Will Tennessee lawmakers pass a new tax next year?
A recent analysis of the potential cost of school vouchers in Kentucky shows that Bluegrass State taxpayers could be on the hook for $199 million in year one – with those costs expected to balloon in subsequent years.
Which reminds me that the year one cost of Gov. Bill Lee’s universal voucher scam would cost TN taxpayers $140 million with estimates suggesting the cost of the program at full operation would be above $700 million.
Lee is actively campaigning for Republicans in primaries who support his new voucher tax. He’s also said he plans to try again next year to pass a universal voucher scheme.
In state after state, budget analysis demonstrates that vouchers essentially amount to a new tax – straining local budgets and draining state revenue previously directed toward public schools and other programs.
Arizona is one example – lawmakers there are struggling to patch a giant budget hole due to the budget drain that is vouchers.
Let’s be clear: School vouchers essentially create two school systems. Taxpayers are on the hook for both.
The public spends more, but gets less.
In the above example, Kentuckians would pay nearly $200 million more to educate the exact same number of students.
Lee’s plan would tax Tennesseans $140 million more in its first year and provide no improvement in service.
In Tennessee’s pilot voucher program – where students are required to take state tests – kids who used the vouchers LOST ground.
We’re paying more to lose.
Oh, and after nearly a decade of budget surpluses, Lee’s tax giveaways to the rich have begun to create a budget hole – some $500 million short this year.
Less state revenue, higher local taxes, and kids losing ground academically – that’s the result of the Bill Lee agenda.
