You may well be right gwb, I'm not there and don't care enough to do any research. So what is the solution? Unless things have changed dramatically, NC is at the top of the South in taxes, both state and local. I don't see raising them as a wise move at all, so where does the money you think should go to schools come from? Or is it a matter of what would have been an adequate budget for education suddenly becoming woefully inadequate because of tens of thousands of immigrants, illegal and otherwise, overrunning the schools? NC clearly has had a terrible problem with a massive surge in illegal immigration in recent years.
Chicago public school teachers offer top pay. Light years ahead of other schools around the country. To attract the best and the brightest. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...ago-public-school-district-compares.html?_r=0 How's that workin out for em? Hint: graduates are lucky if they can read when they get out of school. Like I said before. Teachers aren't paid based on merit. Paying more is just throwing money down a rathole.
Kansas finds out that cutting taxes actually reduces the amount of money the government receives and turns your state into a smoking ruin. Obviously more tax cuts are the answer... Brownback’s Tax Cuts Not Set in Stone as Kansas Faces Budget Shortfall http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/u...n-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=4 As Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas campaigned for a second term this year, he was forced to fend off repeated criticism that his deep income tax cuts — the hallmark of his tenure — had put the state in a fiscal nose-dive. He assured Kansans that he would balance the budget and preserve services by making the government more efficient and nipping expenditures to make up for lost revenue. Those who predicted budgetary Armageddon were pandering and misleading, he insisted. But now suddenly the door has opened — ever so slightly — to what once seemed unthinkable on Mr. Brownback’s watch: a rollback of those tax cuts, which are projected to cost $7 billion through the end of the 2019 fiscal year. (More at above url)
Problem: Your tax cuts and handouts to wealthy donors have blown a $250 million hole in your budget. Solution: Raid the state's pension fund. That money is just sitting there doing nothing anyways. Kansas Governor Proposes Using Pension Money to Cover Budget Gaps Created By His Tax Cuts http://www.ibtimes.com/kansas-gover...over-budget-gaps-created-his-tax-cuts-1753626 In 2012, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed a landmark bill that delivered big tax cuts to high income earners and businesses. Less than two years after that tax cut, the state's income tax revenues plummeted by a quarter-billion dollars -- and now Brownback is pushing to use money for public employees’ pensions to instead cover the state's ensuing budget shortfalls. Brownback's proposal: Slash the state’s required pension contribution by $40 million to balance the state budget. But Kansas already has one of the worst-funded pension systems in the nation. The state was also recently sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission for not accurately disclosing the shortfalls. (More at above url)
The Thesis promoted by the OP and supposedly illustrated by the LA times article regarding the Kansas fiscal situation is a non-sensical arguement based upon the Illinois experience. Property and income taxes have been increasing - not decreasing; and Illinois' financial reality, bond rating, and business climate certainly have not correspondingly improved. In terms of State budget circumstances, Kansas appears to be on better footing than Illinois for sure and most likely California.
Republicans see Kansas tax cuts as 'cautionary tale' http://www.bizjournals.com/kansasci...s-see-kansas-tax-cuts-as-cautionary-tale.html Republicans in Missouri and other states who once wanted to emulate Kansas' large tax cuts now see them as a warning of what happens when you try to do too much too quickly. (More at above url) It is actually a cautionary tale in how not to blow up your entire state. More complete article... GOP learns lessons from Sam Brownback's tax scare Republicans once idolized the tax-cutting superstar; now they look askance at him. http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/gop-learns-lessons-from-brownbacks-tax-scare-113806.html
IOW... when it becomes recognized that politicians "gave away too much in the effort to buy votes", it's TOO LATE! Can't take 'em back... even if it means bankruptcy.
How do you fix a smoking ruin? You raise taxes. Brownback To Propose Tax Revenue Increase To Help Fill Budget Gap http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/brownback-tax-revenue-increase-budget