Proposition 78 is OK, but it’s no Prop 79. This is why we are opposing Prop 78: It’s either one or the other, and quite frankly, we would rather vote for a proposition that could actually get some results.

Prescription drug companies can already offer discounts to low-income residents at their own discretion, and this measure would do nothing to compel them to do so any further. Prop 78 imposes no consequences on pharmaceutical companies who decide they don’t want to offer any rebates, while Prop 79, on the other hand, would force them to cooperate if they want to continue doing business with the state.

Prop 78 would also benefit fewer Californians, offer smaller discounts on drugs and allow the state to end the program at any time if drug companies don’t participate.

If both Props 78 and 79 pass in this election, the one that receives more votes will take effect. One has only to look at Prop 78’s major backers – pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co. and Pfizer, to name a few – to understand the measure’s primary goal: to beat Prop 79.

If Prop 79 weren’t on the ballot, Prop 78 would look pretty good to us, but “pretty good” is pretty relative. To ensure that it’s Prop 79 that gets the nod, we at the Daily Nexus choose to vote “no” on Prop 78.