Highway 431 Blog

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Funding Education In Tough Economic Times ::

Here's a great editorial from the January 30th edition of The Anniston Star:

The Anniston Star

EDITORIALS
Economic reality
In our opinion
01-30-2009

Yes, the economy has soured.
Yes, tax revenue is falling.
Yes, people from the heights of Goat Hill to the swamps of south Alabama are going to have to make hard choices in the next few years.
However, a choice that should not be made is whether to cut funding for public education.
Our public schools do many wonderful things. They provide a place where children can grow and develop. They provide a structured environment to complement, supplement and enhance what is provided at home.
They offer opportunities for extracurricular enrichment that would not exist for many children if these schools were not there ? and yes, that includes football.
And they teach. Our public schools provide knowledge and skills that will make the state of Alabama prosper. They are the best investment Alabamians can make, and on every level the state gets more in return for the amount of money that is spent.
Yet, now we are talking about cutting education because the money isn't there.
Here is the dose of reality: The money is there. It has been for decades. But the state's leaders ? governor, senators, representatives ? have lacked the courage to raise it.
Instead, Alabama has historically taken money from those who have the least. No wonder this state often falls short on so many important categories.
The state income-tax system favors the well-to-do.
The state property-tax system favors the well-to-do.
The state sales-tax system favors the well-to-do.
To paraphrase President Barack Obama in his inaugural address, the state cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.
Oh, the prosperous will cry that you are waging class warfare. Well, class warfare is what the prosperous have waged against the poor ever since the prosperous stole votes to ratify the state Constitution that governs Alabama today.
Oh, the prosperous will cry, you want the state to spread the wealth. Well, is that any worse than using the state to concentrate wealth with the prosperous?
If there ever was a time when the people sent to Montgomery need to address the inequities that exist in this state and confront reality, this is it.


This should be passed around and shared with everyone! The Anniston Star seems to be the exception rather than the rule with regards to our state's newspapers tackling tough issues head-on.

No comments: