MGB:_Once the willingness to compromise was shown, the details were pretty obvious. It would have been better to just directly fund all schools, allow all teachers to unionize and raise taxes to cover the additional costs to the public treasury, however the Blaine Amendment is in the way. The funding plan legislated goes around the Amendment, which in a way is too bad, because it is likely unconstitutional and needs to fall. It could, of course, be repealed, but the NEA, rather than the Protestants who adopted it, would object strongly unless private schools were opened to unions. I wonder what the Cardinal would say about such a tradeoff?
Catholic schools will help troubled neighborhoods, although they may have left because of the troubles, rather than their leaving being the last straw. The new legislation is a good start, but there is a long way to go. Make social benefits, like the minimum wage and the child tax credit, adequate ($15/hour, $100)/child/month), with paid literacy and job training for anyone after sophomore year at the higher minimum and an end to the drug war and amnesty for prisoners and these neighborhoods will turn around overnight.
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