Hollywood director Rob Reiner has united California's forces of compassion behind a June 6 ballot initiative seeking to create a state universal-preschool program.

* Hollywood director Rob Reiner has united California's forces of compassion behind a June 6 ballot initiative seeking to create a state universal-preschool program. Proposition 82 proposes that California provide free preschool for any four-year-old whose parents request it. This generosity is expected to cost over $2 billion per year, to be funded by an income-tax hike on individuals making over $400,000 annually. Around 65 percent of California's four-year-olds already attend preschool, and the new program would boost that number by only 10 or 15 percent, at best. A study by an independent consulting firm shows that around 75 percent of the universal-preschool budget would go to families who would send their children to preschool without the program's assistance. Almost 25 percent of it would subsidize families making over $100,000 per year, while only 8.4 percent would be spent on high-risk children who otherwise wouldn't attend preschool. In short, Proposition 82 would provide a universal service that the vast majority of affected Californians already can--and already do--provide for themselves.