Money Matters

So, apparently a particular school district is having money problems.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/24451866/detail.html

The school has to borrow money from year to year in order to stay afloat. Now, is this really an issue of cash flow like the superintendent says?

 They get a certain amount of money for each student they have.  The school has to spend a certain amount of money on things like textbooks, teachers' retirement accounts, etc., as well as an emergency fund for replacement of the school in case of a natural disaster. That emergency fund has been donated to for years; state law requires it. The closure of the school is something of a disaster. If there's been a shortage, instead of borrowing, see if you can dip into some saved money instead of debting yourself out of existence, or in this case, trying to debt yourself out of existence. For the amount of money that school has been getting per student, they shouldn't have to take loans. I should know, I asked my mom. She was on a school board in Grand County for several years.

 The school has apparently overspent itself. And now, they are pushing for a property tax raise when the whole county is already struggling.

If the school has had to borrow money from the state year after year just to remain open, I'de say the truth is that this school hasn't managed its money very well. Now because of that school district's shortsightedness, the students, and every taxpayer in the county, pays for it.

Now for the big picture. I'm going to pontificate strenuously.

Everybody agrees that debt is not a good thing. Debt doesn't happen unless you borrow. If you overspend, you're going to pay for it eventually. This isn't just a local problem. Look at the whole country. Everyone is in debt, including the government!

Higher taxes in times of recession have never been good. The reason we hear about the Great Depression, and not the several recessions that came before it, was because it lasted so long. The Great Depression was the only depression, before now, where the government raised taxes. The New Deal had a hand in lengthening it as well, as the stimulus probably will today (where do you think the money comes from?).

Americans don't save their money nowadays. The average amount of money an American saves is -2%. It's no wonder the economy is the way it is. We've spent our money, and now we have to borrow. And borrow. And borrow. The real injustice is that those who have been responsible with their money now have to pay for those who weren't.

The simple truth: People need to learn to manage their money better. Money doesn't grow on trees. Learn delayed gratification. Have some foresight. Debt is not a lurking monster as some people might like to think. It's the consequence for money mismanagement.
For those who didn't save, yes, it's your fault, and the credit companies need money for their families too. But there is hope. Consult someone like Dave Ramsey. His road is a hard one, but it will lead to financial stability. And the more stable people we have, the easier it will be to deal with both the current financial crisis and future ones.

Am I right? Do you wish to add more facts or details? Or am I wrong? Why am I wrong? What does this have to do with my purpose for blogging? Do you think I was too harsh? Too soft? Am I a wacko, out of touch with reality?
 Comment, then. Parrots, commence!


 Response to comments (because at the moment I can't comment on my own blog for some reason. Must be some plugin I added to Firefox):
To Rosemary:

I don't know what Grand County will do. For most, Middle Park is the only option (homeschooling is hard and has a bad odor to some and Winter Park Christian School admits pretty much by invite at the moment). Grand County is also a tourist town, so many of the locals might not even care because they only live here half the time, or are ski bums. But perhaps I'm being pessimistic, and I'll be surprised.
Maybe I can dig around a little, find as many facts as I can, and publish them in the local newspaper. We'll see what happens then.