RE: Link

I agree with the article only to the extent that we are not spending enough on education. However, lets review the cause of that fact.

We are overpaying for our prisons because we overpay every person in this state that is employed in local or state govt. Compare the national average for every civil service position in this state with that of the other states!

We refuse to enforce our immigration laws in this state, and yet expect taxpayers to pay for the education of their children plus all illegals and their children. Yet, Congressional budget office states every illegal cost us $1,500,000 during a life here over what that same illegal will ever pay in taxes.

Local govts have raised every tax possible to where we now pay almost double digit percents in sales taxes. We have charged builders every fee possible causing home prices to rise to the point that the average person cant afford to own a home here.

The problem has been tax and spend and tax and spend . This attitude caused the citizens to use the referendum to put an end to it.

Having been educated in the East, one can say California had good education, but it never compared to the major unis of the Mid Atlantic states. That is not to say it wasnt good!

The world economy has and still continues to change. After WW2, in which the industrial nations of the world destroyed each other, the USA alone remained as the industrial superpower.

Our businesses were the largest and most profitable in the world and the wealth of the nation grew and grew and grew. However, compacency and wasteful spending for decades while the rest of the world grew we stagnated.

GM built cars no one wanted and let Japan surpass us. They built a better car for less money, while GM kept increasing bennies and union salaries, health care, retirement etc while the quality of or cars was declining.

We kept using energy at a faster rate while the supply dwindled.

We solved world problems buy paying off the leaders of govt. Today we pay, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palestine to not kill each other. We have been doing it for decade after decade. To what benefit to the USA? We have defended Europe for 50 years and when their is conflict today most of Europe refused to fight - they choose to not be in combat?

We have a govt that believes every person is entitled to all the same things even though not all people cant afford the same things. So we take from the affluent to give to the poor. Robin Hood did the same thing - but he was a common thief! So too are illegals in this state. They paid nothing but want access to our schools, our infrastructure, our way of life, our welfare system, and our medical care! Are citizens of California to pay for them and themselves? Will Mexico do the same for Americans?

It is a time for hard choices! What is occurring in California today will lead us to failure. It is govt that is causing this, not the people!

Gee, I don't know, Jeff. I don't see where you gave anything back to California. Do you think your very presence is "giving back"? LOL How about making some substantial donations to people in need? That would be giving back. All you've described giving back is "I live here". Wow. Great gift. Thanks, Jeff.

While I agree with many of your views regarding government and it's disregard for taxpayer wishes, I disagree with your broken record chant comparing salaries of California workers on a nation-wide scale.

You cannot live in California making Missouri wages, plain and simple. Especially because of the hordes of illegal immigrants, but also because California has its own economy that can compete on a global scale. I believe the top end of every level of government salaries is bloated beyond belief (look at Kolin - $300K!) and that is where most of the abuse is.

Kids are not suffering from cuts in school because of the teachers, they are suffering because of the bloated top end of the bureaucracy which is full of arrogant, greedy egomaniacs who need to be thrown out of office and into jail.

What a frickin joke! Jeff is part of the problem. It's simple math Jeff.
There is no money!!!!!!

It may be simple money, but we used to have other priorities.
I went to public schools in California at a time when testing was not the tail that wagged the dog. Incredible amounts of money are now spent on high stakes testing that limit the instructional time and educational focus of our schools.
When I went to school, we didn't have much but managed to have a well rounded curriculum which included: PE, Music, Foreign Language and Art along side the three Rs.We also had field trips and extra-curricular trips.
I know that there is not enough money for many of those things now, but we also live in a time when a large number of voters will automatically cast a no vote on any school improvement bill because they're too stingy to pay a few cents extra on the education of our school children.

quote:

Originally posted by ronlemley:
It may be simple money, but we used to have other priorities.
I went to public schools in California at a time when testing was not the tail that wagged the dog. Incredible amounts of money are now spent on high stakes testing that limit the instructional time and educational focus of our schools.
When I went to school, we didn't have much but managed to have a well rounded curriculum which included: PE, Music, Foreign Language and Art along side the three Rs.We also had field trips and extra-curricular trips.
I know that there is not enough money for many of those things now, but we also live in a time when a large number of voters will automatically cast a no vote on any school improvement bill because they're too stingy to pay a few cents extra on the education of our school children.

The problem Ron is that schools aren't teaching what you and I were taught. They're teaching political correctness now. It's total bull ****. The money is there its just being mismanaged.

Betrayed alright...by the damned trustees, one of whom authored this self serving article.

Here is a link where you can research pay for our Public Masters.

Attached is the info on how many people at SSU earn over $100k, (that does not include bennies).

Care to guess?

Sixty freaking four!

Here's the Link

Do some digging for the entire University system and you will find hundreds that make above $500k!

Beyond ridiculous.