Today’s Clarion-Ledger contains an article penned by Mississippi Governor Hailey Barbour, who contends that all the fuss over “cuts” in educational funding is little more than fanciful hoo-haa created by the Democrats.
Among his claims: A proposed four percent increase in educational spending is not a “cut.”
With the Governor’s statement in mind, here’s a little story I like to call a “Barbour Tale”:
Once upon a time, there lived a poor woman with many children to feed. She kept careful track of her expenses, and she decided she needed $100 a week to adequately feed her babies. As she currently received only $80.00 a week, she decided to ask the government for help.
She went to the local Governor and presented her case. He consulted with his experts, confirmed the woman’s need for $100.00 a week, and committed to provide it.
The next week, when the woman came for her allowance, the Governor, mugging for the camera and waving to the crowd, proudly presented her with a check for $83.20.
“But Governor!” the woman exclaimed. “You agreed that it would take $100.00 a week to feed my babies! Why have you cut my allowance from $100.00 to $83.20?”
The Governor grabbed the woman by the hair, dragged her to the door of his mansion, and threw her out. “Ungrateful wretch!” he bellowed. “I’ve given you a four percent increase! How dare you call that a cut in your allowance?”
According to the Clarion-Ledger, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program is “the basic formula by which state law determines funding of K-12 public education.”
The formula indicates that adequately funding Mississippi’s educational system for 2005 will require $2.018 billion dollars. Governor Barbour wants to provide just $1.773 billion — a “four percent increase,” but less than what’s needed to get the job done.
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