Proposition 14, Stem Cell Bonds: No
Who doesn’t want to cure diseases? That’s the premise behind proposition 14, which would allow the state to issue bonds that would raise money for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund research grants. Sounds good, right?
Well, follow the money.
According to Ballotpedia, back in 2004, Robert N. Klein II, a real estate investor and stem-cell research advocate, led the proposition 71 campaign, which “which created CIRM, issued $3.00 billion in bonds to finance CIRM, and established a state constitutional right to conduct stem cell research.” Klein was the first chair of CIRM. That money has run out, and now they want more.
A political action committee (PAC), Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments & Cures, is behind proposition 14. Klein is now chair of Californians for Stem Cell Research, Treatments & Cures and is its largest donor, $4.63 million of $6.58 million received.
You see where this is going, right?
Who benefits from the state borrowing this money?
Well, you can fairly say that research to cure disease will benefit, and that’s not a bad thing. But you can also reasonably say that this institution and its bureaucracy, the PAC, and Klein will also benefit.
You can also reasonably argue, as some opponents do, that proposition 71 did its job to kick start stem cell research, and that going back to the state bond trough is not only unnecessary, its untenable, especially during these tough economic times.
Besides, we’re still paying for the proposition 71 bonds. We will end up paying $3 billion interest on the $3 billion in bonds that were issued with payments for years to come that will average around $200 million per year.
On the other side of that coin, is is demonstrably true that the proposition 71 infusion of cash has not only funded research that has saved lives, it has created jobs here in California. Goods jobs, jobs that are likely to continue even if this proposition doesn’t pass.
Why? Because proposition 71 not only authorized funding, it changed the state’s constitution to define stem cell research as a right. The latter is why the religious right fought it so fiercely.
For the last 3-plus years, science funding has been eviscerated at the national level. This is probably one of the drivers for this proposition. I expect this to change, though, and we will have science believers back at the helm. Funding will continue, both from public and private sources, and the research will continue to thrive here in California.
CIRM must now thrive on its own, without the crutch of state borrowing. The cause is good, but the method is bad. Vote NO on proposition 14.
