Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Lessened Cuts Will Still Hurt Michigan Students

http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20110524/OPINION01/105240321

Last week, in what appears to be a proposal that will shape Michigan's next budget, Gov. Rick Snyder and GOP leaders in the state Senate announced they were boosting public education funding. By that, they meant that the cuts won't be as deep as first threatened. The so-called boost is still a significant slashing of education funds.

There would be no need for any cutback if Snyder would just keep his hands off the $500 million surplus in the state school aid fund. That money is only there because of federal money poured into the system. But it's there. Schools can function if the state doesn't raid the fund. But Snyder, in order to pay for his business-tax cuts, is siphoning money out of the school aid fund to partially cover general fund shortages.

What do you think about Snyders "support" of increased funding for education?

8 comments:

  1. I agree with a lot of Snyder's radical moves because a radical solution is needed for this big a crisis, but I can't support this. If there is one section of government's responsibility that I feel cannot ever have its funding decreased, it is public education. America is already falling behind other nations in education and it is the best way to invest in our own future.

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  2. I expected Synder's platform statements on educational support to be an empty promise.How can he expect to build up Michigan businesses without investing in the education of potential business leaders? I agree with Alex that it's a really poor decision, probably the worst decision.

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  3. I agree with Bridgett. I am definitely opposed to cutting funding from public education. Michigan's economy needs to modernize and become more competitive, and a fresh new workforce is one of the best ways to do that. Well-educated young college grads are going to be the future leaders of Michigan's businesses and government, and cutting funding from Michigan's schools is only going to drive more young people out of the state to find jobs elsewhere.

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  4. "Snyder, in order to pay for his business-tax cuts, is siphoning money out of the school aid fund to partially cover general fund shortages."

    This, to me, is the most disturbing part of the article. I understand we want businesses to come to Michigan and bring jobs but I think we always have to be aware of all effects of incentives like tax cuts.

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  5. I cannot understand Snyder's reasoning here. Numerous economic studies have shown that better education leads to higher productivity and prosperity in a society. While the state's budget is in trouble, cutting funding for education will only compound the problem in the long run. As manufacturing jobs continue to disappear and new "knowledge based" jobs fail to replace them (since businesses actually don't simply travel to the state with the lowest taxes), tax revenues will fall even further forcing more cuts in the future.

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  7. Komal said...

    It is very difficult to say whether Snyder is right in this decision or not. Attracting businesses to Michigan is very important because we are competing with other states to attract them. These businesses will create jobs and bring economic prosperity but on the other hand if don't have a young educated work force, these jobs will eventually be taken by out of state people. In fact it will be very hard to attract businesses if Michigan doesn't have a productive workforce even with the tax cuts provided to the businesses.

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  8. Snyder do have some difficulty proposing a budget and it was quite obvious that some sacrifices had to be made. But cutting funding for education is never justified.

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