CA: Dire visions of spending cuts offered

While Gov. Gray Davis fine-tuned a plan he'll present today to shave $10 billion from California's growing deficit, advocates for schools, police, counties and cities spent Thursday unveiling "doom-and-gloom" scenarios they hope will spare them the knife.

Fearing $1.9 billion in cuts through June, educators called a news conference and talked of having to close schools early and lay off teachers. By the summer of 2004, some predicted, the governor would try to cut more than $4 billion from schools.

Hey BigBobber! I be smilin an gigglin too!!! Delame Easton gits a judgement filed against her, PERSONALLY for $4.5 mln an Gubernor Devious gits ta be the lamest duck in State guvermint history...

Yet the smile fades and the gigglin stops when one realizes... As soon as all these "cuts" are announced, the activists will chant non-stop, amplified by media sickophants, for TAX INCREASES!!!

This is the "tried and true" Demonicrat tactic of frighten the public with the threat of crisis, then convince 'em that tax increases are less painful than the overblown perception of "doom" from the exaggerated scenarios the activists and media project in people's minds.

BOHICA

California as of last year was, I think, 44th in per capita education spending even by simple raw dollar amounts.

How convenient for you believe that lie, now that your you and your wife are invested in the system. Guess who did the ranking for you?

The official State per-pupil spending rate in California was $6,025 in SY 1999-2000. That number is derived from Prop 98 K-12 revenues. The Pacific Research Institute looked at what DISTRICTS actually spend. What did they find? California spends $9,200 per year per student when ALL revenue Federal, State, and local sources are counted (neglecting to do that is how they fudge the numbers). Almost a third of that money never leaves Sacramento, a lot of it goes to contractors (which is where the number comes from about how little there is to gain by firing State employees).

There is considerable variability in how much districts spend with Sausolito leading at $16,555 (1999-2000) down to Kern County who spends but $6,927. LA makes weighs the average considerably $9,029. Note that these numbers are BEFORE the full impact of ballot mandated class size reduction foisted upon the State by the union. Spending is now considerably higher.

Get your facts straight before your whining betrays your interests.

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