Conservatives: Chasing tax-cuts down the rabbit hole into oblivion

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You know, if this country is going to be competitive in the world marketplace at all in this century, we're going to have to do a lot better job in educating our kids. And by that I mean get back to fundamentals -- math, science (real science, not that crap about creationism), engineering, etc.

Problem is, the craze for tax-cutting and shrinking government at the Federal level has created some massive pressures at the state level. Education budgets are being slashed, for one, and people are pissed.

Look at the case of Mitch Daniels, Bush's former Budget Director and newly elected governor of Indiana. Once upon a time, he was the point man for "all tax-cuts, all the time."

Now the shoe is on the other foot -- he is constitutionally bound to balance the state's budget and he has called for an increase in state taxes while drastically reducing the education budget:

Parents, teachers, and students packed the Indiana Statehouse Wednesday to sound off. They filled the rotunda, stairwells and balconies to protest proposed cuts to education.

Melanie Wright is an educator. "I am furious. We are a small school corporation. We have already lost our Title One money this year. Now we are losing dollars next year and for the following year."

Megan Cahill is a volunteer in the Indianapolis Public School System."We have already a 73 percent dropout rate and I can't even imagine what is going to happen if this money is cut from our budget." [...]

State budget proposals include little increases for education. School administrators believe it will cost almost 6,000 teachers their jobs over the next two years.

Daniels reward? Grover Norquist hates his guts for raising taxes.

And Indiana isn't isolated case: Utah, Ohio, Alabama, and Arkansas are going through the same upheaval.

Grow up, Republicans -- I know no one ever lost an election running on tax-cuts, but you're betraying our children and leaving us no way to compete against the rest of the world for generations to come.

(HT to kos)