Author:
Ned Depew
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Date Posted: 10:49:43 07/01/05 Fri
Gene -
this couldn't be more far-fetched could it? We have a conservative Republican Governor in NY - or are you calling George Pataki a liberal?
We have a State Legislature that is divided between the two parties - a Republican Senate and a Democratic House. Pataki has been Governor for more than 12 years, plenty long enough to influence spending policy.
At the national level we've had the most rabidly "anti-liberal" (I won't call them "conservative" because that would be an insult to true conservatives) Administration in living memory.
They have had more than five years to change our national policy on educational spending on the national level (and they have, by reducing educational spending and failing to fully fund their own "No Child Left Behind" program, to give just two examples), by shifting the responsibility for funding national mandates to localities.
Yet you want to blame New York State spending on the "liberals?" That's simply contrary to the facts.
Americans never object to spending money - we are the world's richest nation. But we want value for our money. There's nothing liberal about that.
We have a national administration that spends billions on foreign wars, Cold War Era weapons systems and on hand-outs to corporations and big business, while reducing taxes on those who already have more money than they could spend in ten life-times, yet is stingy with funding for education, Social Security, Veterans benefits and other programs that make life better for ordinary Americans.
We have a State Administration that cuts education spending to localities in an attempt to push more and more responsibility on to the payers of property tax - the most regressive of taxes, that costs the poor (especially those who rent) a far greater proportion of their income than the rich, instead of the relatively progressive income tax.
We have local Administrations - the BOEs and the local governments (who could at the very least weigh in on the issue) - that allow vastly bloated Administrative budgets in our schools and that would allow the elimination of all of our children's arts, sports and extra-curricular activiites before considering asking top administrators - whose salaries are 3-5 times the average family income for our region - to reduce their numbers or take even a small cut in pay.
Who are the "liberals" on our BOE? Who are the "liberals" in our school administration? In our State Legislature? How have they "forced" this spending down the throats of ordinary taxpayers? And where are the "conservatives" who should be fighting back? Are they so weak and powerless as to be helpless against this "liberal" onslaught?
Really, Gene, if you believe this your world view must be completely skewed.
The truth is that selfish, self-serving politicians and bureaucrats of all parties have joined together to serve their own interests (see how I did that?).
It's not about "liberals" or "conservatives." It's about those who have our children's best interests at heart, and those who put themselves and their interests first.
And It's about us standing up for our kids and insisting on the programs they really need, while forcing our BOE to make changes to reduce administrative spending and hire administrators who can and will implement plans for the improvement of our educational system that produce measurable, positive long-term results.
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