The Kalamazoo County Taxpayers Association is working to keep your home affordable. We are a non-partisan taxpayer advocacy organization intended to give taxpayers a voice in the taxing and spending decisions of state and local governments and schools.
Monthly breakfast meetings on the first Monday of every month at Poor Richards Cafe, 1105 East Crosstown Parkway, Kalamazoo. Next breakfast: 8:30 a.m. on March 3. The public is invited.
William F. Buckley, R.I.P.
William F. Buckley has died.
Buckley was the father, and guiding genius, of the American conservative movement. He founded the influential conservative magazine, "National Review," he was the host of the television show "Firing Line," he wrote thousands of columns and dozens of books, and gave thousands of lectures. He embarked on his career as a public intellectual shortly after World War II, when the default political operating system was liberalism. The intellectual elite at that time simply "knew" that the government should manage the economy, that socialism was the future, and that the free market economy was a relic of the past.
Against this tidal wave of political correctness William F. Buckley wrote his first book, "God and Man at Yale," which exposed the hollowness and fallacies at the heart of the liberal elite. He then founded "National Review," a magazine whose circulation rarely exceeded 100,000, but whose influence was great. The mission of the magazine, said Buckley, was "to stand athwart history, yelling 'Stop!'"
At the time, there were few professed conservatives, since the common view of that species was of rubes, yahoos, and racists. Buckley gave conservatives intellectual justification and respectability. Through his magazine, books, lectures, and television appearances he gave birth to the conservative movement that manifested itself in the unsuccessful candidacy of Barry Goldwater and the successful candidacy, and presidency, of Ronald Reagan.
William F. Buckley was everything that I am not. Ivy-League, aristocratic, witty, polysyllabic, gracious and civil in his debates with this political adversaries, Buckley was a role model for two generations of conservative leaders and opinion-makers.
I first encountered Buckley through his television show, "Firing Line." This was the 1970s, and I was a fresh-out-of-college, typical skull full of mush liberal. In 1976, I cast my first presidential vote, I am ashamed to say, for Jimmy Carter. Four years of stagflation and foreign policy disasters, though, started to raise questions about liberalism even in my thick skull. At this time, fortuitously, I began to watch Buckley debate liberals on "Firing Line." I understood perhaps half of what he said, but something of his conservative world view must have sunk in. I subscribed to "National Review," and have been a lifetime subscriber since.
The effect of Buckley print and telecast turned me from muddled-headed liberal to clear-thinking conservative, and my political activism has grown from that. My political opponents have Buckley to thank (or curse) for that.
One of the most memorable things I remember from the "Firing Line" series was a debate in the late 1970s over the Panama Canal treaty. Jimmy Carter had negotiated a treaty with the strongman ruler of Panama that would turn the canal over custom bumper stickers to Panama after a few years. The treaty was controversial, and most conservatives were against it. But Buckley came out in support of it, and he and a couple of other supporters debated the treaty with a team of conservatives who were against it, led by a former governor of California named Ronald Reagan, this small island nation packs in quite a punch. Sitting pretty alongside an important harbor, you'll witness a cultural amalgamation like none other.
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The debate was entirely between conservative intellectuals, over a policy being pushed a by liberal Democratic President. The debate was good-humored, witty, respectful, and informative. Imagine such a thing happening today, a group of liberals, evenly split, debating in good faith and good humor a policy advocated by President Bush. You can imagine such discourse barely rising above "Bushhitler" levels.
The thing I remember most is the closing arguments by the two team leaders, Reagan and Buckley. Reagan said something like, "Bill, I thought by now you would have been persuaded by our arguments, and come over to our side."
To which Buckley replied: "I would, but I'm afraid I might blind you with the force of my illumination."
The other thing Buckley said that struck me to the core was a reference he made to Reagan as "the politician whom I most admire." This, frankly, stunned me. Until then I thought Reagan was an amiable dunce who appealed to flannel-clad bumpkins, and had minor political importance. Buckley's imprimature raised Reagan's standing, and in 1980 I proudly cast my first vote for him.
(By the way, my initial low opinion of Ronald Reagan was entirely due to the obtuseness and callowness of my youth. We now know, through such books as wholesale presentation folders Reagan's diaries and other writings, that he was a serious thinker who had been doing extensive work on public policy for decades prior to running for governor and president.
I never met William F. Buckley, but those who did testify to his warmth, grace, friendship, and helpfullness to aspiring writers and journalists. Many of those personal reminiscences are found at National Review's website. Mr. Buckley, rest in peace. web design newcastle
Posted Feb. 27, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
Were voters lied to by KRESA tax proponents?
Were voters lied to and betrayed when the testking PMI-001 KRESA "enhancement" tax was placed back on the ballot?
That's the question Julie Mack has posted on her education blog at the Gazette's website.
Julie was reacting to our press release on the KRESA "enhancement" tax. Our release said the voters were betrayed by the Portage and Kalamazoo school boards, when they voted to put the tax back on the May 6 ballot, because we were promised in 2005 that the KRESA tax would last only 3 years.
Julie concurs with us "that the tax would be a one-time levy by the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency." She asks for reaction by readers if you think putting the tax back on the ballot is fair.
So go to the blog and register a comment. You can use a pseudonym if you fear the wrath of the teachers union.
Posted Feb. 26, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item. Jersey Loans
Warm and fuzzy feelings for your lottery ticket
So for a few minutes I watched 640-460 Testking the Academy Awards last night, not because I care who wins. Was there ever a more undistinguished crop of movies than what Hollywood gave us last year?
No, I watched for two reasons: first, to hear the idiotic political comments by the winners. Yes, I want to take political advice from actors. Just like I ask my newspaper boy for advice on my health.
Second, to see some of the outlandish gowns the women wear. Men, aren't you glad we're limited to the classic tuxedo for dress up?
Anyway, the most interesting thing I saw 642-262 Testking a commercial, for the Michigan Lottery. The bit showed beatific images of our state--sunsets over the lake, the Mackinac Bridge, etc. The spot concluded with the phrase, "Building a stronger community--the Michigan Lottery."
Wow. Imagine that. The Lottery is building our community!
I never knew that. I didn't realize that the desperate ticket scrapings of low-budget gamblers was doing so much for my community. I guess I'll have to consider, in a whole new light, the run-down convenience store in the bad part of town, where low-income people spend their meager disposable income. Lured by the gradiose promise of riches by slick Lottery commercials, our underprivileged brothes and sisters are strengthened by throwing away what little money they have on Lottery promises.
The commercial I saw is, of course, absurd. It is symptomatic of a mindset in our political leaders that government equals community. But government does not equal community. Good government, that focuses on the basics, can support community. Bad government that taxes and spends on wasteful programs, and funds an elite governing class, can LOT-980 Testking destroy a community.
A community is the group of ladies who teach Sunday school at your church.
A community is not the people standing in line to renew their drivers licenses.
A community is the collection of grumpy old farts who have breakfast every Wednesday at the coffee shop.
A community is not a zoning board meeting of your local government.
A community is the crowd that gathers along Main Street to watch the Fourth of July parade.
A community is not the dozen workers standing around the one guy filling a pothole on the highway.
A community is three generations of hunters at deer camp in the upper peninsula.
And a community is definitely not the line of people waiting to buy a lottery ticket when the jackpot tops a hundred million.
Posted Feb. 25, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
READER RC COMMENTS: "I enjoy your insights and declarations. Particularly, "it is symptomatic of a mindset in our political leaders that government equals community." How absolutely true.
The lottery is a societal blight as are the tribal casinos. But what to do about either?"
KRESA tax betrayal: final and permanent
The Portage school board has joined the Kalamazoo school board, and voted to place the KRESA "enhancement" tax back on the ballot May 6. Since Portage and Kalamazoo combined have more than 50 percent of the students in the KRESA intermediate school district, that is all that's needed to officially put the tax hike on the ballot.
This move is the final and ultimate betrayal of the county taxpayers. As anyone who reads this blog knows, school officials promised, repeatedly and strenuously three years ago, that the KRESA 1.5-mill "enhancement" tax would last only three years (see "Lies about the KRESA tax, part 1," below). Portage trustee Melanie Kurdys tried to get an alternate motion approved, setting the tax at 1.4 mills the first year, 1.3 mills the second, and 1.2 mills the third. This would at least have given the impression that schools were trying to wean themselves off the excess tax imposed on county residents. Melanie's motion was supported by trustee Wendy Mazer, but they were shot down by the rest of the board in a 4-2 vote.
Furthermore, Portage school officials displayed that they were willing to continue to lie to try to get the KRESA tax approved again. Dig this: "Even with the revenues from the county tax, board President Shirley Johnson said, Portage has had to make about $1.3 million in cuts during the past three years to balance its budget." This is a complete and utter lie. Portage has made no budget cuts over the past three years. It's budget is higher now than it was then.
Johnson said "that even if the countywide tax is approved, more budget cuts are likely and reducing the levy would cost the district an additional $1.2 million over the next three years." This again is highly suspect. All Michigan schools will get an additional $200 per pupil next year from the state, and if the KRESA tax is approved, there will be a glut of money into Portage's coffers. There will not be "1.2 million" in cuts in Portage.
Johnson's attitude reflects the arrogance and blindness of most school board members: we refuse to create a responsible budget, we're going to tax and spend irresponsibly to maintain cushy and gold-plated salaries and benefits for employees (hello, MESSA), and the taxpayers should just sit down, shut up, and pony up the dough.
Posted Feb. 20, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
READER RC COMMENTS: "I attended the subject meeting Monday evening and was appalled at the blatant disregard of board members for the position of taxpayers in this community. Just like the stacked deck dealt to citizens who attended the phoney "public forums" intended to "inform" the citizenry regarding the school bond proposals, the meeting was seeded with teachers who made public comment supporting (of course) the KRESA extension. Melanie Kurdys was virtually shot down on her proposal to abate the increase with incremental yearly reductions in millage. The indignant rebuttals by Johnson, Polderman and Posthumus left no doubt that this board is about as arrogantly void of objectivity and sensitivity to the public good as any group of public officials can be."
Pay your taxes, the Mayor needs it
Here's an interesting "coincidence" from Governor Granholm's 2008 state budget:
State revenue sharing increase for the City of Detroit: $8.4 million.
Settlement by the City of Detroit to keep Mayor Kilpatrick's love affair secret in the police-officer whistleblower case: $8.4 million.
Sure gives you an incentive to pay your state taxes this year, doesn't it?
Posted Feb. 19, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
We're entitled
Why is it so difficult to make improvements in our public schools? Years ago, both experts and the general public came to the conclusion that our public education system is doing, at best, a mediocre job in educating our kids, and in some areas of the country a terrible job. For decades, different reforms have been tried--more money, teacher certification, charter schools, standardized testing, etc. etc. etc.
Yet our public schools continue to underperform, especially compared to the performance of foreign students in international competition with U.S. students. Why? What it is about public education that makes it so difficult to reform?
The answer, I believe, is the culture of public education. Public education is enveloped in an Entitlement Mentality. What does that mean? Let me highlight a few characteristics of the Entitlement Mentality, EM:
* People with EM think they are entitled to the job they have. Tenure--job security--is a unique feature of the education system.
* People with EM think they are entitled to annual raises and good benefits because they have worked in the system for a long time.
* People with EM think that credentials are very important: university degrees, certification, diplomas.
* People with EM think the basic measure of their Stun Guns job is that they care about children.
* People with EM think that there is a public obligation on the part of taxpayers to pay whatever schools demand in funding.
* People with EM think that education should be the highest priority of public funding, ahead of public safety, roads, infrastructure, even national defense.
* Students with EM think that all they have to do is attend school for 12 years to deserve a diploma.
You can see that most of the above entitlement assumptions clash strongly with the reality that most of face in the private sector. We know that there is no such thing as a guaranteed job, that your pay is based on your performance, that whether you care or not means nothing in how you are evaluated, and that the company you work for owes you nothing except a good wage for a good day's work. This is a sobering and somewhat cold reality, but it IS reality.
The main reason for public school's entitlement mentality is that they are guaranteed a steady stream of funding, no matter how badly they perform. In what private business is this true? In the private sector, if you don't perform, if you don't satisfy your customers, you go out of business. Public schools can consistently underperform, yet still receive tax dollars.
So how do we fix the "entitlement mentality" in our public schools, and infuse them with a more performance-based philosophy that the rest of us operate under? I believe the best way is through competition. Give parents the funds for their kids education, and let them choose where their kids will be educated--public, private, or charter schools. The competition for students will raise the performance of all of our schools, without increasing the bureaucracy, or the mandates from Lansing or Washington, D.C. We allow parents the authority to make other decisions for their kids, from the food they eat to the clothes they wear. Why don't we allow them the choice for their kids education?
Posted Feb. 17, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
READER RC COMMENTS: "You have nailed it. Teachers, once regarded as overworked and underpaid, now enjoy just about the most protected, predictable and comfortable standard of living in the U.S. According to Department of Labor stats, Michigan teachers at the elementary and secondary level are paid an average of $56,800 - for 9 months contracted work. Tenure and a PhD greatly boosts the upward parameter. In addition, their MIPSERS increment is somewhere around 17 - 19% of salary and they now have, unquestionably, one of the most comprehensive employer-paid health care benefits of any domestic industry. Michigan education administrators, on average, rake in $86,850 plus the above equal benefits. Not too shabby.
"There's an old story comparing the self-providing industry of the soaring eagle vs. the complacency of a clam. The latter simply lies still, is protected by its shell and merely opens its mouth for the ocean to drift in its food."
Yet another idiotic tax editorial
Our Local Newspaper of Record has published yet another editorial asserting that we are undertaxed here in Michigan and that we need bigger government and more programs to put us back on the path to prosperity.
This is about the 3,457th editorial on this same theme that has appeared in the Gazette since we have been reading it. The reason for this particular gas attack was a recent report by Michigan Future, Inc., a liberal Ann Arbor think tank, which asserts that Michigan needs "expanded public investments" in "vibrant central city neighborhoods" (Cool Cities, anyone?) and higher education.
Of course, "expanded public investments" means higher taxes and more spending by Lansing. The Gazette editorial asserts, with a straight face, that state and local taxes have been reduced by what is now over $8 billion annually. Geez, we missed that $8 billion tax cut. The Gazette's source for this factoid is a speech by former state house speaker Paul Hillegonds.
Thus, because of this phantom $8 billion tax cut, Michigan now is, according to the Gazette, below the national average in state and local tax level. This means, yep, the state needs to raise taxes to make all those "expanded public investments" in all those good things that create prosperity here.
Here's a fact you won't find in the Gazette's editorial: According to the respected National Taxpayers Foundation, Michigan ranks 14th out of the 50 states in state and local tax burden. And that was before the income and business tax hikes at the end of last year.
Need more evidence? Check out this editorial in the Wall Street Journal, which tracks what states people are moving out of, and what states they are moving to. The state with the biggest exodus is, yep, Michigan. The common factor among the top five exodus states is a high tax rate, and the common factor of the top five states which attract new residents is no income tax.
And we're supposed to believe that raising taxes and making government bigger will attract more people to Michigan?
Michigan is already making "expanded public investments" in too many things--high wages for government and school employees, plus fat pensions and pricey health care benefits for the same. That's why Michigan doesn't have enough money for the kinds of public investment that would help our economy--such as road and highway repairs, sewer and water infrastructure, and honest and transparent law enforcement (hello there, Mayor Kilpatrick!).
The headline on our Local Newspaper of Record's editorial is "Massachusetts or Mississippi: What's our choice?" This is a slap at Mississippi, of course, which the Gazette views as home to red-neck hayseed bigots. But Mississippi sounds pretty good after this tough winter we've endured. Plus, Mississippi's economic growth has beaten the pants off Michigan over the past several years. Instead of the same old tax and spend agenda that got us into this predicament in the first place, perhaps Michigan's leaders could get some advice from Mississippi on how they are doing.
Posted Feb. 13, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
Thank goodness for Melanie Kurdys
Most school board members soon after they are elected quickly learn to parrot the educrat line about how wonderful our public education schools are, how efficiently they are spending our tax dollars, and how they could do so much more for "the children" if only those stingy taxpayers would fork over more dough.
Meet Melanie Kurdys, a board member for Portage Public Schools. Melanie is a breath of fresh air in the world of public education. She demands to see exactly where tax dollars are spent, demands accountability for how they are spent, and consistently speaks up for the taxpayers, and not the education bureaucrats or teachers union flacks.
Melanie, along with fellow board member Wendy Mazer, voted last fall against putting the Portage school bond request on the ballot, believing that not enough planning had been done on how to maintain school facilities in Portage. Melanie also wants to reduce the request for the KRESA enhancement tax from 1.5 mills to 1.25 mills.
Melanie has also taken issue with a recent article in our Local Newspaper of Record last Sunday, which extolled the virtues of pre-school education as the cure-all for what ails our school kids. The article pushed the educrats belief that if we turn over our children to the public education establishment at even earlier ages, the all-caring and all-compassionate public education system will purge all those nasty parental notions implanted in those young skulls full of mush, and begin even earlier the process of molding our kids into happy, well-adjusted serfs, er, citizens, who gladly pay their taxes and reject primitive impulses like freedom and individualism.
Melanie sent an email to the article's author, Julie Mack, with two links to studies which show that pre-school education is all it's cracked up to be. Julie, to her credit, posted Melanie's email and the links at her blog. Basically, there is much dispute about how effective, or not, pre-school education is, and whether it is worth the huge investment in public tax dollars to get more three and four year olds enrolled. The fact that there is no clear evidence that pre-school actually works, has not deterred the liberals, who keep pushing for "universal" pre-school. This would, coincidentally, also create tens of thousands of union teacher jobs, who just as coincidentally support those liberal candidates who push universal pre-school.
The simple fact is that our public schools can't even educate the kids they have now. Test scores of American students consistently lag those of students in other countries. Inner-city schools see dropout rates exceeding 50 percent. High schools graduate students who are barely literate.
Before we shove our kids into the maw of the public education system at an earlier age, perhaps the system ought to clean up its act first. Or perhaps we ought to pull the plug on the whole enterprise, and turn the tax dollars over to the parents to best decide where to educate their kids--public, private, charter, parochial.
Parental responsibility for their kids' well being: wow, what a concept.
Posted Feb. 12, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
Lies about KRESA tax, part 2
In our post below, "Lies about KRESA tax, part 1," we listed several proclamations by tax proponents in which they promised in 2005 that the KRESA enhancement tax was only temporary and last three years. As it turns out, all of those "promises" turned out to be lies, because they plan to put the KRESA tax back on the ballot this May.
But that wasn't the only dishonesty practiced by tax proponents in 2005. They also claimed that the KRESA tax was absolutely necessary to fund budget shortfalls in the county's nine school districts, or else they would have to make severe budget cuts.
Those claims, in fact, were lies. Our research turned up the following interesting facts about how the KRESA tax money was going to be used by the school districts.
A news article in the April 24, 2005, Kalamazoo Gazette reported that Parchment schools would use the KRESA tax dollars for debt reduction on its bond millage for facilities.
The Schoolcraft school district also used the KRESA money for facility improvements. "We want to put that toward capital projects," said Doug Knoblach, Schoolcraft schools superintendent (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 24, 2005).
The Gull Lake school board refused to endorse the KRESA tax, saying they didn't need it. "The passage or failure of this millage will not cause us reductions in our programs," said Rich Ramsey, Gull Lake superintendent (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 24, 2005).
Vicksburg schools used the KRESA money to build a new football stadium. "Our board decided it would not be in our best interest to put one-time dollars into our general fund. It's not in our best interest to put ourselves into a situation where in three years, when that money disappears, we can't support the salary structure and benefit costs we'd have become accustomed to," said Charles Glaes, Vicksburg schools superintendent (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 24, 2005).
Even the Kalamazoo and Portage school districts, who were the main drivers in putting the KRESA enhancement tax on the ballot in 2005, didn't need the extra money to pay for essential operations. A news article in the April 3, 2005, Kalamazoo Gazette reported that the Kalamazoo, Portage, and Comstock school districts would institute pay-to-play for athletics if the KRESA tax failed.
So you can see that the claims about school budget "crises" and funding "emergencies" were largely smoke and mirrors. Most districts didn't need the money for their essential operating budgets. Now, schools are crying wolf again, saying that draconian cuts will have to be made if voters don't pass the KRESA enhancement tax again. But we shouldn't believe them. Tax proponents lied repeatedly three years ago, and they are not telling the truth now.
Posted Feb. 10, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
As if you didn't have enought to worry about...
Ten ways in which the world can end.
No innovation, please, we're Michigan
All of Michigan's economic experts and planners say that the days of living off the auto industry are over. Foreign competition has taken too many auto jobs out of our state, and the big three will play a diminished role in our prosperity for the forseeable future.
Instead of autos, the experts say, we have to encourage innovative companies that utilize cutting-edge technology to create new products and services. All of our political class say the same thing: innovation and new technology will be the cornerstone of Michigan's economic future.
Except, when it comes to practicing what they preach, our state politicians have trouble talking the talk, much less walking the walk. Xoran Technologies is a seven-year-old company located in Ann Arbor, and is exactly the kind of business that Michigan should be encouraging. Xoran produces compact CT medical scanners, called "MiniCATs," which they sell to doctors offices and other medical practitioners. A MiniCAT scan can be done during a patient's regular office visit, without scheduling a separate appointment at a hospital for a regular CT scan.
Xoran has 63 employees, with annual revenues of $17 million. Xoran sells its MiniCATs for about $230,000, which makes them affordable for many medical offices. A conventional CT scanner costs around $2 million. The only problem Xoran has: it can't sell its MiniCAT in Michigan.
Yup, that's right. An innovative, cutting-edge product like the MiniCAT is unable to be sold in Michigan, precisely because of overweaning state regulations. Michigan has a regulation called "Certificate of Need." Health providers in our state, such as hospitals, clinics, and medical centers, must receive a "Certificate of Need" from state bureaucrats before they purchase certain medical equipment, such as CT scanners.
This regulation is supposed to stop unneeded duplication of services and equipment by Michigan medical facilities. What it actually does is tie up medical facilities in unnecessary regulations and red tape. "Certificate of Need" also prevents growing companies like Xoran from selling their products in the very state in which it is located.
In order to receive a "Certificate of Need" for a CT scanner, a facility must show that it will perform the equivalent of 7,500 scans per year. Only large facilities like a hospital will perform than many scans. But Xoran's MiniCAT is designed for small facilities, like doctors offices, which perform only a few scans, when they are needed, and when the doctor needs an instant image to diagnose a patient. Thus, the exact reason why the MiniCAT is so valuable to many health providers is the same reason why they cannot get a "Certificate of Need" to purchase one.
Does the phrase "cutting off your nose to spite your face" come to mind?
You would think that the person actually using the MiniCAT--doctors and physicians--would the best ones to decide whether to purchase a MiniCAT for their practice. No, no, not at all, according to our state bureaucrats. We know what's best for Michigan's health care providers, and we'll stop them from getting the equipment they think they need.
Michigan's over-regulation, working hand-in-hand with our burdensome taxes, is the reason why our economic future is so blurry. And you don't need a MiniCAT to see that.
Posted Feb. 7, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item. Information in this post came from an article in the January 19, 2008, Detroit News.
Vote in the KRESA enhancement tax poll
Scroll down to the bottom of the page to vote in our KRESA enhancement tax poll.
Happy Birthday, President Reagan
Today, February 6, is Ronald Reagan's birthday. Reagan, born in 1911, was one of the most important and "transformative" (in the words of Barack Obama) Presidents in the 20th century. Rather than try to put into my words what he meant to America, I think it's better to let Reagan speak for himself. Here are some of his most famous quotes:
'Here's my strategy on the Cold War: We win, they lose.'
'The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'
'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.'
'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.'
'I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.'
'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.'
'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'
'The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth is a government program.'
'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.'
'Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.'
'Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.'
'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.'
'If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.'
Posted Feb. 6, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
Lies about the KRESA tax, part 1
OK, we've done the research, and we've got the facts down cold. It is now indisputably true that the public was lied to by school officials three years ago during the campaign for the KRESA enhancement tax.
Those of us with even fair to middling memories can remember from three years ago that school officials "promised" voters that the three-year KRESA tax proposal was only "temporary." The message was that schools would not ask to renew the tax when it expired in 2008. Memories can be faulty, so that's why we went back into the archives to get the facts. Here they are:
"We hope this [tax] will do something in the short term, to get the schools through this rough time."
--Craig Misner, KRESA superintendent (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 3, 2005)
"When would the KRESA tax expire? After three years."
--Voter guide, Kalamazoo Gazette, May 1, 2005
"The property tax increase would be levied for only three years."
--Editorial, Kalamazoo Gazette, May 1, 2005
"Q: How long would the proposed increased last?
A: The proposed increase is temporary and would expire in three years."
--Fact sheet on KRESA millage by Kalamazoo Public Schools
"On May 3rd, voters in our local school districts will vote on a temporary, 3-year, 1.5 mill property tax increase to help fund the operations of our local schools."
--Fact sheet by the Kalamazoo County Education Association
"The proposed increase in taxes is temporary and would expire in three years."
--Susan L. Nelmes, President, League of Women Voters (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 26, 2005)
"Please join me in voting 'Yes' on May 3 for the limited three-year millage increase."
--Miriam Eskamp, Letter to the Editor (Kalamazoo Gazette, April 26, 2005)
So there you have it. Several explicit promises that the KRESA tax would last only three years. It took us only about an hour of searching through old clippings to find these promises that the tax would expire.
Except they weren't "promises." They were LIES. Let's say that again, only more slowly: they were L-I-E-S. Tax proponents making these claims knew full well that they would put the KRESA tax back on the ballot in three years. But they also knew that the voters would probably vote the tax down, if voters knew it would be a permanent tax. So tax proponents lied to the voters, and "promised" that it would only last for three years.
The only question now is, will voters be fooled again this May, and vote again to pass the KRESA tax. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.
Later this week: Part 2 on KRESA lies--the schools didn't really need the money for their day-to-day operating budgets.
Posted Feb. 4, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
KRESA tax hike coverage: unfair and unbalanced
Last week our Local Newspaper of Record ran two articles on the upcoming KRESA "enhancement" tax that will be on the ballot this May, here and here.
Both articles were written by the Gazette's education writer Julie Mack. Julie has tried to cover school tax issues fairly, calling us occasionally for quotes in opposition to school officials pro-tax statements. I think, however, that Julie--like so many education writers in the mainstream media--is so immersed in the public education fog that she is incapable of writing a truly balanced news account on a school tax topic. The two articles referenced above contain no mention of the Taxpayers Association's strong opposition to the KRESA enhancement tax renewal.
Let's look in more detail at the two articles: In the January 24 article, "School tax on agenda," Mack writes: "Shirley Johnson, Portage Public Schools Board of Education president, noted that Portage still has made funding cuts every year, even when receiving the countywide tax money." This statement needs to be challenged. If Portage made "cuts every year," that means that Portage's overall budget is smaller now than it was in 2005. Of course, that's not true. Portage's budget is undoubtedly larger this year than in 2005.
Why was Johnson's statement not verified, or challenged? If the reporter thinks that is beyond the bounds of a reporter's duty, then she should at least get an opposing quote from somebody to challenge that statement.
Later in the same article, Mack writes, "School officials in Kalamazoo County say the state's economy has worsened rather than improved since 2005, and the need for the money hasn't gone away." Again, that statement needs to be challenged. The rationale for passing the enhancement millage was that the per-pupil grant from the state had been frozen. Since then, the per-pupil grant has increased $500, a 7.4 percent increase. And yes, the state's economy has worsened, but does that mean that raising taxes will improve it?
Turning now to the January 25 article, "School tax called 'critical' to avoid budget cuts," I won't even comment on the cheerleading tone for a tax hike contained in that headline. In the second paragragh, Mack quotes Gary Start of the Kalamazoo Public Schools (KPS) as saying that, "Without this revenue, significant cuts are unavoidable." Later in the article, Mack quotes Tim Bartik as saying that KPS would have to make cuts without the enhancement millage.
There is another point of view about "cuts," and I know that Gazette reporters have heard it from us a hundred times. Schools in Kalamazoo County do not have to make cuts if they reform their health insurance systems. They are spending thousands of dollars per employee UNNECESSARILY because they contract with MESSA. This alternative to budget cuts should be presented in any news article about the enhancement tax that quotes a school official saying "cuts" will be necessary if the millage does not pass.
In that same article, Mack quotes Gary Start again saying that KPS has cut $20 million from its budget over the past seven years. Really? Then KPS budget this year is $20 million LESS than its 2001 budget? I don't think so. Again, his statement needs to be challenged, and facts need to be presented. What was KPS's budget in 2001, compared to this year? I bet this year's is higher. If so, then KPS has NOT made "$20 million in cuts." Words still mean things. A cut means less than last year, not less than what you would like to spend.
And I know this will never happen, but I would like to see, every time a school official claims that cuts will have to be made if a tax is not passed, an example from a private citizen about how they will have to make cuts in their lifestyle if their taxes go up. How about a senior citizen, who will not be able to re-roof her house, if her taxes go up? How about the family struggling to make ends meet, who will have to forgo the purchase of a new car, if their taxes go up? Fair and balanced means hearing both sides.
Mack quotes Start again as saying it's important to voters to realize it is a renewal, not an increase. No, we challenge that statement. The tax on the ballot this May will be an increase. It is scheduled to expire this year, and voting for it again would result in a new tax. If you make the last payment on your mortage, and then re-finance your home, you have a new mortgage, not an "extension" or "renewal" of the old one.
The KRESA enhancement millage is a very important issue that this community will be facing this year, and it is vital that the media, in its reporting, reflect all sides, in every story. I realize that education reporters are immersed daily in the worldview of educators, a worldview that simply assumes that more money for education is good, that education should be our number one spending priority, that schools never have enough money.
But it is important that reporters understand that there is an alternative worldview about education: that historically (over decades) the public has spent more and more money on education, much more than the cost of living; that there are many reforms in spending that our public schools can make, rather than simply asking taxpayers for more money; that there are other priorities for public spending than education; and that we in Michigan have reached a point of taxation where we are killing the goose that lays the golden egg, and any more taxation will relegate Michigan's economy to second-class status.
Posted Jan. 30, 2008, by R. Wilson. Comment on this item.
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