Post by Moses on Apr 13, 2005 0:25:58 GMT -5
If We Cut School Budgets, Then We Are Going to Need All Those Low-Wage Jobs
The purpose of school, Lasso thought, was to make kids smart enough so they can command high-wage work. There’s more than a little irony, therefore, in a bill speeding through the Legislature that would allow businesses paying the minimum wage to avoid paying their school property taxes. The Statesman tells this tale of a Legislature that is going to extraordinary lengths to drive down the state’s average wage.
The Legislature in 2001 adopted what it believed to be a tool for economic development. It allowed school boards to forgive school taxes for up to 10 years for businesses that bring new jobs. The old bill, however, requires wages at these businesses to pay above-average wages and for the companies to pay health insurance. These minimal standards would be shucked in bills sponsored by Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, and Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth. The new bills would allow any new business to collect the tax breaks. The company could pay the minimum wage ($5.15 an hour) and offer no health insurance. The original bill was a disaster. It put school districts in the game of offering tax breaks, a job far beyond thier interest or competence. And it held them harmless for granting tax incentives. Under the bill, the STATE makes up any tax break granted by a local board. The new law would be worse. It would encourage more school districts to grant more tax giveaways. As a result, there will be less money to pay for better schools. It would lure to the state more low-wage businesses. And it would increase the number of Texans without employer-paid health insurance. In a way, the system might work. The schools will deteriorate because they’ll have less money. Kids will receive an increasingly substandard education. But that’s OK, because Texas will have more low-wage jobs where unskilled workers can find employment. It’s the perfect recipe for creating more poor people and poor places.
— Lasso blog (Bill Bishop)
Austin American-Statesman
2005-04-12
tinyurl.com/43xvp
The purpose of school, Lasso thought, was to make kids smart enough so they can command high-wage work. There’s more than a little irony, therefore, in a bill speeding through the Legislature that would allow businesses paying the minimum wage to avoid paying their school property taxes. The Statesman tells this tale of a Legislature that is going to extraordinary lengths to drive down the state’s average wage.
The Legislature in 2001 adopted what it believed to be a tool for economic development. It allowed school boards to forgive school taxes for up to 10 years for businesses that bring new jobs. The old bill, however, requires wages at these businesses to pay above-average wages and for the companies to pay health insurance. These minimal standards would be shucked in bills sponsored by Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, and Sen. Kim Brimer, R-Fort Worth. The new bills would allow any new business to collect the tax breaks. The company could pay the minimum wage ($5.15 an hour) and offer no health insurance. The original bill was a disaster. It put school districts in the game of offering tax breaks, a job far beyond thier interest or competence. And it held them harmless for granting tax incentives. Under the bill, the STATE makes up any tax break granted by a local board. The new law would be worse. It would encourage more school districts to grant more tax giveaways. As a result, there will be less money to pay for better schools. It would lure to the state more low-wage businesses. And it would increase the number of Texans without employer-paid health insurance. In a way, the system might work. The schools will deteriorate because they’ll have less money. Kids will receive an increasingly substandard education. But that’s OK, because Texas will have more low-wage jobs where unskilled workers can find employment. It’s the perfect recipe for creating more poor people and poor places.
— Lasso blog (Bill Bishop)
Austin American-Statesman
2005-04-12
tinyurl.com/43xvp