The following graces us via The Associated Press this morning:
“A financially ailing Ohio school district has joined the ranks of banks and automakers clamoring for a portion of the $700 billion economic bailout package. Olmsted Falls Superintendent Todd Hoadley said Tuesday that if automakers and cities like Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Phoenix can ask for money, schools should be able to follow suit. ‘I feel a moral obligation to our taxpayers to make this attempt,’ said Hoadley, who requested $100 million from the Treasury Department last week. ‘This is a legitimate request. I’ll be frankly disappointed if something positive doesn’t come out of this.’”
School funding is certainly a precarious issue. In Ohio the State Supreme Court has now ruled multiple times that current funding methods are unconstitutional, as they rely too heavily on property taxes. Yet something makes me uncomfortable with all those who feel a “legitimate” need to reach out their hands, asking for their “share of the pot.”
First the banks. Second the automakers. Then the state governments. Now the schools. Who will be next?
Isn’t that the true billion/trillion dollar predicament? If we begin to disburse free money, to whom do we give it and to whom do we not? I have a hardworking friend who sadly closed his small business last week. I know others who struggle with their mortgage payments – not to mention their kids with the college loans and expenses. Come to think of it, the holidays are coming up, and I could use a little help with the grocery bill during that time. If free money is given out, wouldn’t we all want to get in line?
I have no intention of being calloused. But that’s the problem: contrary to the 4 a.m. holiday shopping sprees, there still is a spree, but there is no end to the line.
Where is the balance between boosting and bailing? Who has the discernment (not to mention the political moxie) to draw the line – to prudently articulate that a strong dollar means not always saying ‘yes’ to those who ask to ‘show them the money’?
The true moral obligation to our taxpayers? Drawing an appropriate line.
AR
“A financially ailing Ohio school district has joined the ranks of banks and automakers clamoring for a portion of the $700 billion economic bailout package. Olmsted Falls Superintendent Todd Hoadley said Tuesday that if automakers and cities like Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Phoenix can ask for money, schools should be able to follow suit. ‘I feel a moral obligation to our taxpayers to make this attempt,’ said Hoadley, who requested $100 million from the Treasury Department last week. ‘This is a legitimate request. I’ll be frankly disappointed if something positive doesn’t come out of this.’”
School funding is certainly a precarious issue. In Ohio the State Supreme Court has now ruled multiple times that current funding methods are unconstitutional, as they rely too heavily on property taxes. Yet something makes me uncomfortable with all those who feel a “legitimate” need to reach out their hands, asking for their “share of the pot.”
First the banks. Second the automakers. Then the state governments. Now the schools. Who will be next?
Isn’t that the true billion/trillion dollar predicament? If we begin to disburse free money, to whom do we give it and to whom do we not? I have a hardworking friend who sadly closed his small business last week. I know others who struggle with their mortgage payments – not to mention their kids with the college loans and expenses. Come to think of it, the holidays are coming up, and I could use a little help with the grocery bill during that time. If free money is given out, wouldn’t we all want to get in line?
I have no intention of being calloused. But that’s the problem: contrary to the 4 a.m. holiday shopping sprees, there still is a spree, but there is no end to the line.
Where is the balance between boosting and bailing? Who has the discernment (not to mention the political moxie) to draw the line – to prudently articulate that a strong dollar means not always saying ‘yes’ to those who ask to ‘show them the money’?
The true moral obligation to our taxpayers? Drawing an appropriate line.
AR
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1 comment:
When any one part of society falls (or fails) we all fall (and fail). We are all connected. Those who work hard and hold onto high moral character and faith, will always be blessed for their efforts. When at last as a society we find a way to eliminate the "Entitlement" mentality and we go back to the simplistic lifestyle of our grandfathers and save for purchases instead of buying everything on Credit, we might have a chance of turning things around. The USA and it's people have been spending more than they are making for decades and now everyone acts so shocked when the time has come to pay the piper! It's called Live well beneath your means. As Mother Teresa said, "Live simply so that others can simply live.!" If more people lived by that philosophy, our country would be GREAT AGAIN!
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