Children can’t win with Harris’ policies

September, 18, 2019 | Victor Allison | reporter

Of the ample shots taken at presidential candidate Kamala Harris for her past as a prosecutor, comedian D.L. Hughley provides a concrete example of how her policies miss the mark.

As the former San Francisco district attorney, Harris once endorsed the jailing of parents with truant children. But, Hughley reminds us that shortsighted remedies like these rarely address the root cause of a problem.

“I like Kamala. I didn’t like her stance on truancy,” said Hughley. “In California, there was a Proposition 13. It tied everything to property. My neighborhood specifically wasn’t wealthy. So they took away our buses. They took away our after-school programs.”

Hughley, who grew up in South Central Los Angeles, goes on to say that the long walks had bigger effects.

Prop. 13 is a wildly popular state law in California, particularly among homeowners because it made big slashes to property tax rates.

For the last 40 years, those cuts that have favored homeowners have wreaked havoc on local school budgets dependent on tax revenues, helping sink California from 14th to 47th among states in per pupil spending since its passing in 1978.

After 30 years of damage caused by Prop. 13, Harris still blames the parents of truant children while evidence suggests otherwise.

In a 2010 speech she said, “I believe a child going without an education is tantamount to a crime. So I decided I was going to start prosecuting parents for truancy.”

In Harris’ world, it’s the irresponsible behavior of people inhabiting the bottom rungs of society who create catastrophe.

For Hughley and those who experience policy decisions at ground zero, factors beyond individual and moral responsibility determine outcomes in an environment where choices are limited.

Harris claims she will be “courageous” enough to reform the twisted criminal justice system if elected president. That’s great lip service, but the real question is, will she be courageous enough to hold the right parties accountable?