Maybe he means raising taxes in Mejico!
Posted on 04/27/2005 11:44:49 AM PDT by BurbankKarl
Taxes should be increased to help boost state education spending by at least $4 billion over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal, Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata said Tuesday. Perata, D-Oakland, said the state's per-pupil spending should at least be at the national average, and he doesn't want to see other state services cut to benefit education.
"We have to raise taxes to pay for schools. There -- we've said it," Perata said at a news conference.
Some possibilities include raising the state income tax or moving to a value-added tax system.
Schwarzenegger has proposed spending $58 billion on education in fiscal 2005-06, an increase of $1.6 billion from the current year. But education advocates complain the governor is failing to live up to his promise to fully fund education under the Proposition 98 guarantees.
According to a survey by Education Week, California ranks 43rd among the states in per-pupil spending, spending $6,659 per pupil in 2001-02, with the national average at $7,734.
Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said the governor remains opposed to tax increases and noted that California is showing significant gains in revenue from existing sources, with most of that money going to education.
"Right now is not the time for taxes, and the governor has said we don't have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem," Thompson said.
The governor first wants to see school districts spending money more effectively, and with greater accountability and transparency, she said.
Not all Democrats agree with the need for tax increases. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles, has been more cautious about calling for tax increases. He is open to the idea of new taxes, but only after seeing what Schwarzenegger proposes in his revised May budget, said Nuñez spokesman Steve Maviglio.
Other leading Democrats do support tax increases, including state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides, and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell.
"For the Chillun" PING
I've got a better idea, deport the illegals and cut education spending!
Nothing like killing two birds with one stone!
Yeah, like that phrase has never passed his lips before.
btw, what happened to allllll that revenue that the Lottery was going to bring in??? hmmmmmm...
Californians are PAYING for education alright, they just aren't RECEIVING it.
If we didn't edcuate much of Mexico's kids we could even talk about cutting taxes.
Maybe he means raising taxes in Mejico!
I think I would agree to this IF the teachers would give up their union
.. Let's first try the 65% Solution as recently written about by George Will. Get rid of excessive administration, now!
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/georgewill/gw20050410.shtml#
I can't imagine that the profit from the lottery has been frittered away on other programs. Or squandered on political favors and kick-back schemes. Or anything like that.
Can't we wait for this legislation until after Speaker Peralta's sentencing? I hope he gets years for the bribery part...
And they wonder why people are leaving California in droves....
As Will Rogers once said: "Thank God we're not getting all the government we're (already) paying for!"
for the chldren, why not put a special tax on violent Hollywood movies? Meathead Reiner could split up the money between with his cronies again like the tobacco $$$ and perhaps he'll run for governor! The tobacco $$$ has sure been a windfall for the students --- NOT
"Raise taxes for kid's education."
Leave it to California to decide that educating young goats is a priority worth raising taxes over. The tragedy is that other states are so dumb they nearly always follow California's lead.
"Hey, wasn't the Lottery supposed to fix the education funding "crisis"?"
I was wondering the same thing, so I looked it up on their website... 15 billion since 1985.
that's what 750 million a year on average?
certainly not pittance...
I still say, deport the illegals and your education expense problems are solved!
Heck, one third of all the kids in L.A. city public schools don't even speak English!
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