Prop 3 – CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL BOND ACT

My Summary: This is a bond measure just shy of $1 billion dollars. Of the nearly $1 billion dollars, “80 percent of bond proceeds go to hospitals that focus on children with illnesses such as leukemia, cancer, heart defects, diabetes, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis.” The other 20 percent go to UC hospitals for “acute care.”

My Opinion: This is probably going to be one of the more boring propositions. Obviously it’s a bond measure, and I don’t support it. How stupid is it that funding for private hospitals has to be done through a ballot measure? I’ve got two great reasons to vote no. Here’s the first, straight from the argument FOR the prop.

Construction costs are increasing and cannot be financed with the $750-million bond that voters approved in 2004.

The last big government handout wasn’t enough, so now they need more? Nice try. The best part is that they haven’t even spent all of that money. The major donors is also a good list to look at to decide who thinks this bond is important. The major donors are:

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles; Children’s Hospital of Orange County; Miller Children’s Hospital at Long Beach; other nonprofit children’s hospitals that could receive grants from the bond money.

If you’ve ever needed an example of “special interests,” it doesn’t get much better than this. I think the initial reaction people have is that these hospitals must be strapped for cash, and OOOH the poor little dying children! From everything I’ve read, these hospitals don’t need this money to keep their doors open. They’ve still got money from the last bond measure, and their greedy little pockets are already looking for more.

Bottom Line: First strike is that it’s a bond measure, and second strike is that no one can explain to me how sickly little children will be dying in the streets without this bond.

I am voting NO on Prop 3.

Make sure you visit Geeky Weekly for his take on Prop 3.