Hardly seems like you'd HAVE to subject THAT to a vote of the people, but oh well.
Because the Prop system's threshold to put any Prop on the ballot is so low (as it is based on only 5% of the electorate..), everything is subject to the will of the voter, which is part of the reason CA is in so much fiscal trouble. If, as an arbitrary example, schools are guaranteed 50% of the budget, health care 25%, and state parks 15%, street sweeping 11%, etc., you quickly are spending 125% of your budget. So, if the Assembly cannot agree on a budget matter, they simply punt and put it before an uninformed electorate. I say uninformed because, even if you read ALL the written (in print and online) Prop subject matter, and if you live in SF, as I do, it can reach up to 400 total pages for both State and local Props (and that's just the official stuff from the Dept. of Elections...), there is no way to accurately determine the precise financial effects of many Props, which is why more and more of them are going down to defeat. It's a good general idea, but the system, as all do overtime, has been gamed by all parties, especially the special interests.
Backing of CA's debt is a tricky issue... CA is still somewhere around the 10th largest economy in the world, just by itself. So, if you mess with it, you are messing with approximately 1/3 of the US economy. No question CA has to reform the question of how to raise taxes, as it currently requires a 66% super majority. This is on the calendar for another Prop next year. More importantly, CA has to limit entitlement spending, which the Dems are never willing to do, but must as the entitlement system must be reset as it is with our entire economy. Reform of Prop 13, at least on a commercial basis, will have to happen. Life in the "Golden" State is never a a dull ride.
