Proposition 12
On Tuesday, July 15, 2008, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger again showed his strong commitment to our men and women serving in our armed forces and their families, by signing legislation to put Prop 12 - The Veterans Bond Act of 2008 - on the ballot.
I am generally against bond initiatives but I will have to give this one a closer look for two reasons. Those reasons are our governor has promised that the measure will use $900 million in Veterans General Obligation Bonds to fund approximately 1,300 low-interest loans for California veterans without impacting California’s general fund. So the general fund will not be impacted and the governor will be helping our veterans. Assuming this is true, it appears to be a worthy vote.
Schwarzenegger said, “The Veterans Bond Act will help California’s veterans achieve the American dream of homeownership. I’m asking voters to say yes in November so that veterans who risked their lives in places like Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan will be eligible to join the more than 420,000 others who have bought a home with a CalVet loan – at no expense to taxpayers.”
I hope this a clear initiative and not like the Federal G.I. bill that basically made our service men and women indentured servants in order to attain the benefits the revised GI Bill offers.
(NOTE-one has to stay in a long time to reap the benefits under the new G.I. Bill. Basically, no more 4 years and out with your choice of schools. Now you have to stay in a longer time to reap those rewards. Of course, service personnel will be older and it is unclear how many will actually use the benefits of the new G.I. bill.)