Study finds even liberals resist equality measures + Levine launches ad + Ballots are out
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
PRIVILEGED PEOPLE RESIST EQUALITY MEASURES, UC BERKELEY STUDY FINDS
Remember Proposition 16, the doomed 2020 affirmative action ballot initiative?
A new study finds that privileged people, even liberals, resist pro-equality measures that they feel will bring them harm. The UC Berkeley Haas School of Business study was published Friday in the journal “Science Advances.”
“We found that people think of the world in zero-sum terms, so that a gain for one group must necessarily be a loss for another,” said study co-author Derek Brown, a Berkeley Haas doctoral student, in a statement. “This seems to be a cognitive mistake that everyone is susceptible to, not just a vociferous minority that has antipathy toward any certain group.”
The study, which looked in part at the vote for Proposition 16, found that a majority of whites and Asians believed that the ballot measure would reduce their access to education and job opportunities. It sought to repeal Proposition 209, a 1996 measure that barred state government from considering race, sex, or ethnicity in decisions involving employment, contracting and education.
“In fact, a belief that the measure would harm their chances was a stronger predictor of how people would vote than their political party or any other ideological variable. In a follow-up survey two weeks after the first, researchers found that people who switched to a no vote reported a growing perception that the measure would hurt them,” according to a UC Berkeley statement.
Why? In short, people view equality as zero-sum, the study said. People believe that as one group gets more, the other group must necessarily get less.
The paper authors argue that this has implications for policymakers as they consider laws to reduce disparities between racial groups.
“Our research suggests that you can’t expect everyone to be on board and you should always expect there’s going to be a backlash,” Brown said. “The change itself has to be the justification.”
LEVINE CAMPAIGN DROPS NEW AD
Democratic Assemblyman Marc Levine, who is running to unseat incumbent Democratic Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, has launched the first television ad of his campaign, titled “Helping Who.”
The 30-second spot cites, among other things, an editorial from The Sacramento Bee about how Lara accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from people with ties to the insurance industry.
“We are excited to launch this spot,” Levine campaign strategist Katie Merill said in a statement. “Voters are sick and tired of insurance companies raising rates, canceling policies, or flat out refusing to provide coverage in regions all over California. They want a leader focused on helping them, instead of helping himself and his insurance industry donors. As newspapers from all over California are echoing: That leader is clearly Marc Levine.”
Levine campaign spokesman Noah Finneburgh said the campaign has launched a four-week ad buy in both Northern and Southern California, including Sacramento and the Bay Area. He said that the ad buy is “well into the six figures,” though he declined to say how much is specifically being spent.
BALLOTS ARE OUT TODAY
And before we leave you, don’t forget that today is the day that California 2022 primary election ballots go out. Keep an eye on your mailbox.
Primary election day is June 7, so there’s a little less than a month to go to fill those ballots out and mail them in or drop them off.
Here’s the certified list of candidates who will be on the ballot, running for statewide offices, including governor and U.S. Senator, as well as Congressional, State Assembly and State Senate seats.
And of course be sure to check out The Sacramento Bee’s election coverage, including endorsements and stories on key races.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“IMO: Unless there is a viable plan to connect Silicon Valley (jobs/no housing) with the Central Valley (housing/needs jobs)… [High speed rail] should be scratched and the existing funds repurposed to transit and highway improvements.”
- Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
Two years after the last wave of rolling blackouts, California officials said Friday the state could face potential shortfalls in electricity this summer as drought, extreme heat and wildfires pose threats to the fragile power grid, via Dale Kasler.
Fact check: Could sixth-graders get vaccines without parents’ consent under this California plan? Via Lindsey Holden.
California voters in 2016 wholeheartedly approved Proposition 57, a measure that promised to help prison overcrowding by letting nonviolent inmates seek parole sooner and shave down their sentences with credits for good behavior and rehabilitation programs. At the time, the California District Attorneys Association warned it could cause trouble, via Lindsey Holden.