How Can a Country Choose to Neglect the Least Able? Thoughts on Current Political Situation

 

Photo by Author: Serenity at the Falls

Just a thought about our current state...

The question is certainly being asked, "How can any politician create and vote for a budget that knowingly cuts funding for programs that clearly serve the least-able among us? In addition, "How does one justify in one's own mind that millions of people lose medical coverage or food access at the same time providing tax relief for those who are least in need?"

It's rather simple, as Nobel Prize economists Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson write in "Power and Progress" (2023):

"...the socially powerful often convince themselves that it is their ideas (and often their interests) that matter and find ways of justifying neglecting the rest."

In other words, those in power have so convinced themselves that their ideas and interests matter over everything else. They then turn to ways of justifying the neglect of others in this pursuit.

This suggests that those lead totally lack any humility and have no problems even exploiting others as long as their interests are served and their ideas win the day. No discussion, no deliberation, it's only about mine.

So it is in modern America.

NC Gov McCrory & Legislature Approves Budget with Hidden Anti-Public Ed Agenda

Today, North Carolina Governor McCroy signed the budget presented to him by the legislature. What amazes me is how our state political leaders can say with a straight face, that they have given teachers a "historical pay raise." Teacher raises are actually between 18% and .3%, depending on years experience. From what I can see, here's what this budget really does.

• It takes away longevity pay for experienced teachers and then returns it back to them in what the Legislature is calling an "average 7% raise." In other words, the actual raise is lower than what they brag about because they are taking pay away that teachers earn because of their years of service.
• This budget sets up a donation fund to collect donations for those would like to donate money to future teacher pay raises, because we have political leaders unwilling to use tax money to fund future teacher raises.
• The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is cut by 10%.
• There were no direct cuts to teacher assistant jobs, but the wording of this part of the budget has an odor difficult to identify.
• Textbook funding was increased only by $1 million, bringing to to a whopping total of $25 million, yet our legislature was able to somehow find another $840,000 for school vouchers. Compare this to the fact that the textbook budget pre-2010 recession was around $125 million.
• Monetary allotments for salaries and benefits to district offices were decreased by 3%.
• The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program, an excellent program designed to provide scholarships to promising high school students who want to become teachers was also cut.
• The budget directs funding toward for-profit virtual charter schools, even though there questions about their effectiveness.

This budget is what I would call a "grudge" budget, which is a budget that uses mirrors and smokescreens to hide this legislature's continued anti-public education agenda. It is sad that Governor Pat McCroy, Thom Tillis, and Phil Berger would resort to deception in an election year, but then again being able to deceive others is a valued trait in American politicians of every stripe. It's too bad that children will continue to suffer under these kinds of budgetary decisions and public education will still continue to deteriorate. 

NC State Superintendent Responds to Anti-Public Education Budget of NC Senate

In her response to the North Carolina State Senate’s budget proposal which continues the anti-public education agenda of this current state legislature, North Carolina State Superintendent, June Atkinson, pointed out these additional, hidden gems in that budget:

• Administrator salaries have been separated from the teacher salary schedules and no change from last years salaries. Personnel on these schedules would receive an average 2 percent pay raise.
• Teachers would get 11% pay raise if they choose to give up tenure.
• Central office employees would receive a $500 raise while the rest of state workers would receive $800.
• Teacher assistant funding would be cut in half.
• No improvement in instructional supplies funding and technology.
• State funding to local central offices would be cut by 5%.
• Reduced funding to school transportation by $28.6 million. Funds replaced with driver’s education funding which would be cut entirely.
• The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction would be cut by 30%.
• Grades 2 and 3 teacher allotments will remain at 1 teacher per 18 students rather than be reduced to 1:17 as funded last year.

As Dr. Atkinson amply points out, “The dismal state of textbook, technology, and instructional supplies funding means that teachers will have fewer resources to work with as they develop lessons and assignments,” this lack of additional instructional resources continues even as accountability and testing demands have increased. These cut resources will also translate into teachers having to take on even more responsibilities and duties in the schools as well. Teachers will most likely in their dedication do what they normally do, continue to dig deeper into their own pockets for money to pay for what this state legislature is refusing to pay for.

It would appear that our North Carolina Legislature and Governor are continuing the same strategies and plans that had from last year. They will do all they can to make sure business and industry get those tax cuts as evidenced by their proposals now to limit taxing from local governments. Education is simple dispensable with these politicians. That leaves these questions to think about?

• Why would any business or industry be willing to move to North Carolina with such anti-public education leadership in the state government—from Governor McCrory, to Senate leader Phil Berger, to House leader Thom Tillis. All that talk about preparing students for careers and jobs seems to be bluster. These people aren’t willing to work with educators. They are focused intently on an agenda that must have been borrowed from the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC.
• How can our state government leaders possibly think this budget would be good for public education in this state? This budget will do more to set education back in North Carolina than anything else this state legislature has done. One can almost conclude that is their intention; wreck public education in this state.

You can read Dr. Atkinson’s full response to the draconian North Carolina Senate budget here. (Dr. Atkinson’s Response.)

Just How Bad Is the Budget Situation in North Carolina? Video by NC High Students

I think this video says about all that can be said about both our budget crisis in North Carolina, and the approach our political establishment is taking with budget cuts. This video was created by Career Technical Education students in a multimedia class. It is a very moving tribute to what is currently happening in education in North Carolina.



The Impact of Budget Cuts in Education from WNDR News on Vimeo.

Thank you to the students at AL Brown High School in Kannapolis, North Carolina for reminding us of the importance of education.