By John Leschak, Columnist
Across the country, officials have put public education on the chopping block. New York will cut education funding by over $500 million, fire 8,500 teachers and close 21 schools in New York City alone. Over $1 billion in cuts are planned in California and New Jersey, and on March 10 the Board of Education in Kansas City voted to close nearly half the city’s public schools.
The Obama administration is promoting more cutbacks and firings under the guise of “reform.” Obama’s proposed reform of No Child Left Behind will tighten availability of federal funds and deepen the gap between schools in rich and poor neighborhoods. According to the Obama plan, schools that “do more with fewer resources” will be prioritized for better funding. Presumably, schools will try to meet this goal by firing teachers, increasing employee workloads and cutting back on materials.
Politicians claim they have no choice but to cut funds for education because of huge deficits. New Jersey faces a budget shortfall of $10.7 billion, California faces a cataclysmic $20 billion and New York needs to close a $9 billion gap. These same politicians are also quick to blame state employees for financial woes, claiming they earn too much money.
However, they never mention the bondholders who rake in billions every year. Governments, like private corporations, can raise capital by issuing bonds. Bondholders are entitled to interest payments for a specific time, at the end of which they are to be repaid the entire principal. Amid severe cuts to education, New York will still pay $1.9 billion for interest and principal on debt to bondholders in 2010.
These politicians also never discuss how Americans now have the highest income inequality in the developed world, and how over the past 20 – 30 years we have experienced the greatest increase in income inequality. This is largely due to the tax cuts of President Reagan, and both Bushe presidents. The Bush Jr. tax cuts reduced taxes for the top 20 percent of income earners by over $1.5 trillion and cut social services for the bottom 50 percent.
New Jersey’s new governor, Chris Christie, seeks to replicate the Bush cuts. He is seeking $1 billion in cuts to school funding, but last month he gave $1 billion in tax cuts to the top four percent of income earners in New Jersey. Any New Jersey resident earning over $400,000 will see their taxes go down while most middle and working class families will pay higher college tuition and higher property taxes as a result of cuts to school aid.
In the current economic crisis, the wealthy want to maintain their profits by slashing social services, particularly education. Supporters of the cuts say that education is too expensive. But if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. Education is the foundation of democracy. Thomas Jefferson once said the tax paid for public education, “is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance.” In Jefferson’s lifetime, there was no system of public education like we have today. Only the children of wealthy families were given educational opportunities. Jefferson believed that without public education, the wealthy would overthrow America’s democracy and subjugate the common working people.
The attacks on public education are attacks on the foundation of American democracy. State governments should not cut education to close budget deficits. Instead, they should chop from the top by taxing the rich and lowering payments to wealthy bondholders. Now is the time to build a real fight to stop school closings, and demand quality public education for all.