It's funny how this thread has evolved from the OP's claim to Bush and the unfunded wars. Forgive me for going back on topic in this off-topic forum but some of you are just too young and idealistic to know what's going on. First, education is funded through property taxes which is a bad idea to begin with. Second, because of the housing bubble property taxes went through the roof in some places because assessed values were artificially jacked up. The millage rates didn't budge so the climb was astronomical. As a result, local politicians saw all this new money in the kitty and couldn't resist awarding BS public works projects to their special interest buddies. All of a sudden, foreclosures ruled the day and the faucet that served tax money went dry. Problem is, these junket contracts had been awarded and signed but now there is a shortfall and property owners are clamoring for tax relief. The 2010 mid-term elections brought the wave of Tea Party politicians promising to shrink government, lower taxes and eliminate pork-barrel politics. Hook, line and sinker! Tax cuts, tax cuts and more tax cuts. When the gravy train was groovin' nobody saw it fit to properly fill the coffers of certain services like education, firefighters and police. Our infrastructure is worse than some second-rate countries but nobody's complaining.
Everybody wants non-existent taxes but they want 911 Paramedics to be at your house before you hang up the phone, a cop on every corner and an education system that churns out little Einsteins year in and year out. There's only one way to fund these services and that's through taxation. FAIR taxation. Governments at the local, state and federal levels take in more than enough money through taxes to give us free health care, roads paved in gold and a Maserati in every driveway. Problem is there are way too many crooks in politics to prevent this from ever happening. I, for one, don't mind paying for better services for education. Five bucks doesn't even cover a Big Mac and fries so it's not like I'm going to feel it, but we need more accountability.