Of Laws and Sausages

Nineteenth century German Prussian politician Otto von Bismarck had this to say about the legislative process: “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” His observation could easily describe recent goings-on in Raleigh, as the General Assembly pushes through North Carolina’s 2006-07 budget.

A closer look at the budget process reveals it to be both messy and expensive. Our state government overcharged citizens by $2.4 billion for government services, filling coffers with revenue from higher sales and income taxes. Taxpayers are unlikely to see a refund from any surplus funds. Instead, the General Assembly is quickly finding ways to spend this money, meaning the price of education (along with a whole lot of other things) is going up.

The Department of Public Instruction has come in with a wish list of education items totaling $6,943,960,630. While the Governor’s budget trimmed expenses to $6,707,382,082 and the Senate version came in a little higher at $6,709,565,524, while the House has upped the ante to $6,730,476,989. Now the budget is off to conference committee to reconcile the differences.

Surprisingly, state agencies and lawmakers seem oblivious to mounting research on education and spending. They unquestioningly accept the myth propagated by the BLOB (Big Learning Organizational Bureaucracies) that says public education is woefully under-funded and more money means better results. Education researcher Dr. Jay Greene, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, begs to differ. In a recent essay summarizing his book Education Myths, Dr. Greene writes that the belief that public schools are strapped for cash is, in fact, “the most widely held myth about education in America – and the one most directly at odds with the available evidence.” Greene also debunks another myth making inroads in Raleigh that says teachers are seriously underpaid, indicating that if hourly totals are factored in, teachers are quite well compensated compared to similar professions. And according to education analyst Terry Stoops, teacher salaries in North Carolina are already above the national average; if the legislature approves Governor Easley’s 8 percent pay hike, North Carolina teachers will make more than $5,000 above the adjusted national average.

But expect policymakers to continue to turn a deaf ear to the data until we have a change in leadership. That leaves us with a bit of a good news/bad news dichotomy. Here’s the good news: some of our current legislators will not be returning next year since they were defeated in the spring primary elections. The bad news is they’re spending your money freely and won’t be accountable for doing so.

But as citizens and voters, you do have recourse, and plenty of it. You have the ability to influence others by electing lawmakers who are willing to look at the facts and promote change. In the coming days, watch how your North Carolina House and Senate members vote and consider voting them out if they fail to represent your views. Even if – just like sausage-making – you find the legislative process unpalatable, the end result still needs to suit your tastes (and your wallet).