4 ms·

WA has no income tax and their schools aren’t worse. Oregon has no sales tax and their schools aren’t worse. Are CA public schools by far the best in the nation

by option 7y ago

WA has no income tax and their schools aren’t worse. Oregon has no sales tax and their schools aren’t worse. Are CA public schools by far the best in the nation? ( they are not) Edit: before you jump into the “other means funding” - I lived (and owned house) in WA and CA and the overall tax burden is MUCH higher in CA

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
bun_at_work 7y ago
Clearly those states fun schools through other means :).
mc32 7y ago
What’s more is MA has many if the best public schools and Romneycare (at 3% uninsured, that’s the lowest amongst the 50 states) and its taxes aren’t higher than CA’s. CA somehow manages to waste a lot of money. SF has city budgets higher than some states and still says it needs more money.
- jinushaun 7y ago
  I don’t think it’s necessarily waste. It’s cost of living. If city employees need to make 6 figures just to be able to afford living in the city, of courses taxes will be higher to compensate. High taxes with zero improvement in services.
throwawaysea 7y ago
This is correct. School funding has little correlation to performance because there is little accountability or performance measurement. Even where you might think higher salaries would result in better teachers, this does not happen in any timely fashion because union rules results in long tenure of incumbent instructors in most places.
- SllX 7y ago
  Don’t forget that those same unions are a political powerhouse in terms of keeping California effectively a single party State, and so long as they remain a reliable means of winning elections, the legislature as it is currently composed has every incentive not to change this. Keep in mind public sector unions are ultimately paid by the taxpayer via a series of payments which originate from us, go through the State and school districts, eventually a teacher’s paycheck and then from their dues, into the unions who turnaround and support the elections and re-elections of their favored politicians.
dcolkitt 7y ago
Another datapoint. Adjusted for demographics Texas and Florida have the third and fourth best test scores in the country.[1] (California ranks at 46th). Unlike California, Florida is one of three states with universal pre-k. Florida has the lowest in-state tuition in the country.[2] This includes UF, ranked as the seventh-best public university, at an average of $6300.(UC Berkeley averages $14,000.) 39% of Florida college students pay zero tuition. Florida has the second highest quality roads in the union[3]. It's consumer electricity prices are nearly 50% lower than California.[4] Florida has no state income tax, relatively modest property taxes, and a 7% sales tax. Nor does it overextend itself fiscally to provide high-quality government services on a low tax base. It ranks second in the union for state fiscal health.[5]. (California, even in the midst of the greatest tech boom in history ranks 42nd.) [1] https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013 https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013 [2] https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-college#state https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-c... [3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/states-that-are-falling-apart/39644781/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/states-that-... [4] https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ [5] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/fiscal-stability https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/fiscal-stab...
searine 7y ago
WA and Oregon are not comparable in terms of population or demographics. They have different needs which are met with different tax burdens. If you want the luxury of living in CA, then you need to pay your share.

by option 7y ago

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

bun_at_work 7y ago

Clearly those states fun schools through other means :).

mc32 7y ago

What’s more is MA has many if the best public schools and Romneycare (at 3% uninsured, that’s the lowest amongst the 50 states) and its taxes aren’t higher than CA’s. CA somehow manages to waste a lot of money. SF has city budgets higher than some states and still says it needs more money.

jinushaun 7y ago
I don’t think it’s necessarily waste. It’s cost of living. If city employees need to make 6 figures just to be able to afford living in the city, of courses taxes will be higher to compensate. High taxes with zero improvement in services.

throwawaysea 7y ago

This is correct. School funding has little correlation to performance because there is little accountability or performance measurement. Even where you might think higher salaries would result in better teachers, this does not happen in any timely fashion because union rules results in long tenure of incumbent instructors in most places.

SllX 7y ago
Don’t forget that those same unions are a political powerhouse in terms of keeping California effectively a single party State, and so long as they remain a reliable means of winning elections, the legislature as it is currently composed has every incentive not to change this. Keep in mind public sector unions are ultimately paid by the taxpayer via a series of payments which originate from us, go through the State and school districts, eventually a teacher’s paycheck and then from their dues, into the unions who turnaround and support the elections and re-elections of their favored politicians.

dcolkitt 7y ago

Another datapoint. Adjusted for demographics Texas and Florida have the third and fourth best test scores in the country.[1] (California ranks at 46th). Unlike California, Florida is one of three states with universal pre-k. Florida has the lowest in-state tuition in the country.[2] This includes UF, ranked as the seventh-best public university, at an average of $6300.(UC Berkeley averages $14,000.) 39% of Florida college students pay zero tuition. Florida has the second highest quality roads in the union[3]. It's consumer electricity prices are nearly 50% lower than California.[4] Florida has no state income tax, relatively modest property taxes, and a 7% sales tax. Nor does it overextend itself fiscally to provide high-quality government services on a low tax base. It ranks second in the union for state fiscal health.[5]. (California, even in the midst of the greatest tech boom in history ranks 42nd.) [1] https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013 https://www.vox.com/2015/10/26/9617514/test-scores-naep-2013 [2] https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-college#state https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-c... [3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/states-that-are-falling-apart/39644781/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/07/08/states-that-... [4] https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/ [5] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/fiscal-stability https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/fiscal-stab...

searine 7y ago

WA and Oregon are not comparable in terms of population or demographics. They have different needs which are met with different tax burdens. If you want the luxury of living in CA, then you need to pay your share.