This page was last updated on April 11, 2011.
With education, less is never more; Beth Schiemer; Beaver County Times; April 10, 2011.
This appears to be the fourth letter from Ms. Schiemer since 2006 and the third since September 2010. The only previous letter I critiqued is here. Other letters were entitled “Give students the gift of music” (3/16/11) and “Media gave pastor too much attention” (9/12/10).
Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.
“Our school districts are frantically trying to figure out how they will adjust to the Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposed budget without taxing us out of our homes, and taxpayers are waiting and watching.
“I see the worried faces and know the realities that our schools will face should this budget pass.
“Let’s not sit by waiting for this to happen to us, our schools or our children saying, ‘Woe is me.’ The Legislature has yet to vote on the budget. Now is the time to let those folks know that we will be more than happy to relieve them of their plump salary, excellent health benefits and numerous perks come Election Day.
“We are not without recourse. Please call, write or e-mail and tell them if they tote the party line on this one, they can tote themselves out of Harrisburg.
“As for those who grumble about our schools, we have an educational gap of nearly a decade in which to catch up with other nations. Those other nations spend more on teacher training, more on teacher salaries, and place more responsibility and accountability on the parents and students.
“Less is never more.”
[RWC] For most of my comments, please read my critique of “Corbett’s priorities make no sense” (Don Skinner, 3/13/11). Even in the proposed budget, General Fund spending on education is 38.9% of the total. Health & human services is in first place with 43.5% of the total. Simple addition (82.4%) tells us no other category even comes close to these two. “Protection of Persons and Property” comes in a distant third at only 11.2%.
As for “Less is never more,” sure it is. Lower tax rates result in more economic activity (and more tax revenue) and less government (to a point) results in more freedom.
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