Press Release - Portantino: 'Where are the Fiscal Conservatives Hiding?'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Eduardo Martinez
April 30, 2008 (916) 319-2044
‘Where are the Fiscal Conservatives Hiding?’
Portantino, CSU faculty and students hold press conference to advocate for a true conservative approach to solving state’s budget deficit
SACRAMENTO, CA – Joined by students and faculty from all 23 California State University campuses at a press conference this morning, Assembly Higher Education Chairman Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) argued that investing in our public institutions of higher education is, in fact, the conservative approach to solving the state’s budget shortfalls.
“We know that for every dollar we invest in the CSU system, we receive $1.83 in returns that benefit not only our local economies, but the state’s economy in the form of additional revenue,” said Portantino. “We also know that a failure to invest in our children’s education often results in future increases in state spending for a variety of social programs. So today, I’m asking my Republican colleagues and the Governor to invest in institutions and programs that yield a significant return on our investment. I believe that this is the fiscally conservative and prudent approach to solving our budget crisis.”
The California Faculty Association commissioned a report entitled “Examining the Fiscal, Economic, and Social Impacts of the California State University,” which analyzed not only the importance of the system to the state, but the potential impacts of the current year’s proposed budget cuts. The report cited data which suggests that a modest increase in the number of degree holders in the state would result in $20 billion in additional economic output, $1.2 billion more in state and local tax revenues annually, and 174,000 new jobs. Additionally, because the CSU system is currently under-funded and the proposed budget promises to make even deeper cuts, the report estimates that “the CSU would have to deny access to more than 18,000 students over the next two and a half years, effectively taking no new students at all.”
“After World War II, our country invested in the generation that returned home from service overseas, igniting the economic prosperity of the 1950s and 60s. We now have a new opportunity to invest in our future, to receive a significant return on that investment and to begin to turn our state’s economy around, all while being fiscally responsible with taxpayer dollars. The CSU is simply too important to our state to continue challenging it financially year after year. We need teachers, health care professionals and a host of other educated and skilled workers -- let’s not shortchange our children and our economy at the same time,” concluded Portantino.
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