Education: ‘No Tax Hike’ Is Really Dumb

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s refusal to raise taxes in times of fiscal desperation in order to allow the wealthy to get wealthier is akin to refusing to put out a house fire to save water for the swimming pool. Raising, instead, tuition for university students is really just another form of tax, levied on those who can least afford it. Cutting funds for the underprivileged can be understood in terms of simple Republican mean-spiritedness, but cuts to education are plain stupid. Education is what keeps a society economically competitive. Statistics prove that lack of education leads to higher crime. Higher crime is not economically beneficial to society, save perhaps the prison industry.

The budget cuts to education are already beginning to hit home. Where I teach, at Cal State Long Beach, a substantial number of classes have already been cut, and other classes are now overflowing. The conditions have taken a noticeable turn for the worse, with more cuts promised next fall.

My feeling is that the government is working on the premise that an ignorant, uneducated population is easier to fool. Unfortunately it seems to be working.

Doug Buis

Long Beach

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Has it ever occurred to the teachers union that it can get the construction money it needs by cutting the current administration and using the savings for construction? Oh, wait, that means a loss of power and jobs for the union, and no reining-in the out-of-control and misplaced wasteful spending it thrives on. Vote no on Proposition 55.

Michael Seebeck

Riverside