Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
I have to give Governor Bruce Rauner credit for not taking long to show his hand and publicly attack the Higher Education system in Illinois. It has only been a few weeks since he was inaugurated and he recently unveiled his budget. A budget plan that slashes over $200 million just from the University of Illinois alone.
At the very time Gov. Rauner announced he wants to slash the Higher Education budget for all universities in the State of Illinois by almost a third, he claimed that his budget makes education a priority!
“Higher education is set to take a major hit in Illinois.
Following similar announcements by the Republican governors of Wisconsin and Louisiana, newly-sworn in Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner released what he called a “turnaround” budget, that would slash nearly $209 million from the University of Illinois.” Think Progress
“It’s time to make education our top priority again – and that’s what this budget does,” he told lawmakers Tuesday night, touting his plan to give about $25 million more to early childhood education. “With reform, we will be able to invest more in education and give our kids world class schools.” Think Progress
While the proposed budget increases some funding for K-12 education, the University of Illinois system will lose one-third of its state financing under this budget. This very same proposed budget makes absolutely no mention of any increased revenue sources or plans. What will happen to the University system if these cuts are retained in the final budget?
One can expect the cuts to cause increased fees being charged to students as well as the loss of many educational programs. The result of these massive reductions in state financing will be to transfer the costs to students who are already paying high tuition and fee costs. The loan balances of many students already into the 6 figures and Gov. Rauner’s actions will make sure that student debt will continue to climb in Illinois.
So often the claims that all areas of the State have to share in the burden of digging out of a financial hole ends up with some of the most vulnerable bearing the brunt of that burden. If the Governor is convinced that we all have to sacrifice in this job to balance the budget, why wouldn’t new tax sources be considered along with reasonable cuts?
Will these draconian cuts make it more difficult for students from poor and middle class families to obtain a college education? In this very same budget proposal, Gov. Rauner biggest cuts are aimed directly at those who are least able to afford them.
“Yet the state would spend $400 million less on higher education, $600 million less on local governments, and $1.5 billion less on Medicaid, which handles health care costs for poor residents. University leaders and mayors said they were worried, and advocates for the poor said they feared medical needs would go unmet under deep cuts to Medicaid.” New York Times
When the cities, counties and municipalities raise their taxes to pay for basic services for their residents, who has to pay for those increases? “In many cases, Rauner’s state budget cuts could simply end up shifting costs: local governments could choose to raise property taxes, state universities could raise tuition and the CTA could increase fares.” Chicago Tribune
For a man who spent at least $37 million of his own money to get elected governor, he sure has no problem making the middle class and poor pay more for a college education and for health care and local taxes and transportation costs.
Rauner seems to be following the economic model that worked so “well” for Gov. Brownback in Kansas and Gov. Walker in Wisconsin.
Just how has that austerity approach worked out for Kansas and Wisconsin?
Additional Sources: Examiner.com; Crains Chicago Business
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Sad, sad, sad.
Inga:
” Oh if only we could clone you.”
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We used to have quite a few decent people around here. Many, but certainly not all, took the last train for the coast the day the music died.
DBQ:
“Sniping about who is mean to who is the last thing that anyone with an IQ above room temperature should be interested in doing.
Grow up.”
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The age-old meme of the aggressor to the aggrieved: Forget about my attack you uncivil fool and play the game as I say. Haven’t seen that tactic in a while. Thanks for the reminder.
Will do Mespo. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for every bit of kindness you’ve shown me here on RIL. Oh if only we could clone you.
Inga:
One of my favorite books is the The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner about the paradox of docile citizenry accepting their demise without protest. It’s based on Milton’s verse:
The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed,
But swollen with wind and the rank mist they draw,
Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread …
At the end, the citizens figure out just how badly they’ve been served by their corporate masters and political unrest rules the day. Written in 1972, it’s a present-day cautionary tale for the likes of Walker and Rauner.
“The killers are the people who are ruining the world to line their pockets, poisoning us, burying us under garbage!”
― John Brunner, The Sheep Look Up
Sandi, if you’re her Grammi in her heart and yours, that’s all that matters.
In WI, Walker is trying to make it a Right to Work state. He said he wouldn’t interefere with private unions, now look at what he’s up to. It’s truly sickening. My son would be directly negatively affected by this. I think Republicans are nothing better than criminals, robbing the poor and middle class to make life even better for the already rich.
This isn’t junior high school. We are all adults here and should be able to be civil to each other even when disagreeing. Trying to divide a group into factions and garner support on the basis of he/she is a big meanie…… come and protect me……… is something that children do.
If you are tired of the constant back and forth of comments that have nothing to do with the general topic (as some have indicated) then either do as some have and take a break or ignore it.
I’m not here to be someone’s champion or someone’s buddy or someone’s friend or even someone’s enemy. I just don’t care that much. If people do care then …whatever…as has been said. Put on your big girl/boy pants and defend yourself.
I like to discuss the topics and am interested in learning when the legal principles are intelligently discussed. I like different points of view. I’m willing to argue and disagree with anyone and to agree with anyone when they are persuasive. I’m not originally from the show me State without some consequences. Show me. Convince me. Don’t play games.
Sniping about who is mean to who is the last thing that anyone with an IQ above room temperature should be interested in doing.
Grow up.
I believe the development and growth of education in this country began with the people. Small towns hired one teacher, everybody chipped in. I don’t think any party can take credit for education. The immigrants from Europe had education systems in countries they left. Naturally they would want their children educated here.
A “temporary” tax in Illinois ends and everybody talks about how much the Governor gets to keep. Lots of people get to keep lots of money. If taxes should be raised, then vote that, but live up to a promise.
It is true that when times are tough some jobs are deemed not necessary or fewer people doing it. But anyone in Union jobs faces that. As the union expands it’s great. But when the time to save money comes, it isn’t. The difference in the private sector is the option of keeping the best and letting others go. A union member could be twice as productive as another, but last in, first out.
Thank you, Inga. I can rave about her because I’m actually her step-grandmother, but my step-daughters asked that the step be tossed some years ago. She’s my husband’s from a first marriage. But I’ve been Grammi since her entry.
wade:
“There are 102 Counties in Illinois. Rauner won 101 of them! That, is a mandate, “Elections have consequences.” Barack Obama”
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Applying my Spinelli Rule of checking of everything of substance he says, I came across this little tidbit that the Crime Dog apparently just forgot:
Rauner captured 50.73% (1,757,569) of the vote. Quinn had 45.89% (1,589,993) and Libertarian Chad Grimm had 3.38% (117,060).
While the county totals are correct, the information is misleading as Rauner had a mere two and a half point swing of the popular vote on the way to his “mandate.” The wealthy Rauner outspent his opponent by a 2 to 1 margin in this off-year election amounting to spending about $37.55 for every vote to Quinn’s $18.86. Quite the man of the people.
As with so many things, our own Sam Spade gets it about half right and with no insight. Half truths have consequences, too.
http://chicagoinno.streetwise.co/2014/11/05/illinois-governor-race-final-numbers-and-data-for-rauner/
Mespo, I don’t think they care at all at what this person does. Not at all.
Money taken away from education and given to Walmart doesn’t help anyone but Walmart. Walker gave millions to Walmart that he took away from our schools. That was shameful.
Yeah. yeah. yeah. The old tax and spend program
I’ll leave you to the illusion that there is an unending pot of money under the taxpayer’s sofa cushions.
😉
PR:
“You are right, it would be better if people called out rudeness when it happens, no matter to whom it happens.”
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Funny, everyone misses “calling it out” when the professional does it but those same moralists have much less compunction to point fingers when the crass insult is responded to in kind by another. You sit by, happily mute, when someone’s child or widowhood takes an unwarranted and below-the-belt hit, but leap to the ramparts, weapon in hand when a simple counter-example to a mindlessly global assertion upsets your apple cart.
I’ll take my moralizing from the consistently and impartially moral if you don’t mind. Call me cynical — or simply willing to extend to each commenter his due.
DBQ
Yeah. yeah. yeah. The old waste and abuse meme.
Forget it. You’re only interested in a simple story.
I’ll leave you to the comfort of Business 101.
Sandi, she sounds like a bright young lady.
https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse
DBQ, ditto on your comment about Republican Legislatures.
Inga, my oldest granddaughter is in two AP programs. She recently gave a
5-minute presentation, in French. Wow. Chemistry is the other.
So, if I ever go to France again, she goes with us!
Do all States have AP programs?
How can we get more informed citizens? They mute during commercials. And nobody discusses politics outside their families these days, unless you attend a town meeting. And those get pretty loud sometimes.
Nobody is arguing that elections don’t have consequences.
One consequence is having a lot of idiots in office.
Your state has a financial problem. Your job is to fix it. You don’t break one of your tools needed to fix it.
When your State or business has a financial problem your first job is to find areas of bloat and unnecessary spending. CUT those first. Eliminate duplicate cost centers and find more efficient and less expensive ways to do things.
What you DON’T do FIRST is to raise your prices, raise your taxes and increase your costs and drive away your customers.
Of course in the eyes of the government the tax payers are not free customers of the government services…….but rather captives subject to the whims of the government.
Business 101.
Sandi
You’re concerned about people’s incomes. Have you considered that all those cuts are coming out of people’s incomes?