#700 A Necessary Levy

I once felt the purpose of the newspapers was to provide unbiased news. Oh, they could do opinions too, but they were supposed to be on the editorial pages. Nevertheless, I did think it was odd that articles on the front page would sometimes take one side and sometimes another.
I eventually realized there was a greater purpose at work. It wasn’t about news. And it wasn’t about opinion. It was about something bigger, wider, and more fundamental.
It was about selling newspapers.
Shout those scandalous headlines! Incite the crowds! Get their ire fired! Get the people’s dander up so they’ll plunk down their daily buck.
So it is lately with the school levies. The local paper’s shouting scary headlines. Funny, an inside editorial says to ignore the headlines that very paper is blaring. Disingenuous? And as recently as last October it was publishing neutral articles on its inside pages about the upcoming levy and how necessary it is.
School districts are growing, technology is falling behind, special education needs to be funded, as do music, sports, and all the things we want for our kids and grandkids.
Our tech and science skills, once the envy of the world, are now the laughing stock. The U.S. has fallen far behind other countries in math, science, and technology.
And it’s partly because of our dumb way of funding schools. What if the army had to go to the voters every time they responded to an emergency?
And this knowledge crisis is an emergency.
Today’s kids are our future. And if they aren’t at the top of their game, our country and way of life will be destroyed as sure as you can say Chinese competition.
But now the newspaper wants to sell papers so it screams out “30 Percent Increase!” to get everyone all roiled up.
Please.
Gas has gone up more than you’ll pay on this levy. If you have a $200,000 home, your tax bill will go up about 70 dollars next year. That’s $5.83 a month. Less than 20 cents a day for a giving our kids a better shot at their future.
Less than the cost of an extra shot in your latte.
Of course, that’s not scandalous enough. And “Levy Costs Less Than a Quarter!” isn’t a headline that sells newspapers.
A subscription to those newspapers, by the way, costs about 500% more than the levy.
America, ya gotta love it.