One of the most prevalent arguments in favor of Proposition 30 is that without it, education spending will be subject to $6 billion in "trigger cuts" that will result in higher college tuition and shorter school years.
But is this $6 billion really a "cut" in the way you and I would think about it?
Consider the following example:
Say you're expecting a $100-per-week raise at work. But then you don't get it, and you tell your friends that you have to cut back by $100 a week.
Normally, you really wouldn't think of that $100 week not coming in as a cut, since it was never part of your salary in the first place. However, with respect to these "trigger cuts", the key is that this $6 billion figure stems from the fact that Gov. Brown and the legislature started the budget year by assuming that Proposition 30 would pass.
