In spite of the undeniable appeal of the promise of getting something for nothing, a promise that never comes to fruition, voters should defeat Proposition 123 in the upcoming election.

That proposition would take billions of dollars from a fund that was created for the benefit of Arizona to satisfy a mandate to provided adequate funding to Arizona’s public education system. Its duplicitous promise is that the governor and the state legislature can accomplish this without touching the “third rail” of Arizona politics – taxes.

It is a classic example of “kicking the can down the road,” as somewhere in the not too distant future Arizonans will have to replace the funds (taxes!) or accept the fact that the Permanent Land Endowment Trust Fund will remain permanently short of billions of dollars.

Worse, the public school system will not have been provided with a permanent source of revenue. Sooner or later, someone will have to pay the piper.

It is significant that an array of current and former state treasurers, of every political persuasion, charged with the responsibility of administration and oversight of the land trust fund have criticized Proposition 123 and have publicized their opposition to it. They are urging voters to defeat it.

Proposition 123 appears to be designed to put Arizonans between a rock and a hard place – vote for a bad financial deal or defeat it and take responsibility for an underfunded public school system. Proposition 123 is more a blueprint for re-election than a plan for properly educating our kids.

Vote against Proposition 123. Send the governor and our state legislators back to the negotiating table with instruction to put aside their inclination to help themselves get re-elected and instead work to help our kids prepare themselves for a successful future.