Proposition 5 is Bad For Our Health

Proposition 5 on the November 2018 ballot is a grave threat to Californians health care.

According to the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office, Prop 5 will result in an initial cut of hundreds of millions of dollars to California counties, and ultimately a billion dollars per year.

Our counties are a major provider many vital services. A billion dollar hit to county budgets would put schools, firefighters, law enforcement, libraries, parks, and health and human services at risk. Millions of Californians rely on these services for the health and well-being of themselves, their families, and their communities.

We all rely on our county safety net. This includes public hospitals, emergency rooms, community health clinics, ambulances, mental health services, and much more. Everything from signing children or seniors up for Medi-Cal to key services at a local public hospital are threatened under a major cut.

The cuts that would stem from Prop 5 would particularly harm California’s children, seniors, and those with disabilities. Also hard hit would be rural areas of our state, where many already struggle to find adequate care nearby.

The Realtors – the ONLY backers of Prop 5 – argue that this will help seniors, but in reality the vast majority will see no benefit, and Prop 5’s cuts will actually put the services millions of seniors rely on at risk. Voters have already changed the California Constitution to protect seniors and people with disabilities from higher property taxes and allow people who lose their homes in a natural disaster to rebuild without a tax penalty. These protections have been locked into the California Constitution for over two decades, and are not in question.

The backers of Prop 5 are misleading voters in order to make more money at the expense of the most vulnerable in our community and hardworking families. We cannot let them.

At a time when we are facing federal efforts to cut our health care and safety-net programs, and federal tax changes that unfairly advantage some at the expense of many, California should not do the same with Prop 5.

We have successfully fought back against many federal attempts to undermine our health care system, and now we must fight back against this attempt by a special interest seeking a special tax break. Our health care is on the ballot in so many ways this election season, including with Prop 5.

We urge people to vote like their health depends on it up and down the ballot.

And specifically, we urge anyone who cares about the health care in their community to vote NO on Proposition 5. It’s bad for our health!

Learn more at www.noprop5.com