来源：《洛杉矶时报》
原文刊登日期：2021年11月14日
Beware of ballot measures that offer something for nothing. Especially when they involve the expenditure of public money. Even when the goal is a good one. Remember: Government budgets are finite. Shelling out money to Peter is generally going to put Paul in bad shape.
小心那些承诺不用付出就有好处的投票议案。特别是涉及到公共资金的支出时，即使目标是好的。记住：政府预算是有限的，给彼得钱通常会让保罗陷入困境。
No matter how many times this gets repeated, though, proposals that dedicate taxpayer money to one pet project or another continue to make their way onto state and local ballots and often win.
然而，无论这种情况被重复多少次，将纳税人的钱用于一个又一个宠物项目的提案仍会继续进入州和地方的投票，而且往往会获胜。
It’s called ballot-box budgeting, and though these propositions almost invariably call for spending on something popular, they are especially problematic when they don’t raise any new money but earmark existing revenue. Typically that means taking the money from a government’s general fund, which is also used to pay for a variety of other important services.
这就是所谓的“投票箱预算”，尽管这些提议几乎总是呼吁在一些受欢迎的事情上支出，但当它们不筹集任何新资金，而是指定现有财政收入时，问题就更大了。这通常意味着从政府的普通基金中提取资金，这些资金也用于支付其他各种重要的公共服务。
In that vein, former Los Angeles schools Director Austin Beutner is launching an initiative for the November 2022 ballot to spend more funding on arts education in the public schools, with the support of rapper and music entrepreneur Dr. Dre and other luminaries in the entertainment world. And guess what? With no increase in taxes!
又一个这种投票议案来了，前洛杉矶教育局长奥斯汀·贝特纳在说唱歌手、音乐企业家德雷博士（Dr.Dre）和其他娱乐界名人的支持下，为2022年11月的投票发起了一项倡议，将更多资金用于公立学校的艺术教育。你猜怎么着？没有增税！
The initiative would set aside an amount equal to 1% of Proposition 98 from the state’s general fund to pay for music, drama, fine art, creative writing and other art endeavors. To be clear, the money wouldn’t be taken from regular school funding; it would be taken from the state’s general fund.
该倡议将从州普通基金中拨出相当于98号提案1%的金额，用于支付音乐、戏剧、美术、创意写作和其他艺术活动。需要说明的是，这笔钱不会从常规学校经费中扣除；而是从加州的普通基金中提取。
This is a bad idea. Right now, state coffers are flush. But when revenue becomes tight in the future, the governor and Legislature need as much flexibility in the budget as possible to make sure that critical needs are funded. What happens if the student population plummets in future years while the number of disabled elderly people grows?
这是个坏主意。现在，州政府的资金很充裕。但是，当未来财政收入不宽裕时，州长和立法机关需要在预算上尽可能地灵活，以确保关键需求得到资金。如果学生人数在未来几年直线下降，而残疾老人的数量增加，会发生什么？
What’s more, Beutner’s proposed initiative wouldn’t necessarily mean students and families would see any difference in arts education. Schools would have to use the new money on arts, but they could take some of the money they spend on arts now and use it for something else. All of which essentially means that this a back-door way to increase school funding.
更重要的是，博特纳提出的倡议并不一定意味着学生和家庭在艺术教育方面会看到任何不同。学校将不得不把新的资金用在艺术上，但他们可以把现在花在艺术上的一部分钱用在其他地方。所有这一切本质上意味着这是增加学校资金的一种后门方式。
The teachers and leaders of individual school districts know what their students most need and should be free to make those decisions. That’s why Governor Jerry Brown did away with most so-called categorical funds for schools.
每个学区的老师和领导知道他们的学生最需要什么，应该有做出这些决定的自由。这就是为什么州长杰里·布朗取消了大多数所谓的学校分类基金。
The ballot initiative’s language has been filed and signatures must be gathered by late April in order to qualify in time for the November 2022 ballot. But Beutner — whose name is floated as a possible contender for higher office — should do the taxpayers and state lawmakers a favor by ending this campaign now.
投票倡议的语言已经提交，签名必须在4月底前收集，以便及时获得2022年11月投票的资格。但是，博特纳——他的名字被认为可能是更高职位的竞争者——应该通过现在结束这场投票运动来帮纳税人和州议员的忙。
More money for arts education would be great, and parents should urge their local school boards to make it a higher priority, but not at the expense of every other important state expenditure.
为艺术教育提供更多资金将是一件好事，家长们应该敦促当地学校董事会将其作为更高的优先事项，但不能以牺牲其他重要的州政府支出为代价。