a campus senator for the Associated Students of UCSD was advocating the provision of funds to aid undocumented students who pay into the universities financial aid system but have yet to actually be allocated financial aid. This was an urge for the university’s support for the DREAM Act.

Finally, the effects of the universities fee hike over 2011 were having on the middle-class to low-income students who attend UC. Due to the hefty fee increases over that year, many students were forced to drop out as they were unable to sustain the increase in their education fees.

Conclusion

The increase in education fees has been felt across the nation for colleges, universities and even schools where cutbacks in budgets have forced the education department to layoff necessary teachers, aids and various faculty members causing a serious void in facilities that were once offered and overcrowding of classrooms.

LA mobilization to make Wall Street Banks Pay

December 14, 2017March 1, 2018 Gerardo Smith

The LA mobilization of “Refund California, Occupy Cal and Occupy Cal State” movement

The “Refund California”, “Occupy Cal” and “Occupy Cal State” groups organized protests in order to deliver their message to UC regents and various board members was thwarted by the cancellation of the UC Regents bi-monthly meeting

Threats of violence from rogue elements

Through the fear of potential violence, UC Regents cancelled their scheduled meeting on the 16^th November 2011. A meeting they had been planned and invested in months before. The university police had reported to getting information on “rogue elements intent on violence and confrontation with UC public safety officers”

With no new date set for the UC Regents bi-monthly meeting, it left students leaders very disappointed in the fact that the postponement of being able to voice theirs and the groups they represent discontent with the state budget cuts which badly affected tuition at Cal State and UC.

The vote to increase annual tuition in the fall of 2012

While the UC Regents meeting may have been cancelled but that did not stop the CAL State Board of Trustees meeting that was to take place around the same time as the UC regents meeting. The CAL State Board of Trustees meeting was held in Long Beach under heavy security where it was put to a vote to raise the annual tuition fees by 9% in the fall of 2012.

While Cal State was tightening security around various other campuses where faculty members were staging a strike in protest of a salary dispute. Although the university assured members of the Occupy groups that it had nothing to do with what they were protesting about, the university was not taking any chances and beefed up their security against potential threats.

Conclusion

Fast forward to 2017 and teachers have started to protest the lack of progress in cities such as Sacramento’s education facilities and funding. Teachers are demanding that all classes have a teacher with solid credentials, that class sizes be reduced and that there is more school medical and related personals such as nurses, counsellors and psychologists be employed by the schools.
All students should be able to participate in music, physical education and the arts.
But with the rise in costs of various school necessities the annual budget is expected to exceed that of which it was set to with a result the future may see more cuts in the school budgets and rise in school tuition fees.