Snap out of it!
Whenever public education bureaucrats and go-along politicians start talking about the alleged “public school funding crisis” in this state, they often refer to the various tax revenue “sources”- federal aid, state funding, and local funding. These tax eaters like to say that the state is not doing its “fair share” of funding education, claiming that Illinois is 49th in the nation when it comes to school spending. The truth? That ranking reflects just one tax revenue “source.” Actually, the NEA ranks Illinois 10th nationwide in total spending per pupil.
Classifying tax revenue “sources” is a favorite ploy of the tax eaters, a way they can cry poor in order to dupe the public into giving up its hard-earned money. The fact is that there is really only one tax revenue source- the tax payer. That’s you and me. Whether it’s our right pocket in the form of property taxes, or our left pocket in the form of income taxes, or our back pocket in the form of sales taxes, it’s still our money.
When will they have enough? People are fond of saying that Springfield legislators spend money like a drunken sailor. But there’s a big difference there- the sailor is spending his own money; legislators spend ours!
Taxpayers need to snap out of it. We need to quit falling for the propaganda from the tax eaters and ask ourselves what we are getting for our money. Our public schools are doing a mediocre job at best with more money than they ever got in the past. Yet, they still want more. Plus, they want us to trust them to do a good job with pre-school and mental health screening when they can’t handle the tasks they currently have.
Is there a better way? Just ask the folks up in Milwaukee, or down in Cleveland, Washington D.C. and Florida. Opportunity scholarships allow parents to pull their kids out of failing schools and enroll them in a school of their choice. Charter schools, parochial schools, virtual schools, and home-schooling are all options that the tax eaters in Illinois refuse to allow. One can only conclude that they aren’t really interested in good education for all, at least not as interested as they are in getting more of our money.
Classifying tax revenue “sources” is a favorite ploy of the tax eaters, a way they can cry poor in order to dupe the public into giving up its hard-earned money. The fact is that there is really only one tax revenue source- the tax payer. That’s you and me. Whether it’s our right pocket in the form of property taxes, or our left pocket in the form of income taxes, or our back pocket in the form of sales taxes, it’s still our money.
When will they have enough? People are fond of saying that Springfield legislators spend money like a drunken sailor. But there’s a big difference there- the sailor is spending his own money; legislators spend ours!
Taxpayers need to snap out of it. We need to quit falling for the propaganda from the tax eaters and ask ourselves what we are getting for our money. Our public schools are doing a mediocre job at best with more money than they ever got in the past. Yet, they still want more. Plus, they want us to trust them to do a good job with pre-school and mental health screening when they can’t handle the tasks they currently have.
Is there a better way? Just ask the folks up in Milwaukee, or down in Cleveland, Washington D.C. and Florida. Opportunity scholarships allow parents to pull their kids out of failing schools and enroll them in a school of their choice. Charter schools, parochial schools, virtual schools, and home-schooling are all options that the tax eaters in Illinois refuse to allow. One can only conclude that they aren’t really interested in good education for all, at least not as interested as they are in getting more of our money.
posted by JackRoeser | 1:02 PM
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