MSCL.com

As we approach the election, it will be a good idea to keep in mind that there are no easy answers. It's easy to say, "Rollback the tax cuts." It's harder to actually do it. Here's a story about what happened in Alabama.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... -tax_x.htm

Texas has a plan similar to this that forces higher income school districts to give a certain portion of their property taxes to poorer school districts throughout the state (in texas the state doesn't fund public education directly it requires the local area to fund it). Although it has helped keep the other school districts a float all it has done to the higher income school districts is force them to raise property taxes.

Here in Ohio,

Education funding and property taxes are heavily in play. Some background info.

About 10 years ago several school districts sued the State of Ohio challenging the constitutionality of paying for schools via propery taxes. The idea here being that wealthier neighborhoods have better funding for their schools than do poor ones because of the property taxes raised.

The Ohio Supreme Court three times ruled in favor of the plantiffs in the case and asked the Ohio legislature to provide more funding for schools without ruling the current system of school funding unconsitutional.

More money was allocated toward the schools but not enough in the opinion of the plantiffs. The went back to court again but this time things had changed. Tons of money had poored into the state to back conservative canidates to the bench. The conservatives won, the court balanced changed. The court refused to enforce the previous court rulings binding the legislature for increased funding for education.

The plantiffs are trying to appeal to US Supreme Court to have the previous rulings enforced.

IMHO I think the system of paying for schools via property taxes is an outdated system. I don't see the US Supreme Court ruling for the plantiffs.

Living in a city and a state where taxes are raised for sports stadiums and to bribe companies to stay in the state, and where mass transit and school levies fail routinely, I am not holding my breath for any progressive change to Ohio's school funding situation.

I do continue to hope and pray though. I would favor a system where all the money is raised from property taxes is sent to Columbus first and then divided up evenly among the school districts.

TomSpeed thanks for bringing up this timely topic.

LanceMan

"The initiative would have shifted some of the burden of taxes from the poor to the wealthy. It would have raised the amount at which a family of four began paying state income taxes from $4,600 a year to $17,000. "

That's disgusting! A family of 4 making that little in a year is being taxed even though they are clearly living in poverty. How could a family living on $4 600 a year manage not to be homeless and starving nevermind pay their taxes? $17 000 would be tough enough to get by on. I'm not much for mixing religion and politics but maybe Riley had the right idea, a powerful message is obviously needed to express how heartless and irresponsible it is for the State to not only turn its back on the poor but to add to their burden. Hopefully I've misunderstood this part of the article, or that the difference in Can/US dollar value is way more vast than I'm aware of.

TomSpeed wrote:As we approach the election, it will be a good idea to keep in mind that there are no easy answers. It's easy to say, "Rollback the tax cuts." It's harder to actually do it. Here's a story about what happened in Alabama.


http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/200 ... -tax_x.htm

Alabama has a 675 million dollar budget deficit, ouch. Unlike the federal government I am pretty sure all state governments are not allowed by their constitutions to maintain a budge deficit. This is true in Ohio.

Since the tax increase failed, this means that some serious budget cuts are going to be in the offing for Alabama. I wonder what will get the axe, education funding? libraries? clinics?

LanceMan