At what point does the expense of educating the Arizona youth outweigh the benefit of having well educated youth? On May 18th, Arizona voters will be faced with the daunting task of determining the taxable worth of their children's education.
The battlefield is a 1% increase on Arizona state sales tax which with the passing of Prop 100 will increase the tax from 5.6% to 6.6% for the next three years. A penny on the dollar – 1%. No big deal right?
The big deal for many Arizonans is one of simple math. A 1% sales tax increase is actually representative of an 18% end cost increase. The average Arizonan purchases $40,000.00 of taxable goods annually. With the current 5.6% state sales tax in place, the taxes paid are $2,240.00. Should Prop 100 pass this would increase the paid sales tax to $2,640.00. That innocuous 1% increase takes on a more imposing form, which many opponents of Prop 100 have cited as being too much.
Prop 100 also contains a much more ominous feature that threatens the education of Arizona youth. If prop 100 passes the public schools will see a 7% cut in funding, but if Prop 100 fails the schools will see a 17% funding cut. The Arizona voter is essentially being blackmailed into putting a direct taxable value on their children’s education. Either they pay 18% out of pocket and watch education get cut 7%, or they keep the equated 18% differential in their pocket and standby as the education systems are devastated by a 17% cut. Amazing the difference 1% makes.
Supporters of Prop 100 are very basic in their approach.
“A penny added to a dollar is simply worth improved education.” as stated by Judy Figg whose two children are enrolled in public school.
The disconnect is obvious. Nothing is being improved via Prop 100 in terms of education. At best the proposition boasts is the lesser of two evils of the budget cuts to be implemented. As the advertising for Prop 100 has begun, omitted is the budget cut with the passage of the proposition. For decades the Arizona politicians have used public education to blackmail the voters into funding public schools. Though education spending is not an indicator of student performance, Arizona’s elected officials have continued to fall behind in funding the public school systems in their ability to maintain pace with both population growth and inflation. The result is Propositions like 100 of 2010 and 301 of 2000 that imposed an increase of .6% to raise revenue for public education.
“Public schools are supposed to be supported by the public.” defended Marsha Mills. “If the public schools need money, it is our responsibility to provide it…” she added.
Anytime there is contemplation of a tax increase there is not only resistance, but economic forecasting.
Alberta Cheney, a senior research economist for the Economic and Business Research Center at the University of Arizona, claims that Prop 100 would save approximately 20,500 while costing 7,400 jobs. The saved jobs result from the retention of public safety personnel and those directly involved in public education systems with the “costing jobs” resulting from the lost revenue to the retail and tourism industry.
In contrast, the Goldwater Institute forecasts that the tax increase would cost 14,400 jobs. The Institute agreed that Prop 100 would save some jobs, but the net loss of jobs would be 8,500.
On May 18th the Arizona voters have a tough choice to make. Minimize the damage of the budget cut by offsetting it with their dollars and jobs, or suffer the consequences of the 17% cut that would be triggered by the failure of the proposition.
Given the Arizona government’s track record, the voter will assuredly be faced with this decision again in the future. Public education does not start in public, it starts in the home. As Arizona continues to lag in the public education arena, parents must be more in tune to their responsibility in supporting the education of their children than ever before. As the class sizes grow, the teacher to student ration decreases and less educational resources are available for the Arizona youth; it is the parent that can save the day by supporting the education process and giving the much more needed extra time to the youth.
Whether Prop 100 passes or fails, school funding will be cut. No budget cut to a public school can offset the progress of parental commitment. As budgets continue to constrict across the nation, the education of America’s youth does not necessarily have to suffer; unless we allow it to.
The battlefield of Proposition 100 should not distract one's attention from the war currently being lost in educating America's youth. Because a state fails to provide the public tools of education, the education of America's youth can still remain intact. We simply have to commit to it in the same manner that the parents of generations past have.
Comments
I have to admit that I am torn on this. Now I understand why. It is not about the "tax increase" it is about what we collectively are not doing to foster the education of our youth. We have too many children having children and with their not being ready to parents, they are not investing in the youth in the same manner our parents invested in us. Because of that, we have relied on government to uptake our responsibilities. Just can't see how that will end well.
I don't think it will pass in AZ because too many of the state's residents do not have children in public schools. For them there is nothing to lose. Considering the division of generated revenue from the new tax going to something they have no vested interest in, they will kill it. If the majority were going to public services, I think they would be more apt to support.
Welcome back. Your articles have been missed.
Public education IS to be paid by the PUBLIC! Why does everyone want a free ride? You have people complaining that they are taxed too much and then turn and complain about having to pay for something they want government OUT of! You can't have it both ways guys!
It would be nice if the Arizona officials practiced fiscal conservatism. We would not be contemplating this vote if they had. And people wonder why my children are in charter schools.
While many are decrying the state of our education in Arizona, few if any every look to explain its root causes. We have a large percentage of people that culturally do not subscribe to education being a high priority. Without that priority in the family there is little hope for success. Compound the issue with the abysmal ESL program and you see resources being wasted on a system of educating that is failing its goals. Integration works, anything else is fluff that robs children of success.
We are paying for a population that is not even here legally, IF they pay taxes it is a lower scale because they have depressed their wages as well as ours. I agree their children NEED to be educated, but we need a cultural change that expects high standards of all children. Throwing money at it will do nothing.
@nomoredenial. BRAVO!!! So, so true!
But- but - but - we like blackmail!
Great article man!
The Heritage Foundation did a study and found no correlation between educational spending and results. Home educators have a new study out that shows that no matter how much money is spent for curriculum, no matter what the parent/teacher's education level is, the child still scores consistently in the 80th percentile vs the govt's school child's 50th percentile. Money does NOT equal results or better education. Look at the Constitution. Anyone think that the kids being churned out now could write and think critically like them? And how much was spent on Geo. Wa's education? Thomas Jefferson? Ben Franklin? Involved parents are the key. And we are doomed because it won't happen again. That barn door has been opened too wide and cows have gone to work with the bulls to buy that Mercedes tractor. We teach our own children and wouldn't have it any other way, despite the income loss and amazing amount of work. It will be worth it in the end (and now) for our kids.
Currently, those who live in retirement communities, such as Sun City, do not pay taxes for education. They are exempt. I have not had children, I do not live in one of those communities, so I do pay the education taxes. Why don't we start taxing those in the retirement communities even if it is lesser/much lesser rate? Educating our children is a responsiblity we all should have and share in.
@Kimberly. You and Paul are right on this. There is no correlation on dollars and education performance. It is in the home that the difference is and can be made. My parents, neither of them with more than a 7th grade education supported my brothers and I all the way through college. They did not "know" all the information we were being taught, but the SUPPORTED our desires to learn in a rundown and under privileged inner city school system. that is what the difference was, not state funding initiatives. Pass or fail with Prop. 100, some students are going to do better and they are the students that have parents and guardians instilling positive educational values in the home. Of all the articles I have read, Paul is the first to state the whole truth when it comes to this, "... education spending is not an indicator of student performance."
Bravo! Great article. I now know how I am voting!
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