Budget crisis in Sacramento school districts

In the Bee of March 29, there is an article, Union Divided over giving ground, by Melody Gutierrz on the current budget conflict in Sacramento City U. Here is my response.

The Bee writes as if the  budget crisis  of Sacramento City Unified, and 17 other local school districts is a problem of teachers being unwilling to take pay cuts. (They already receive are paid less than teachers in the surrounding districts.)

This  economic crisis was created by finance capital and banking, mostly on Wall Street particularly  Chase Banks, Bank of America, Citi Group, AIG, and others – not by teachers and not by students. Finance capital produced a $ 2 trillion bailout of the financial industry, the doubling of America’s unemployment rate and the loss of 2 million manufacturing jobs in 2008.  Fifteen million people are out of work.

Rather than blame the teachers,  an appropriate response would be to tax the banks  and the financial trades.  We pay a 8% sales tax in California.  There should be at least a 3% tax on sales of stocks and derivatives and financial instruments. Such a tax could fund the schools and slow down the excesses of  casino capitalism.  

Duane Campbell

http://www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com

Sacramento