Amy Traub

Pataki Wants YOU! (To invest less in your children)

There's a lot to dislike in NY Governor Pataki's new budget proposal. The New York Times highlights the Bush-style tax cuts for the rich that accompany hikes in tuition for public college students. Others decry the governor's underhanded voucher scheme.

But while there may be differences of opinion about the advisability of those proposals, there's one part of the new budget plan that's just downright absurd.

Governor Pataki advocates a state incentive for investing less in our children.

That's right, if you live in a school district that doesn't increase investment in education by more than four percent over last year, the governor wants to reward you with a $400 tax credit from the state coffers. New York is willing to pay more to educate our children less. It's hard to imagine more upside-down priorities.

Sure, there's lots of rhetoric about "efficiency" and "restraining spending," but the funding cap and rebate make no distinctions between inefficient spending and the kinds of investments in our children's future that pay off thirteen-fold. The result is mind-boggling perversity.

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Posted at 10:17 AM, Jan 19, 2006 in Education | New York
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