In 1912 when the California Statehouse was overrun with big moneyed interests, California Governor Hiram Johnson allowed the first initiatives to be placed on the ballot to encourage more citizen activism in State Government. Now, one hundred years later, the very process that was set up to help free the State from the clutches of wealthy interests has seemingly succumbed to those forces.

Four of the 11 ballot measures on the November 6th state ballot have been funded by extremely wealthy individuals, like George Joseph, Molly Munger, Chris Kelly and Tom Steyer. Money is flowing in from billionaires, millionaires and corporations around the country to support or oppose ballot measures in California, a state which has the eighth largest economy in the world.

On October 29, 2012, Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar interviewed Matt Fleischer is an LA-based journalist and editor and contributor to Frying Pan News, and Jessica Parra-Fitch, an organizer with Food and Water Watch, about Propositions 30, 32, and 37.

Watch a video of the interview here:

Bipasha Shom recorded this interview.