Bee opinion columnist Bretón has a harsh column about the SCUSD budget crisis.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article238321423.html
Part of the problem is what he assumes.,
He argues teachers should take a pay cut, and that they should pay some of their health care. This is the essence of austerity. He assumes that the way to fix the problem is to pay teachers less,
( You can see how well this works out. The Bee now pays its reporters less. They have over 100 fewer reporters. The quality of the paper has diminished substantially. It is no longer a substantive paper. see https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/growing-local-news-deserts-endanger-democracy-study-finds)
Why assume that cutting salaries is the answer? Lets try an alternative.
Assume the teachers should be paid well. Assume that teachers should have quality health care for themselves and their families. This is what unions are fighting for all across the nation,. It could be called Medicare for All.
Well, if we need to pay teachers well, more money will be needed for schools. Yes, we should tax more and adequately fund our schools. We have not done that since the passage of Prop. 13. Austerity, underfunding schools, is a lousy policy. Just fighting over who gets their salaries cut is avoiding the important issues. Fund the schools.
Here is how.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article238321423.html
Part of the problem is what he assumes.,
He argues teachers should take a pay cut, and that they should pay some of their health care. This is the essence of austerity. He assumes that the way to fix the problem is to pay teachers less,
( You can see how well this works out. The Bee now pays its reporters less. They have over 100 fewer reporters. The quality of the paper has diminished substantially. It is no longer a substantive paper. see https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/growing-local-news-deserts-endanger-democracy-study-finds)
Why assume that cutting salaries is the answer? Lets try an alternative.
Assume the teachers should be paid well. Assume that teachers should have quality health care for themselves and their families. This is what unions are fighting for all across the nation,. It could be called Medicare for All.
Well, if we need to pay teachers well, more money will be needed for schools. Yes, we should tax more and adequately fund our schools. We have not done that since the passage of Prop. 13. Austerity, underfunding schools, is a lousy policy. Just fighting over who gets their salaries cut is avoiding the important issues. Fund the schools.
Here is how.
FYI, Supervisor Sue Frost laments the County's lack of reserves, compared to other counties, but refuses to endorse this "split roll" initiative
ReplyDeleteTwo other things: Breton is the plutocrats' puppydog, previously lobbying for a quarter billion dollar subsidy for the Kings' stadium--a horrible deal! The City not only got no stake in the Kings (now worth twice as much, thanks to the stadium), they got a white elephant (the stadium) if the Kings decide to move. This is a common extortion strategy. The "Oakland" Raiders threatened to move, extorting subsidies from Oakland, then Anaheim, then Las Vegas. In the U.S., sports are exempt from antitrust prosecution, so they can get away with that. In London, there are 13 soccer teams. No one gets to extort a stadium from the public.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Read this about the kind of economics the fascists actually practiced. It'll seem just a little familiar, I'd suggest.