What a bunch of fucking hypocrites:
RIGHT now the Washington state Legislature is cringing like a student who turns in homework and knows that it is incomplete. An impatient state Supreme Court demanded a fully fleshed-out plan for financing K-12 education, on its desk, by April 30.
Last week, lawmakers handed in a report that says they couldn’t reach agreement this year. It explains what the Legislature has done so far, reminds the court of the role of the judiciary, and makes a promise: We’ll take it from here.
What the court ought to do is to take lawmakers at their word, recognize that the Legislature plays a role as important as its own, and let it get down to business.
That’s right, the same editorial board that urges legislators to hold students and teachers accountable through rigorous standardized testing and inflexible graduation requirements, advises the Washington State Supreme Court to back off from holding legislators accountable for failing to meet a court order to which they are clearly in contempt.
Personally, I’m not confident that there is anything the legislature can do anymore to head off this looming constitutional crisis. But encouraging the court to do nothing pretty much assures that it will be ignored. And that’s bullshit.
Also, there’s this:
For too long, they have shorted education in all its forms, and they have spent the state’s money where the special interests were the noisiest.
… Now that Washington’s economy is recovering, the Legislature should earmark the majority of its rebounding tax revenue for education. That won’t sit well with public-employee unions and other interests that would prefer to see a tax increase.
First, that was Rob McKenna’s gubernatorial platform. And he lost. So fuck you.
Second, if the editors at the Seattle Times have any idea as to where in the state budget legislators can find an extra $3 billion to $7 billion in unnecessary spending, they have a fucking daily newspaper editorial board page in which to enlighten us. But of course, they’ve got no ideas other than UNIONS! and SPECIAL INTERESTS! and useless dog whistles like that. So fuck you.
We’re talking about our constitutional “paramount duty” here, for chrissake! We need billions a year in new tax revenue to meet McCleary. Nothing else can do it. It’s simple math. And any advocacy against raising this revenue is advocacy against both the interests of our children and against the preservation of the rule of law.
Well, Gregoire’s platform was ‘Now is not the time to talk about taxes’. And she won. 2008.
Inslee’s platform also was opposition to taxation:
Inslee: Opposes new statewide taxes or increase in existing taxes, such as the sales tax. Pledges to veto any new tax, except in the case of a revenue package to pay for transportation projects or in the case of tax exemptions that may be repealed.
http://www.heraldnet.com/artic...../710289999
And he won. 2012.
What’s this liberal aversion to covering expenses through growth in revenues? Metro covers up the fact that their revenues will be greater and their shortfall less severe, and certain people do what they can to avoid mentioning it until the issue is forced. It’s OK to post, as you did yesterday, that Seattle is wealthy enough to handle a minimum wage increase, in doing so mention all the new money that will filter through the economy if/when that happens, and yet in today’s post downplay the increase in revenues to the state that will result from increases in property values, sales tax and other tax revenue, and the like? Isn’t that a little, um,
hypocritical?
So if we’re going to downplay increases in revenues, because fuck you, and we’re going to not call our governor a liar by believing him when he said to get elected that he won’t raise taxes, what’s left?
I suppose we could cut teacher salaries. “It’s for the children.”
Funny, whenever I see the Seattle Times whining about “special interests” I can’t help but think of that cushy and completely anachronistic tax break daily newspapers get…
What is the court going to do, start arresting congressmen?
Just another thinly-veiled anti-union rant from the “newspaper” that hates unions and wage earners.
What this state really needs is a public workers strike so the legislature, the public, and snarky editorial writers will stop taking them for granted.
Yes, lets dump more money down the education toilet. Money isn’t the problem.
@1 “not call our governor a liar by believing him when he said to get elected that he won’t raise taxes”
What has he lied about, Bob? What taxes did he raise?
@5 Right, let’s bump up ballplayer salaries and get a better team instead. Now there’s a real investment in our future! My point being, if education isn’t worth investing in, then what is?
Money tree: Have you actually looked at the statistics for Washington state or are you just parroting the ill-informed right wing lines you have half-memorized?
Actually, in Washington state we are MORE than getting our monies worth. We are 47th in class size – the ONLY key parameter that predicts academic performance. Yet – we are number one (WE are #1!) in SAT scores. Imagine how much better we would do in all phases if we actually made EDUCATION a priority as our state constitution (and the courts) specifically demand. The court ruled that we are underfunding our number 1 priority. the only reason we did not get anywhere near the funding goals the court set for this state was the republican take-over of the Senate.
In summary – we get some of the best bang for our buck in the country for education, we are legally obligated to fund education better and the republicans in the Senate prevented that.
Any more dumb questions?
Hey Rabbitt kind of funny how the hypocrisy as we previously discussed in regards to Hanauer not paying $15/hr while advocating others tk & $15NOW’s total comp waiver for unionized employees at a huge conglomerate like Hyatt, which you seemed to justify as a necessary political evil. Well now that the hypocrisy by the Seattle Times is on the otherside of the fence as you & Goldy, there is outrage?!?!
Don’t get me wrong I am in support of funding education in accordance with our State Constitution. I just find it funny that you & Goldy attack the hypocrisy of The Seattle Times, while giving those on your side off the min wage debate a pass on hypocrisy that is just as clear. What’s the word for holding those you disagree with to a higher standard than those you agree with? (I’ll give you a hint it starts with an “H”)