PERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVEPERSPECTIVE
Here's a little something even the Republicans can understand.
We all know what the Republican-controlled Arizona State Legislature has done and is still doing to education. We all know that Arizona ranks right at the bottom in education spending -- down there with the bottom-feeding states like Alabama and Mississippi -- and that proposed cuts in the new budget of some $500 million will destroy what little we have left.
But now we have new evidence that what we spend on education directly affects the jobs we attract to our state, and that corporate leaders are not only noticing but are speaking up. According to a story in today's (March 30) Arizona Republic, Intel CEO and board chairman Craig Barrett told the Arizona Commerce Authority that if Intel were not already here in Arizona, it probably wouldn't come.
"Quality education is extremely important to a place like Intel," Barrett told the Authority. In fact, he added, Arizona wouldn't even place in the top 10 locations.
Intel, for the record, has invested over $14 billion in new Arizona plants over the last decade and has plans to open a $5 billion fabrication plant in Chandler.
So this isn't just about taking from the poor and giving to the rich. It's about jobs. It's about our economic wellbeing. It's about our state's ability to compete.
A stupid legislature that apparently was never educated itself doesn't value education enough to make it the last place cuts are made. But why should we be surprised. Look how the legislature is destroying our state parks, and they matter to our future as well.
These idiots have to go. They simply have to go. Where is the Tea Party on this issue?
(By the way, you can read the whole article by clicking on news.azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic is your best newspaper value.)
Jim Keyworth
Gazette Blog Editor
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