Leave Prop 2 1/2 Alone

Google is a fantastic resource and it's a shame that Ken Woods didn't make use of it before writing a letter criticizing my "math" published on May tenth. If he had bothered to check the source I cited: the Digest of Education Statistics published by the U.S. Department of Education he would have found that all figures are in "constant 2008-09 dollars". If he were to investigate a little further he would have found this footnote: "Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.". In short, despite Ken's protestations to the contrary, education spending has nearly tripled from $55,000 in 1970 to $150,000 today. Are we getting our money's worth? Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development finds the answer to be an emphatic no. We spend 81 percent more than Germany, 77 percent more than France and 20 percent more than Britain to educate our children only to get our clocks cleaned. Our education system is in desperate need of reform not funds.

Which makes Ken's assertion that we must dump Prop. 2 1/2 all the more dubious. Without the spending restraint that Prop. 2 1/2 imposes on municipalities reform would be impossible. Even with a cap on property tax increases in place public employee unions have been extremely resistant to make concessions on gold-plated benefit packages that will save city services and school programs. Per our mayor "The co-chairs are not responding to my emails or my phone calls". Without the fiscal restraint that Prop. 2 1/2 imposes the very idea of concessions from unionized public employees who receive $47 an hour accourding to the federal government's national compensation survey would be a non-starter. What Mr. Woods neglects to mention is the impact eliminating Prop. 2 1/2 would have on the diversity of our city. We already pay a premium to live here and without a way to check property tax increases Newburyport would quickly become a playground only the very wealthy could afford to call home.

Nestled alongside the Merrimack we have little hope of checking the $188 million that Washington borrows every hour of every day to cover its reckless spending. We have little more influence on Beacon Hill when our "representatives" hand the public employees' pension fund its annual $1.4 billion bailout while cutting local aid. But if we embrace rather than abandon our rights as taxpayers our voices on matters pertaining to how our city is run can be decisive. Who knows, by demanding reform maybe politicians on every level of government will hear the message that "it's the spending stupid" and we can get our nation on sound footing again. The inflation caused spike in gas and food prices should be enough to educate every American on the dangers of giving politicians a blank check. This is no time to go wobbly on Prop. 2 1/2.