Just when you thought your weekend could not get any better, the News & Observer publishes a silly editorial about education funding! Here are a few highlights:
- It featured the standard, unsubstantiated claim that tax cuts have mostly benefited “the wealthy and big corporations” and go the extra mile by offering no evidence that “tax cuts that have produced no tangible results,”
- Editors gripe about Republicans “claiming credit for increasing spending on public education” and later admitted, “Sure, appropriations have increased,
- It wouldn’t be a complete without shamelessly blaming Republicans for budget decisions made by Democratic-controlled legislatures,
- They complain that pay raises have only kept pace with inflation, even though it is the primary reason why employers raise salaries in the first place. Most employers also pay for performance, but we know how liberals feel about that,
- Editors conveniently ignoring the fact that Republican legislators increased funding for medical and retirement benefits by nearly $3,000 per teacher since 2012, and
- They argue that the ratio of teachers to students is worse (sure, by 0.3 students per teacher since 2012), funds for textbooks and supplies are scarce (so are taxpayer dollars), the ranks of teaching assistants have been depleted (poor word choice) and more charter schools are diverting funds from traditional public schools (they also divert students and perform better).
I could go on, but frankly I have better things to do. You see, I am the guy who believes that debates about education funding miss the point. And the latest N&O editorial is an excellent illustration of that fact.
