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Economically Stimulating: Education Secretary Duncan, Broke States, Media Bias

By Pedro de la Torre - Jan 30th, 2009 at 3:45 pm

In an interview with the Associated Press, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke about the importance of education spending in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (”the economic stimulus package”):

“If we want to stimulate the economy, we need a better-educated workforce…That’s the only way, long-term, we’re going to get out of this economic crisis,” he said. [...]

College affordability is critical, Duncan said. [...] “In our economy, never has it been more important to go to college,” Duncan said. “Well, college has never been more unaffordable. And so increasing access is hugely important. Long-term, if we want a better economy, we need more people going to college.”

Campus Progress and other groups have been urging strong measures in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act to provide relief to struggling students, protect access to higher education during the economic crisis, mitigate the effects of state budget cuts, and stimulate the economy. Students are taking action online here.

Students across the country have also been working hard to minimize state budget cuts to education. University of California - Santa Barbara students, for example, held a rally on Wednesday to challenge the massive budget cuts facing California schools.

Most states have to choose between cutting spending, raising taxes, or both because of balanced budget laws. Unfortunately, these options only take more money out of the economy, and dig us deeper into a recessionary hole. From (a very helpful) Center for Budget and Policy Priorities update:

Expenditure cuts and tax increases are problematic policies during an economic downturn because they reduce overall demand and can make the downturn deeper.  When states cut spending, they lay off employees, cancel contracts with vendors, eliminate or lower payments to businesses and nonprofit organizations that provide direct services, and cut benefit payments to individuals.  In all of these circumstances, the companies and organizations that would have received government payments have less money to spend on salaries and supplies, and individuals who would have received salaries or benefits have less money for consumption.  This directly removes demand from the economy.  Tax increases also remove demand from the economy by reducing the amount of money people have to spend.

That makes the stimulus package–especially provisions that mitigate cuts to social services cut by state governments–even more important.

Unfortunately, the “liberal media” seem to be giving a lot more air time to conservatives opposing the stimulus than to progressives (strangely, Fox news does seem the most “fair and balanced” in this case).