en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/643930 Comments by busted http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/TSC-announces-staff-cuts#IDComment52028725 Mitch is trying to drive people to the private schools. Mitch doesn't support public education. Contact your representatives, Senator Alting and Rep Truitt. Tell them the cuts are unacceptable. If our schools decline, so will our property values. Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:16:58 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/TSC-announces-staff-cuts#IDComment52028725 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Staff-cuts-possible-at-local-schools#IDComment51782454 Mitch doesn't want the taint of raising taxes on his higher political ambitions. Mitch would fire the last teacher before he raised taxes. A surtax on high incomes would make these cuts unnecessary. Instead they are going to cap property taxes which mostly benefits landlords and rich people with McMansions. This will make the problem worse. By the time they are through, people will be abandoning our formerly great public schools and shelling out for private schools. Most people pay more in tuition for a private high school than tuition at Purdue. Wed, 13 Jan 2010 02:38:25 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Staff-cuts-possible-at-local-schools#IDComment51782454 http://www.wlfi.com/dpps/news/indiana/indiana-house-approves-property-tax-caps_3185641#IDComment51607827 If there is not enough revenue to fund fire, insurance rates will go up and property values will go down. California has been shackled with property tax cuts and they are a complete basket case. By the time the fallout from this fiasco hits the fan, Mitch will be long gone. Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:56:54 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpps/news/indiana/indiana-house-approves-property-tax-caps_3185641#IDComment51607827 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Representative-Randy-Truitt-says-education-job-creation-is-key#IDComment51140525 Mr Truitt had the audacity to send the question, "Should Purdue tuition be capped?" in his campaign literature disguised as a survey. That would be great if the state would pick up more of Purdue funding. Then tuition could be reduced. Instead the state has cut Purdue funding and Mr Truitt was nowhere to be heard. Why wasn't Mr Truitt pounding on My Man MItch's door to protect the Purdue budget? Where was Mr Truitt when Purdue was being unfairly attacked by the grandstanding Senator Kenley? Where are the questions on Mr Truitt's survey about the lack of pay raises for Purdue employees? Where are the questions about cutting Purdue funding? Where are the questions about cutting funding for our public schools? These are all concerns of the local constituents that the Party Bosses want to avoid. Joe Micon went out of his way to support Purdue. Unfortunately, the funding for Mr Truitt's campaign will come from the state so he has to bow to the will of MyManMitch and the State Republican Party bosses. We have another tool for the wealthy Republican elites who is not willing to fight for his local constituents. Sat, 9 Jan 2010 03:57:46 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Representative-Randy-Truitt-says-education-job-creation-is-key#IDComment51140525 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/on_the_money/school-districts-could-be-cutting-jobs#IDComment49450237 Send the kids to school in an unheated barn in a corn field? Property values depend on school quality. We may lose more in home equity than we would pay in taxes to maintain quality schools. Mitch wants to privatize everything including our schools. It will keep your taxes low, but no one will want to buy your house and no business wants to move to someplace that has bad schools. Our public schools are a bargain. People in big cities with bad schools spend more money to send their kids to private high school than we pay for Purdue tuition. Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:22:23 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/on_the_money/school-districts-could-be-cutting-jobs#IDComment49450237 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/on_the_money/school-districts-could-be-cutting-jobs#IDComment49432070 Over the past 30 years, state government has done nothing but cut taxes for the wealthy and transferring them onto the poor and middle class. Now that unemployment is high the state is no longer collecting enough revenue. They most recently gave a huge tax break to millionaire landlords with the property tax cuts. The state needs to raise more revenue. They should pass a 1 or 2% surtax on incomes of people making over $200K per year. Those are the people that get the most benefit from state service and they could afford it. It is time to ask them to pony up their fair share of the tax revenue. Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:43:19 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/on_the_money/school-districts-could-be-cutting-jobs#IDComment49432070 http://www.wlfi.com/dpps/news/politics/congress/democrats-see-gop-hypocrisy_3155751#IDComment49064049 Much of the deficit is caused by a drop in revenue because unemployment is too high. Under Clinton, the budget came into balance when unemployment was only 4%. They will never balance the budget with 10% unemployment. They need to put people back to work. We need a JOBS bill. Sat, 26 Dec 2009 02:38:14 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpps/news/politics/congress/democrats-see-gop-hypocrisy_3155751#IDComment49064049 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Schools_asked_to_cut_300_million#IDComment47507737 Will someone please stand up to Mitch Daniels. What are our state representatives saying? Does Rep Truitt support Mitch or does he support our schools? Purdue is in Truitt's district and he has been very quiet. Rep Micon would not have ducked this issue. The reporters need to get our politicians on record. Where was Ron Alting when his fellow Senator Kenley was bashing Purdue? If our representatives won't stand up for our schools what good are they? Thu, 17 Dec 2009 02:58:40 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Schools_asked_to_cut_300_million#IDComment47507737 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Senate-Committee-Approves-Permanent-Property-Tax-Cap#IDComment47452784 Correct. It is a windfall for big landlords. They will pocket their tax cut. It won't go to the tenants who will pay higher sales taxes and fees because of it. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:50:04 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Senate-Committee-Approves-Permanent-Property-Tax-Cap#IDComment47452784 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Copy_of_panel-to-vote-on-property-tax-cap-bill1260316214317#IDComment47397789 This is insane. The state is NOT collecting enough sales tax revenue now to fund its programs. Capping property taxes would mean that the state needs a much much larger rainy day fund. The other option is gutting public education and largely privatizing it. Mitch Daniels went to elite private schools for little rich boys his whole life. He went to private universities. Mitch is no friend of public education. When Mitch gets through, our public schools will be in shambles. In places with bad public schools, private school tuition is higher than tuition at Purdue, over ten thousand per year. Private college tuition is upward of $30,000 compared to the Purdue bargain of well under $10,000. Cuts in state funding to Purdue (It has been decreasing proportionately for decades) will force higher tuition. The final result will be to create a dual education system. A private system to serve the children of the wealthy elites and a public system that barely functions for those that cannot afford it or refuse to sacrifice. We are going from a meritocracy to a plutocracy. It will no longer matter how capable you could be. It will matter much more how much money Daddy makes. Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:06:49 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Copy_of_panel-to-vote-on-property-tax-cap-bill1260316214317#IDComment47397789 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/purdue-considers-cost-cutting-measures#IDComment47238053 The State cut back money to Purdue (which already has almost the lowest tuition in the Big10). The State has pushed Purdue to NOT raise tuition. Education is labor intensive. Kenley is a big hypocrite to whine about Purdue tuition after he voted to cut the budget. The labor budget is LARGE compared to any other category. Staff will have to be cut. That will hurt the local economy. There are far more staff than Professors. Departments will be reducing the numbers of TAs and instructors and increasing class sizes. Upkeep and maintenance will be postponed. Mitch Daniels went to private schools all his life. He is no friend of public universities or public schools. Mitch wants to privatize education the same way he privatized everything else. Compared to private school Purdue tuition is a bargain. The US university system was built by government funds and government sponsored tuition. We are underinvesting in education at a time when our competitors are expanding their education system. China is building 30 brand new universities, each the size of Purdue. We will get further behind. Jobs go where the new technology is being invented. Indiana will regret joining the race to the bottom. Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:22:47 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/purdue-considers-cost-cutting-measures#IDComment47238053 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/TSC-changes-middle-School-start-time#IDComment46516622 The school corporations are under tight control by the state. Rapidly growing districts are adversely affected by state funding rules. There are a lot of politicians at the state level that favor private schools over public schools starting with our Governor, Mitch Daniels. They are OK with crowding at public schools because they think it will help the private schools. Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:51:54 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/TSC-changes-middle-School-start-time#IDComment46516622 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Tax_increase_passes_through_council#IDComment46333116 The schools add over 10% to the property value of homes in the WLSC. If the schools are not properly funded, then housing values will decline. The potential decline in home values would more than offset minor increases in property taxes. The landlords already have this tax increase built into the rates they gouge the Purdue students (who pay a substantial proportion of this tax (included in their rent) and don't get much for it). Wed, 9 Dec 2009 02:44:45 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Tax_increase_passes_through_council#IDComment46333116 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Senate-Committee-Approves-Permanent-Property-Tax-Cap#IDComment46332638 The state is collecting too little money to pay its bills so the Senate wants to make things worse? Property taxes are deductible on Federal income tax. Sales tax is not. Because Indiana has raised sales tax and lowered property taxes, millions more dollars are lost to Indiana. Fortunately, the Dems in the House will put this nonsense on ice. This is one more really stupid idea of My Man Mitch and the idiots in the State Senate (and that includes our local boy, Ronnie). They have put the royal FUBAR to our tax code. It will take decades for future governors and legislators to sort it out given the gridlock. Republican philosophy is to eliminate taxes and charge user fees. In the case of our public universities, it pushes them closer to being private universities. If the state is no longer going to subsidize tuition at public universities, then they will be forced to charge private tuition rates (Which are over twice what Indiana residents currently pay). Indiana is rapidly becoming the Mississippi of the North. Wed, 9 Dec 2009 02:37:58 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Senate-Committee-Approves-Permanent-Property-Tax-Cap#IDComment46332638 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/mitch-daniels-cut-higher-education-funding-another-2-percent-indiana#IDComment45929071 Mitch and his lock step Republicans want to put the property tax caps into the state constitution. This will permanently underfund the state and force state colleges to become quasi private schools. Students will no longer get subsidized tuition. They will pay the same full rates that students at pricey private schools pay. This is all done so the wealthy don't have to pay taxes. This will kill the goose that laid the golden egg. Luke Kenley did a bunch of grandstanding about Purdue tuition, but it is already less than almost all other Big10 schools. Purdue will have no choices but to raise tuition or cut the numbers of students. The idiot newspaper wants college costs per student to be cut. Faculty are not the largest expense. The big expense is staff. Purdue could cut the number of staff but that would mean drastic cuts in the services supplied to the students. The result of the state budget cuts will be to throw even more people out on the streets into the already too long unemployment lines. Sat, 5 Dec 2009 13:04:35 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/mitch-daniels-cut-higher-education-funding-another-2-percent-indiana#IDComment45929071 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/mitch-daniels-cut-higher-education-funding-another-2-percent-indiana#IDComment45874277 Just remember that My Man Mitch did went to private schools (NOT public schools) and that Mitch does NOT support public schools including public colleges. Mitch would like nothing better than to privatize public education the same way he handed over the welfare system to IBM. The Republican philosophy is to reduce taxes, especially taxes on the wealthy and replace much of the taxes with user fees. That means that people who actually use the colleges (students) pay higher fees (tuition). The tax cuts shift the burden of paying for college education off of the wealthy (who are paying twice as much to send their kids to private schools) and onto the poor and middle class. Because the poor and middle class cannot afford the tuition outright, they have to borrow money from the wealthy and make exorbitant interest payments to wealthy bankers (so the wealthy can pay twice as much to send their own kids to private school and afford to buy their legacy that pricey imported sports car). Our public education system has made America great. We are in the process of abandoning public education for a system of private schools that allow the wealthy to buy the best and everyone else gets the lesser version. This is the legacy of Reaganomics. Note that Reagan's home state of California is even more of a basket case than Indiana because California is even less able to collect the revenue it needs. Mitch is trying to do the same for Indiana. Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:36:09 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/mitch-daniels-cut-higher-education-funding-another-2-percent-indiana#IDComment45874277 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Businesses_speak_up_on_tax_referendum#IDComment45669535 There are forces at work that are trying to promote a system of private schools at the expense of public schools. The state is making rules that restrict local governments from collecting the revenue they need. The Federal government has mandates that must be met and it means that certain items must be funded. This is a terrible plight for local citizens who care about their local schools and support education. This is terrible news for home owners living in school districts that will decline because of stupid state policy. When the schools decline, home values decline. The small difference in taxes will not come close to making up the difference in home values. This is a very toxic mix that reduces the ability of local government to improve the quality of life. If the anti-public school people have their way (Mitch Daniels is no friend of public schools or public anything), people who want a quality education will have to spend over $10,000 per year to send their kids to private schools. Home values will drop because people will not pay as much to live there is if the schools are not good. Leaving everything else up to developers will create an ever expanding suburban sprawl with increased traffic congestion, increased transportation costs and urban areas blighted by abandoned box stores and strip malls. There is some short term benefit but it mostly goes to developers. There are a LOT of long term costs as we are finding out. Thu, 3 Dec 2009 12:16:12 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/Businesses_speak_up_on_tax_referendum#IDComment45669535 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/health/TSC-superintendent-said-teacher-acted-courageously#IDComment44047903 This is really bad. Some clothing (especially the plastic stuff) is extremely flammable. It no longer has fire retardant in it. There has been a change in clothing and some clothes just should not be worn around any open flame. One more thing for everyone to consider. Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:19:21 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/health/TSC-superintendent-said-teacher-acted-courageously#IDComment44047903 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Daniels_State_agency_budget_cut_10percent_200911061257528261863#IDComment42340300 Daniels and company have royally messed up our state revenue. Switching from property taxes to sales tax means that revenues WILL COLLAPSE during recessions. Increasing the dependence on sales tax meant that the state rainy day fund would be woefully inadequate and needed to be 5 times as large. The LAST thing government should do in a recession with high unemployment is to create more unemployment by laying off state workers. It is hard enough for workers to find jobs without the state putting more people out on the street. Because of fiscal mismanagement, we have our state government contributing to the economic downturn and high unemployment by budget cutbacks. If the state spends less, then more private businesses and workers that provide services to the state government and state workers will go under. Employment is in a downward spiral and cutbacks by the state only reinforce the downward spiral. The state can not run a deficit, but the federal government can. The Feds need to borrow and provide more assistance to the states. We need jobs NOW. The government should borrow from the future to put people to work now and collect higher taxes in the future once everyone is back to work. Until people have jobs, the budget deficits will not be fixed. Sat, 7 Nov 2009 14:26:37 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/indiana/Daniels_State_agency_budget_cut_10percent_200911061257528261863#IDComment42340300 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/local_wlfi_westlafayette_police_investigate_overnight_stabbing_20091101#IDComment41448196 Those arrested are not listed as Purdue students. Sun, 1 Nov 2009 21:18:05 +0000 http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/local_wlfi_westlafayette_police_investigate_overnight_stabbing_20091101#IDComment41448196