Holding California children hostage for more tax money that rarely reaches the classroom...

I am outraged every time I hear a California politician claim that Californians must pay higher taxes to avoid deep cuts in the education budget.

This is nonsense!

In California's topsy-turvy budgeting process it seems that education comes before public safety -- although Californians are threatened with the loss of both every time the legislature, with the Governor's approval, overspends their budget.  This time to the tune of $16-18 BILLION dollars. Which they expect the good citizens of California to erase by digging into their already impoverished pockets.

Some even have gone so far to lay a significant decrease in revenues to companies and wealthy individuals who have left the so-called "Golden State" for states with more rational taxes and less socialistic legislatures. Where everything is not filtered through the prism of helping illegal aliens to survive for the sole purpose of capitalizing on a cheap labor supply, paying union dues and providing future democrat voters.

The children will be hurt if we cut education funding...

First, I am incensed when I find out that the politicians are speaking in politico-speak where so-called budget cuts are not real reductions in funding, but simply a cut in the next proposed budget increase. Something far different than you might imagine. There is a significant difference in cutting 10% from the actual funding and cutting 10%  or even 100% from the next proposed budget increase.

Second, it appears, at least to me, that the politicians are pandering to the powerful teachers' unions which led a successful, $100 million dollar campaign against Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed political reforms -- many of which had nothing to do with education.

Third, it appears that these corrupt and pandering politicians care not one whit for the children of California's legal citizens.

Yes, I said legal citizens... because our dysfunctional school system is overrun by illegal aliens who have caused the quality of education to severely decline due to the need to accommodate non-English speaking students.

Students whose foreign-born parents do not value education highly, do not participate in school programs and cannot or will not participate in a child's homework program.

Illegal aliens who have motivated school systems to divert teaching funds into social welfare programs to support school feeding programs (some even in the summer when no children are present in classrooms), and pre-school and after-school programs which are little more than teacher-supervised babysitting .

Fourth, I find that massive amounts of money never reach the classroom in spite of continued promises. The schools are top-heavy with administrators and other paper shufflers who should be forced to return to the classroom or be dismissed.

Fifth, dismissal is another sore point as it is almost impossible to fire an incompetent teacher or one who simply punches their retirement ticket. If teachers are found to be incompetent, they are more likely to be shifted to other schools rather than face dismissal. We need competent teachers to fix education -- not simply more money.

Sixth, what's up with the support of totally dysfunctional school systems like the LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District) which spent over $100 MILLION on a broken payroll system and one BILLION on a single high school which has yet to educate a single student. And these are the schools crying poverty.

No proof that money would help either the children or the classroom teachers...

There is no proof that any additional funds, if they should accidentally reach the classroom before being siphoned off for administrative activities, would increase the quality of education in California.

Not as long as classes need to be "dumbed down" and tests modified to accommodate the lowest achievers in order to prevent the school system from appearing to be as incompetent as it really is.

Not as long as we keep being inundated by an ever-increasing flow of functionally illiterate illegal aliens and their offspring.

Outrage...

"In tomorrow's [Sacramento] Bee: Judy Lin reports the Assembly is expected to vote on the oil tax package Wednesday that Democratic Speaker Fabian Núñez says will be the first of many revenue-raising proposals."

"Núñez pens an op-ed in The Bee on the oil tax for schools measure."

"'At the same time California is facing billions of dollars in cuts to schools, big oil companies are pocketing billions of dollars in astronomical profits -- the highest ever -- without paying Californians a single dime for the oil they take out of our state,' writes the speaker. 'California is the only oil producing state in the nation -- the only one -- that does not tax oil that is owned, leased or extracted within its boundaries. It is preposterous given our current situation to let this gusher giveaway go on.'"

Mexican-style socialists...

The termed out Nunez, who I have always felt was a Mexican-style socialist more beholden to Mexico than California's legal citizens, has the gall to propose a tax which would add to California's already draconian gas prices -- and further decimate the California economy.

The current problem and who is responsible...

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, Senate President Don Perata and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are directly responsible for California's fiscal fiasco. Even though California's gross revenues grew at a faster rate than the population, cost of living and inflation rates combined, these leaders failed to contain the California budget as they kept spending more and more money on socially-engineered programs, programs promoted by the special interests and massive raises for union workers who create artificial work shortages in order to collect outrageous overtime compensation.

Schwarzenegger's actions in papering over previous deficits and shortfalls with massive borrowing and the shifting of funds between budget accounts not only betrayed his own campaign rhetoric, but has betrayed California and her legal citizens.

We do not have a spending problem, we need more money...

Don Perata: "We do not have a spending problem we don't have enough money. And we're going to have to have more money even on a temporary basis because ..."

Instead of proposing to eliminate the waste, fraud and corruption in the system, Perata simply wants more money. More money to be diverted into the same pockets as before. Both Nunez and Perata are under investigation for their political activities.

What can YOU do?

Hold politicians responsible for their actions. We have already termed-out some of the irresponsible people in the legislature -- even though they mounted a duplicitous proposition campaign with a backdoor which would have extended their terms. Do not re-elect the incumbents who have brought financial catastrophe to our fair state.

Call your elected officials and tell them to cut the spending and force the bureaucrats to cope. Cut non-essential services like art programs. Demand that educators return to teaching the basics: reading, reasoning, writing, arithmetic, history and civics. Expand trade schools for those who do not want an academic career.

Re-examine union contracts and retirement benefits to bring them back in line with industry. Do not provide a lifetime of guaranteed work for government people.

It is time to cut back on the special interest programs and the non-essentials. If we need to spend money, let us prioritize it for  public safety, the repair or replacement of our crumbling infrastructure, education and should anything remain -- spend it for the benefit of our legal residents.

For those who feel that this is a racist stance: tough! We are engaged in an economic war with a foreign power. We are supporting their citizens who continue to take money out of our economy to send back home. And for those who claim that we need illegal aliens -- ask yourself, do we need them to contribute a net loss of $22,000 over and above any services they may provide and taxes they may pay? I am willing to pay the twenty-five additional cents for a head of lettuce instead of $2,500 in additional taxes.

Do not vote for any politician who claim that they are fiscally conservative; but can not demonstrate that their reforms have yielded results other than talking points. 

And finally, demand that the state return to the 2006 budget level. The problem just may resolve itself.

-- steve

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The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius