Just Read It

“Throughout six years of deficit spending and fiscal mismanagement, Governor Doyle left us with a state deficit…” – {source}

"We are broke in this state. We have been broke for years. People have ignored that for years, and it's about time somebody stood up and told the truth. The truth is: We don't have money to offer. We don't have finances to offer. This is what we have to offer." – {source}

Wisconsin’s deficit is ranked 4^th in the nation.” – Scott Walker

“This is 100% about balancing the budget.” – Scott Walker

Walker's bill to fill deficit this year would push debt payments into future

{headline source}

“The state would delay debt payments to help pay for rising costs for prisons and health care for the needy, under Gov. Scott Walker's bill to balance the state budget this year.”

“In a desperate attempt to remedy a $6 billion deficit.” – {source}

Walker says the changes will help balance a $3.6 billion shortfall for the 2011-'13 budget. – {source}

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities And the Wisconsin Taxpayer’s Alliance, Wisconsin’s projected deficit will amount to $1.8 billion.

Wisconsin's Water Cooler

Once we’ve drafted our NCAA bracket winners, it doesn’t matter how, we want our teams to advance.  Maybe we can win our $5 pool at our place of work.

Once in Cleveland, we’ll wear dog masks to Browns games, sit in the dawg pound, and bark at the opposition.  And, once in Oakland, we’ll paint our faces to demonize our game personas…anything to win.

Once we’ve chosen a side, “just win baby” – right Al Davis?

Problem is that the Browns and Raiders stink.  Problem is hardly anyone on this planet picked the Final Four.

We’ve chosen our side, now what?

In Wisconsin, we’ve chosen our sides as well.

This week it was reported that Governor Walker decided he doesn’t want to wait for the courts.  He wants his budget money now.  So, he’s taking it now. 

In response to the news story, over 1644 comment were made representing their side…comments which used words like “knuckleheads”, “peons” and “union thugs”.

This morning, it was reported that schools in Milwaukee’s school choice program performed worse than Milwaukee’s public schools in reading and math scores.


Public response included words like “your side”, “greedy”…comment accusing teachers, others blaming Republicans.

It was also reported that over the last six years, scores on statewide reading and math tests have increased and the achievement gap between minority groups and white students has narrowed.

Public response?  “dead beat teachers”…etc.

Here’s the thing: We’ve painted our faces to demonize our public personas and, in truth, our team stinks.  We’ve put on our dawg pound masks.  And, we’ve begun cheering against our co-workers in our office pools in hopes of making pocket change or bragging rights at the water cooler.

We’ve become these people – people who have enclosed themselves in their ideological boxes to such a degree that we know longer can appreciate the game that needs to be played.  The integrity of the game is sacrificed because of our desire to come out on top.  In the end, once the integrity of the game is gone, the game will go with it. 

We don’t need to look much further than the NFL today, stuck in a battle which has brought an end to the game.  I can only imagine that football as we love it will resume once we step out of our boxes, clean off our faces, and begin to participate in the process as fans should. 

Read the Simpson-Bowles budget report.  Find an impartial site and read their suggestions. 

What you’ll find is that the Simpson-Bowles commission suggests for us to 1) reduce defense spending; 2) reduce the size of government and the federal workforce; 3) pay a .15 cent/gallon tax hike on gasoline and restricting home mortgage tax deductions; 4) maintain Medicare costs; 5) reduce entitlements like farm subsidies, government pensions, and student loan subsidies; 6) increase social security payroll taxes and increase the retirement age. 

At the federal level, projections show close to $4 trillion in debt reduction. 

Consider, as we look to pay our debt and grow our economy, the federal government spends $4 on elderly people for every $1 it spends on those under 18. 

Our country can’t afford to reduce funds for education, science research and infrastructure projects if it looks to grow our economy in the long-term.  The Simpson-Bowles report is non-partisan and more worthy of our consideration.

Wisconsin’s solutions are equally accessible.  Let’s step outside of our boxes and find them.

Looking for a Few Good People

To date, the public perception has been that teachers make too much and have a benefits package that is far superior to the private sector.   

This perception has been promoted by republican governors across the country, including governors Scott Walker and John Kasich.

In fact, Kasich went so far as to say that he was going to “break the back of organized labor in schools” because teacher unions became too powerful.

Fact checking organizations like Politifact.com would contest the promotional efforts of these governors and of public perception.  According to this source, a Pulitzer Prize winning network, “state employees typically earn salaries 11 percent lower than their private sector counterparts.”

However, I’ve been told repeatedly that the public is beyond facts and their ideological allegiances trump information and data.  If that is the case, simply pay attention to one of the republican mouth pieces.

In an attempt to justify why the state of Ohio is giving his staff raises, the governor explained that workers in the private sector simply don’t want to work in the public sector – they can’t make enough money.  "We’re fortunate that we’re getting a lot of good people to come in. Salary is an issue. So what we’re trying to do is call people to service."

Not only did the governor offer raises, but bonuses as well.  One his staff members will receive a bonus of $50,000.  The average teacher in the Fox River Valley doesn’t get paid that much for a year’s salary.

Governor Kasich continued to justify the raises and bonuses he gave by saying that high salaries “attract good people”.

All of you people in the private sector looking to improve your lives by joining the public sector, I advise you to visit Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction for you to learn just how to do that.  Schools are always looking to attract more good people. 

A Two-Class State

In the mid-90s, America was to be first exposed to a car that could run on electricity.  However, Chevron bought controlling interest in the company responsible for the battery and made sure that didn’t happen. 

Since, gas prices have continued to spiral upward.

The man behind First Defense Nasal Screens, designed to reduce by 99% the respiratory exposure to viruses, germs, dust, pollen, pollutants, second-hand smoke and carcinogens, approached pharmaceutical companies in regards to his development.  These companies sought to buy controlling interest in his product and then shelf it.  Why?  These companies made much more money on nasal sprays and over-the-counter respondents.  In other words, these companies were getting richer on us being sick. 

Meanwhile, those who suffer from allergies, asthma, and cystic fibrosis will continue to suffer with minimal relief.

Corporations don’t guard over the public welfare.  Corporations don’t promote tranquility and justice among us.  Corporations don’t protect our liberties and our rights. 

The purpose of corporations is to guard over and protect their investors.       

The incorporation of schools will mean that inequality will grow to where we will fundamentally become a two-class society; principals will become like CEOs who must maximize profits by hiring a younger and cheaper staff; private sources of funding will mean inequitable distribution of monetary assistance; and the corporate goal of making profits will replace all public goals of learning, developing and growing.

The first step in such a process is to generate cash-strapped schools.  Welcome to Wisconsin!

People are Taking Notice

I've lectured: "Addressing the deficit now is not economically friendly nor will it create the jobs this state needs."

I've warned: "There is no budget crisis.  The debt the state has is manageable for now and once the economy is strong enough, the state will gradually have to generate more revenue and cut into entitlement programs.  For the last several years it's been the neo-conservative plan to privatize education."

I've complained: "The governor cannot possibly address billions of dollars of projected debt by taking solely from the public worker."

I've even pouted: "I've been married for sixteen years and could afford only two family vacations in that time - Shedd Aquarium four years ago and Mount Rushmore two years ago.  I can't possibly afford cuts to our insurance and a salary freeze.  Over the course of the next three years, I'll lose more than $18,000 out of pocket."

Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, the governor stated the following while trying to sell his "economic plan" in Wrightstown:  "For example, you can still have places that went to 15 or even 18 (percent) and still be below where the average middle-class taxpayer in this state is paying: 20 percent of their health care," he said. "We don't mandate what the amount is; we give them the tools to do that."  This was Walker's solution for how make up for the reduced state aid - municipalities and school districts can ask their employees to pay even more for health care.

Walker's "plan" leaves municipalities and school districts short money, even with public workers paying the percentages Walker has advocated.  In response to that shortage, Walker has proposed

1. Simply take more;

2. Increase class sizes (thus resulting in teachers without jobs); or 

3. Reduce the number of days in the school year (thus resulting in less and, therefore, worse education for children).

At what point will citizens see that there is no economic plan or plan to improve education?  There is no such plan.  

There is, however, an agenda.  And this agenda is to privatize public offerings and to promote the well-being of the well-off.

Slowly....people are taking notice. 

You and the Debt

Are you concerned with the state budget?  Stop complaining and slinging mud.  It's really simple.

At its highest projection, the number to which Governor Walker repeatedly refers, the state will owe $3.7 billion. In an effort to address the governor's estimate, (a number the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance would dispute with its $1.8 billion estimate) each state resident will owe $650. 

If you're a state resident and are concerned with the estimated debt, write your check of $650.  If you're the head of a household, each of your dependents will also owe $650.  Address your check to the "Wisconsin Department of Revenue".

Send to: Wisconsin Department of Revenue
              P.O. Box 268
              Madison, WI  53790-0001

Or, maybe the debt just isn't that important to you.

In the news today, "Twenty Wisconsin school districts were among 388 nationwide named to the AP Achievement List based on their ability to increase participation by students on Advance Placement tests without sacrificing results.  Only six states had more districts on the list than Wisconsin, including more populous states such as California, New York and Pennsylvania."

Simple Math in Balancing the Budget

During this tax season, my family of five was returned nearly $700.  Instead, in order to address the state deficit, we should have been asked to contribute our fair share (consider that a union term) and should have received $550.

Problem solved.

According to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance:

"Wisconsin has taken a first step on the way to enacting a new state budget for 2011-13. Preliminary revenue forecasts and agency spending requests were released recently, yielding deficit estimates of $1.5 billion."

According to this same politically conservative group:

"The total amount of state income tax refunds paid has hit all-time highs in each of the last nine years, including a record $1.86 billion paid to Wisconsin filers during 2009."
 
Simple enough solution:  Deny tax returns for one year.

Could it really be that easy?  Yes!

Everyone would contribute - those screaming for a balanced budget.
Everyone would contribute - those demanding fiscal responsibility.
Everyone would contribute - those expecting more equity and fairness from their government.

Simple Math

Take out your calculator.

Begin with $121 million.

Subtract $170 million (Medicaid).

Now, subtract $21 million (corrections programs)

Then, subtract $58 million (owed to Minnesota for tax reciprocity)

You should have -$137 million showing.

I can't get passed the simple math of the so-called budget "crisis".  

When you owe money and you're in debt, would you cut your revenue? 

Walker’s tax cut laws:

-$48 million on tax breaks for those who use HSA's (like Medical 401K's).  Right now, HSA's are used mostly by those with high-incomes that do not have access to a group plan.  

-$25 million to the Economic Development Program, which already has a large amount sitting in it that is unused.  

-$67 million to reduce corporate taxes.  (The Government Accountability Office reports that 72 percent of all foreign corporations and about 57 percent of U.S. companies doing business in the United States paid no federal income taxes for at least one year between 1998 and 2005.)

That’s -$140 million added to the -$137 already accrued. 

Check the math.

These tax breaks “will add $117.2 million to the projected $3.6 billion budget gap in the next two-year budget cycle, which begins July 1, 2011.” 

Does it appear that balancing the budget is a priority?  If somehow, you're answer is 'yes', then consider who these tax breaks are benefiting.

How many will benefit from these tax cuts?

Who will benefit? 

Not the worker.  Not the middle class.  Not the average citizen.

  

In the Spirit of the Game

It's tourney time.  

In an effort to celebrate the game so many love, consider...taxes? 

Bronxville is one of the richest suburbs in America.  Forty percent of the tax payers in Bronxville make over $200,000/year.  Its residents simply don’t want to pay any more taxes. 

Kim Hughes was a coach for the Los Angeles Clippers.  In 2004, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and was not insured. 

The tax anxiety of the residents in Bronxville is typical of America today – the anti-tax movement is as strong as ever.  However, taxes on the wealthy, which are proportionately higher, should not be viewed as an unfair imposition.  Rather, it’s an American advantage in an economic competition that spans the globe. 

To Kim Hughes, taxes have the potential to be something far more significant.  Taxes may be a lifesaver. 

As a coach of the L.A. Clippers, Mr. Hughes was well cared for by the likes of Corey Maggette, Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, and Marko Jaric.  Not everyone in this country, however, is blessed with the company of such people.

Said Maggette, “He was in a situation where the Clippers' medical coverage wouldn't cover his surgery. I thought it was a great opportunity to help someone in need, to do something that Christ would do.  It shows your humanity, that you care for other people and not just yourself.”
No divide among these men – they are members of one team.

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie's observed: "Where wealth accrues honorably, the people are always silent partners."  Interpretation: Nobody got rich on their own. 

A working relationship has to be recreated in this state.  With Walker as governor, it certainly appears we’re destined for divorce.

In a poll conducted by the Journal Times, 43.5% of Wisconsin’s population “strongly approve” of the job Walker is doing.  50.04% “strongly disapprove” of his leadership.  By itself, this is not telling of our future together.  However, consider that only 4.4% “approve” and 2.04% “disapprove”.

What one sees is the statistical manifestation of the great divide that has been created in this state by our governor.  There is no middle ground.  In this state today, you’re either on one side or the other.

In the state of Wisconsin, as it is equally true for the residents of Bronxville, taxes are lifesavers.       

In the words of Mr. Hughes, "You can have all the money, all the success, all that stuff, all those so-called important things in life, but in the end, you're judged by what you did for your fellow man.”

We have great people all around us – great human beings.  I’m proud to write that one such person is an ex-player of mine.  Recently he wrote me: Medical school has been busy but it is an amazing experience.  I have never worked so hard and yet feel like I still have so much more work to do in my life.  I am currently doing an OB/GYN rotation so I have been taking care of pregnant women and dealing with cancer so far.  It has been rewarding, but I did experience an extremely difficult situation when a mother gave birth to a premature baby that did not make it.  It was so hard for me to witness the utter sadness and agony the father went through when his child did not survive.  I could not imagine what the mother and father were going through that day and what they will endure for the rest of their lives.  I really do feel blessed to be a physician though.  It gives you an opportunity to really do something to help people.

No divide – people taking care of people.

Did I mention he is an ex-player of mine?  I’m very proud of him!! 

In the very least, (in an effort to show your humanity, to care for other people, to really do something to help others) pay your taxes. 

Consider this quote from Coach K of Duke:  "I like to think of each as a separate finger on the fist. Any one individually is important. But all of them together are unbeatable.”

       

Walker's Opaque State

One of my first economics courses was with Professor Mark Schug of the UW-Milwaukee.  He is a senior fellow with the National Council on Economic Education and was appointed to the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy in 2005. He also serves as a consultant to the Political Economy Research Center, Wisconsin Council on Economic Education and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

His thematic lesson: “A strong economy needs a transparent government.”

Once hooked on economics, I read anything I could get my hands by Thomas Friedman.  Friedman has written several well-recognized economics books like, The World is Flat and The Lexus and the Olive Tree.

One of his main ideas throughout: “A strong economy needs a transparent government.

Yesterday, I learned of Governor Walker’s further seizure of power.  Without approval from the state legislature, Governor Walker will be able to name appointees to civil service positions that handle open records requests.  It’s a power that would allow Walker to hire and fire employees in those positions at will. 

The question becomes, if people in these positions are to answer only to Walker, will documents regarding Walker continue to be truly open to the public?

The public perception of openness and transparency is critical to economic success. 

In response to this article, “Walker gives himself more power to fill high state jobs”, 605 comments have been made.  The vast majority of these comments question the openness and transparency by which Walker will execute these newly, self-appointed powers. 

For the economic welfare of all of us in the state, I so hope that Schug and Friedman are wrong. 

In Awaiting Tax Returns

9.1% of my students’ parents attended parent-teacher conferences this semester. 

IF balancing the budget is a priority…

IF the state cares about education…

…and in recognition of tax return season, let’s cut right to my proposal. 

·        *  Parents who opt to not attend parent-teacher conferences will forfeit $50 from their tax returns.

·        * Parents who do not log on district sites in order to investigate their child’s academic progress on a bi-monthly basis will forfeit $50 from their tax returns.

·        * Parents who do not return a signed calendar of dates and times for when they read to their child will forfeit $50 dollars from their tax returns.

·        * Parents who do not return a signed calendar of dates and times for when they sat with their child to tutor them with their math and science will forfeit $50 from their tax returns.

·          

      Case in point, if you do not adequately address your child’s academic needs in partnership with your child’s school, you will pay more taxes.

“In partnership” is critical to the process of improvement.

Those in the private sector must come to the table, sit with those of us in education, and share their proposals.  More specifically, they should consider sharing their managerial expertise. 

I brag to my students quite often about how smart my friends are. 

I have friends in every managerial nook the private sector has to offer. 

Based on their experiences, here is one such way the private sector’s expertise may be shared at the table of discussion with those in education:

·         Employ a performance grid which measures the behaviors and results of teachers.  Specifically, teachers would be measured according to performance expectations, role modeling among peers, demonstration of leadership, portrayal of values and ethics, and expression of competencies.

Does the teacher contribute to a mature/successful learning culture?

Are teachers taking the necessary steps to develop themselves, their respective departments, and building connections among the various departments?

Teachers who do not measure up to the standard of excellence outlined would be placed on a plan for improvement and development.

Sophocles’ Wisconsin

Walker: The power of the crown passes to me.  This is my policy.

Hansen:  There may be a lot of justice in the opposite view.

The People:  There’s much substance in the arguments on both sides.  Of all God’s gifts, good sense is far the best. 

Walker: Am I to stand here and be lectured?  A man of my experience!  Am I the king of Wisconsin, or am I not?

Hansen: It takes more than one person to make a state.

Walker: But a nation is personified in its ruler.

Hansen: In that case, Wisconsin has got not population. 

Walker: Must I let my authority be undermined?

Hansen: You like to talk, but you’re not prepared to listen.

Public Worker: This is it.  The time has come for doing what was right.  And you my friends, the rich people of the state, will you judge between us?  You might at least look and remember.

Teachers: Listen to us.  You’re on the razor’s edge.  The signs portend evil for the state; and the trouble stems from your policy.  The wise man, having made an error of judgment, will seek a remedy, not keep grinding on. 

Walker:  You’ll never persuade me.

Teachers: …Good sense is a man’s most precious attribute.

The People: The right decision now is vitally important.  For happiness, the main requirement is to be sensible.

Swim School

  Can a young boy learn how to swim by oaring him out to the middle of the lake and throwing him overboard?  Sure.

  Far more will drown, however, than learn to swim.

  One might argue for the “life lessons” a young person may learn when employing such a method of teaching.  One might argue the virtues of “Social Darwinism” and contend that the weak should be allowed to merely die off – that somehow weak tend to make their society weak.  Or one might argue that one’s responsibilities begin and end with themselves, alone.

  I would differ in that opinion.  

  In my classroom, each class is composed of teams of students.  Each student belongs to a team and serves as a teammate to a fellow student.

  When a student is absent due to illness or any other unwelcome event, on returning to the classroom, that student has a network of support waiting.  Teammates take the time to explain missed assignments, teach essential learning points, and familiarize the once-absent student with key aspects of the missed lessons.  In other words, teammates offer a network of support. 

  Churches do the same.  A good church will help the citizens of a community form a team, a network of support, which allows teammates to support one another.

  Government, local, state, or national, was formed to do the same.  The responsibility of government is to create a sense of responsibility not to it but to one another, like that of teammates. 

  A friend sent me this today:

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'

'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.

'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.

'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to  be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the  very best schools and in time, graduated from  St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London,  and went on to become known throughout the world  as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the  discoverer of  Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the  bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill... His son's name?

Sir Winston  Churchill.

Someone once said: What  goes around comes around.

  Our students are reading Sophocles’ Antigone.

  In Antigone, the heroin acts according to her faith, her values, her sense of humanity, and serves those around her in an effort for the “greater good”. 

ISMENE:  You’re very cheerful.

ANTIGONE: That is because I’m helping those I know that I should help.

  Our students learn Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development.

  The most basic, rudimentary, primitive and animalistic reason for doing what is right is to avoid punishment.  Next, to gain reward.  Next, to conform. 

  However, as one elevates the reasoning behind their behavior, one will do what is right because it is the right thing to do…

…doing what is right for the right reasons. 

  That is legal.

  That is spiritual.

  That is scholastic.

  There is educational argument for throwing anyone overboard.

 

  Schools create swimmers. 

  Schools create teammates… 

  And give students an opportunity to display their courage.

Tactic to Pit Worker Against Worker

A conservative issues advocacy group affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove (yes, that Karl Rove) has stuck a whole lot of money into union bashing.  Recently, Rove and his group spent $750,000 on a national television ad depicting unions as liberal-backing bullies.

In this Rove advertisement, union members are storming state capitols in order “to protect a system that pays unionized government workers 42% more than non-union workers.”

Once more, politicians are pitting citizen against citizen in hopes that we take our eye off the ball.  It’s done time and again.

To be clear, union members do earn more than non-union members.  How much more?

According to the Freedom Foundation, a group which supports Governor Walker’s efforts,  found that union members make between 11-12% more.

According  to researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, union members earn 5% more.

Economists Keith Bender and John Heywood  seem to support the 5% figure.

In an article in the Green Bay Press Gazette, non-union worker Jimmy Ryan is quoted as saying, “It’s the fear of people unionizing that keeps us making what we make and working the house we do.”

Meanwhile, the teachers’ union in Slinger reconstructed their deal with the Slinger School District and saved the district $1.35 million.

"This is maybe a model of how things of this nature can be handled," Superintendant Robert Reynolds said. "It's more like we didn't sit across the table from each other; we sat around the table with each other and figured it out."

Superintendent Reynolds said it was a negotiator for the teachers union who reached out to him after reading about his concerns about the effects that state education funding cuts could have on the district, given that it had a four-year teachers contract that would remain unaffected by any changes to collective bargaining or benefit levels.

Those unions sure do sound like bullies.

As politicians do their bidding, Nice-Pak Products, Inc. is relocating its production facility from Green Bay to Indiana. 

  

Is it those nasty unions that caused the loss of jobs?  The high taxes perhaps?  NO!

See previous post “My Fellow Citizens, Let’s Be Careful Out There” for that answer. It’s worth saying over and over, like a mantra “Let’s be careful out there.” Don’t get fooled into thinking it’s you vs. me.

The Skinny Horse vs. The Elephant

The protests will die down.  That’s what the governor keeps saying…sort of.

In typical Walker-speak:  "I think as time goes by, even the people, some of the people who were pumped out outside, will realize, that the real thing that will change, is month or two down the road, all the problems they say are gonna happen aren't gonna happen.”

In interpretable words, “The protests will die down.” 

I doubt it.

Sunday night, my fourth-grade son and I shared a reading assignment about a character named Wang Li.

The moral to this story was “Skinny horses grow long hair.”

I thought, “That must be one ugly horse.”  I confessed my confusion.

My son hypothesized that this horse must have grown its hair long to keep itself warm during the winter months. 

I’m sure he’s right.

See, here’s the thing about skinny, ugly horses. 

Every month the ugly horse has bills to pay. 

Every month that skinny horse is going to sit at his dinner table and try to figure out a way to pay those bills. 

Every month that horse’s hair becomes longer.

The ugly horse is a father or a mother trying to raise a family. 

Maybe the moral of the story should have been “Skinny elephants grow long ears” because I don’t think anyone is going to forget and, at least once every month, fathers and mothers will rise up in protest.

My Fellow Citizens, Let's Be Careful Out There

Job programs threatened

Federal cuts would curtail operations of employment, training services

While Republicans contend that curbing government spending ultimately will stimulate job creation, critics say jobs will be lost if the spending bill becomes law. One program that will take a hit is the Workforce Investment Act, which provides funding for employment and job training activities.

Jim Golembeski, executive director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board, (Among the services provided by Bay Area Workforce Development are computer competency classes, assistance on unemployment insurance issues, aid to workers involved in mass layoffs, retraining for unemployed workers and companies, such as Marinette Marine Corp., which need to upgrade its workers skills in a hurry, and job-skill training for young workers), says he would have to shut down his operation if the cuts are approved.

Spokesmen for Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble say that while the Workforce Investment Act programs mean well, they are among those cited in a recent Government Accountability Office report as examples of government duplication and waste. The report found the government spent $17 billion last year on 45 job training programs that generally do the same thing.

It’s worth noting that 94.7 percent of the dislocated workers Bay Area Workforce Development assists get jobs.

So what’s the problem?  Too many are being trained or too many jobs are being created?  Oh, that’s right, the budget.

“The congressman recognizes there is way too much waste in government, and we are focused on cutting it," a spokesman for Ribble said.

Waste?  Getting people trained and back to work is wasteful?

“The bottom line remains that everyone has to share in the fiscal belt-tightening necessary to bring about full economic recovery,” Ribble’s spokesman stated.

Now, where have I heard that before?  Government workers and Medicaid recipients (Medicaid covers one in three children in the United States, making it the largest insurer of children) have certainly heard that before.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signs tax cut bill into law

Businesses get break for moving into Wisconsin

Companies that relocate to Wisconsin won't have to pay income taxes for two years under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Scott Walker.  The measure joins three others Walker has signed in his first month in office that he said will send a message that Wisconsin is more business friendly.

Aid to public schools, the University of Wisconsin System, local governments and Medicaid programs were expected to be big targets for cuts in the Walker budget.

Walker's been focused on spending money through tax cuts. Two tax cuts he's already signed would add about $117 million to the state's budget problem over the next two years.

Today, Walker proposed that the state borrow $75 million to build a museum.  Borrow.  Oh, that’s right, the budget.

I’m privileged to have been befriended by many smart people.  One is an entrepreneur in the Chicago area.  He wrote to me:

Taxes are just one consideration when thinking about where to start / move a business.  You also have to factor in the following depending on type of business:

1.) Proximity to skilled labor force (we use a lot of computer programmers, graphic designers, etc. - there tends to be more talent in larger cities).

2.) Proximity to customer base and potential shipping / transaction costs (a huge consideration for manufacturing companies who have to ship product).

3.) Proximity to suppliers (similar to #2, how can you cost effectively get raw materials).

4.) Relocation costs (hard costs associated with moving, time associated with and ability to replace work force, etc.).

There are many other factors, but these are some key ones.

In the ‘80s, I used to watch “Hill Street Blues”.  My favorite part was when Sgt. Esterhaus would warn, “Hey, let’s be careful out there.”

Pitcher's Parable

Good pitchers want the ball. 

Good pitchers work to promote the welfare of their teammates and give their teammates every chance to be successful.

I wrote the following parable to my daughter after a rough outing in her first year as “pitcher”:

An old man and his young daughter were taking their donkey to the market one very cold day.  This old man and young daughter were from a family that valued their good fortune, in particular their good health and their well-being.  And other than their health and safety, this family valued their prize donkey.  This donkey was not pretty or popular but it was rare.  In fact, it was one of the very few donkeys in the entire county.  Because of its rarity, this family gave their donkey an equally rare name... 

  On this cold day, the old man and young daughter were walking their donkey to the market to shop.  Along the way, they met a man who remarked, "Why do you not allow your daughter to ride on the donkey!  Certainly such a donkey should be taken advantage of and the young lady should not have to walk on such a stony and bumpy road."  In response to this man's remarks, the daughter rode atop the donkey and was at ease.

  Next, they encountered a woman would critiqued, "Why do you not allow the old man to ride upon the donkey young lady!  Certainly an aged figure needs to ride upon such a rare animal."  In response to this criticism, the young lady stepped off the donkey and the old man rode atop instead.

  Next, they encountered a pack of teenagers and the teenagers teased, "Why does the old man ride upon the donkey.  Certainly such an animal could carry you both."  In response to their teasing, the two both got on top of their prized possession and road farther down the road.

  Lastly, just before crossing a bridge, the old man and young lady met the town crier who, never happy with the deeds of others, screamed, "The two of you should be ashamed of yourselves.  Certainly the two of you should be carrying such an extraordinary animal."  So, in response to the woman's screaming, the two stepped down and began to carry their prized possession on their shoulders.

  As the two crossed the bridge on that cold day, they lost their footing and slipped, thus losing their donkey over the railing and into the river.  The donkey drowned that day and was never to return to the family that supposedly prized it so dearly.

  The moral of the story:  "When you try to please everyone, you end up losing your ass."

  The name of this donkey: "Integrity" (some in the county called their donkey "Character")

  Can you identify the first man?  He was an umpire.

  Can you identify the woman and the town crier?  They were mothers.

  Can you identify the teenagers?  They were teammates.

  Pitchers have to evaluate and learn from each outing, the successful and unsuccessful.  The challenging questions I would ask to those who want the ball are:

  Are you working hard to conjure up the strength to do the right thing in the face of other people's opinions?  Or are you allowing the perceptions of others to lessen your efforts to do the right thing? 

  Are you taking the time to discover where you are now, where you want to go, and the distance between those two points?  If you can do that and you can learn about character and integrity, you will become better at your craft.

  Governor Walker, it seems, wants that ball.  But, does he want the ball for the right reasons?

  And, if so, will he take the time to teach himself and learn the proper lessons?

What Makes a Fact a Fact?

{Photo Credit - Gannett Wisconsin Media}

I guess if you say something often enough, it becomes fact.

At a February 17^th news conference, Governor Walker claimed, “I campaigned on this.”

On February 21^st, Walker stated, "The simple matter is I campaigned on this all throughout the election.”

Time and again, throughout this budget battle, Walker has echoed the same, “If anyone didn’t know what’s coming, they’ve been asleep.”

I guess if you say something often enough, it becomes fact.

Yesterday, a CNN reporter challenged a capital protester with “Governor Walker campaigned on this.” 

It’s now fact…I guess.

My ten-year-old son asked the other day, “Dad, are grown-ups allowed to lie?” 

Kids are so cute.

On Walker’s website, http://www.scottwalker.org/, it reads the following in regards to education and families: “School districts are often steered off track by one-size-fits-all mandates that suppress innovation. Once we eliminate outdated and unnecessary rules, schools will have the freedom to set high standards and the ability to meet them…

 We will also create a new class of highly qualified, well-paid teachers who will be given the opportunity to advance in their career…

  I understand that Wisconsin families are struggling to make ends meet.”

Would “outdated and unnecessary rules” refer to collective bargaining? 

Walker’s website continues: “The following set of reforms will help put state government back on the side of the people:

·         Start the state budget at zero.

·         Require the use of generally accepted accounting principles.

·         Strip policy and pork projects from the state budget.

·         End the practice of raiding segregated state funds to pay for other programs.

·         Restore Wisconsin’s reputation for clean and honest government.

 Of course, he did not campaign on this.  It wasn’t until after he was elected (December 7^th, 2010 to be exact) did he reveal the details of his plan. 

  "Anything from the decertify all the way through modifications of the current laws in place," Walker said.  "The bottom line is that we are going to look at every legal means we have to try to put that balance more on the side of taxpayers and the people who care about services."

  I will admit, in Walker’s defense, that we’ve “been asleep.”

 During the Tommy Thompson years, 1996-2001, pay freezes for teachers were enacted. (In order to compromise, the unions agreed to the pension and benefits packages that Wisconsin teachers have today).

  Thompson (Republican) targeted teachers' compensation, demonized their union and succeeded in passing revenue caps that limited how much school districts could increase spending, termed a Qualified Economic Offer. 

 (For this reason, less money is spent on children and a greater proportion of allotted money is devoted to deferred compensation packages.)

  Despite these cuts, the state’s debt rose by $1.8 billion during the Thompson years despite the nation-wide economic prosperity of this time and growth in state revenues.  In fact, the state’s structural deficit is often credited to Thompson.   

Thompson then resigned to become a member of President Bush’s cabinet. 

Yes, we should have seen this coming

    - The Thompson era was the proper preface.

 

Yes, we’ve been asleep

    – half of the voting age population participated in the last gubernatorial election.   

  

On Saturday, one hundred thousand people protested at the capitol.

  It certainly looks like people are awake now.

The American Solution?

Pragmatism doesn’t win elections.

A pragmatic candidate may very well begin answering each question with, “It depends on” or “When considering all of the variables” or some other introductory phrase that does not bend to the impatience of today’s populace. People are inconvenienced by wordy explanations peppered with logic and reason. 

People perceive such logic as a candidate attempting to skirt an issue.

Ideologies win elections.

Ideologies are simple, quick, and easy.  

Ideologies cling to the necessity of a villain – somebody, or something, has to be at blame.

Recently, we’ve seen political ideologies place blame on immigrants, Wall Street tycoons, and big government.

Today, blame is placed on the impoverished.  The public, through its ideological prism, sees the lower class as lazy, incapable, and unskilled - that they are to blame for their own plight and that they should have known better, perhaps long ago during their adolescence, for the career path they had chosen.

It seems blame has now diffused into the middle class.

Nearly seventy years ago, coming out of the Great Depression, Abraham Maslow offered a theory that schools recognize still today. Maslow theorized that that if one were to reach their potential, one would have to overcome a series of challenges before doing so.

Photo source - Wikipedia

The first of such challenges would to overcome hunger and thirst and to be properly rested.  Over the last year, in the town in which I reside, one out of every three school-aged children participated in the “reduced or free lunch program”.  One out of every three, before they learn their math, science, or reading, must be fed by the school – must be fed with tax dollars.  Sixty-one percent of the children in this country are victims of neglect.

The second such challenge would be for the person to have a sense of security and safety.  In Wisconsin, the percent of married-couple households is 51.6%, the percentage of kids who are read to every day is 46.1%, and, nation-wide, 44% of children are victims of abuse.

Before a young person may discover their potential, as characterized by Maslow’s third and fourth stages, one must have a sense of belonging, friendships, respect of and by others, a sense of achievement and self-esteem.

 

In other words, before a student in today’s culture is ready to learn math, science, or reading skills, a school must expertly nourish, keep safe, and build a child’s sense of belonging to something greater than him/herself.

Sometimes, one potential is not expressed in math or science.  Sometimes, if we’re lucky, one finds their potential in the arts or music.
 

As a teacher, I see many who are choosing impractical career paths such as these. 

I see kids who dream to be artists, actors, musicians, or athletes. 

I see kids who hope to become an art therapist for autistic children.  What a beautiful and perfect expression of one’s potential.

Yet, I feel compelled to shake my head, in obedience to the socioeconomic structure at large, and challenge them: “How will you ever pay the bills!?”    

What a sad expression for what we’ve become.

Disregard FoxNews and MSNBC, advocates of ideology and promoters of villains.

Do not search for a person of pragmatic qualities, become one.

Our children depend on it.

If we must resort to scores on standardized tests, then consider which countries are out-performing the U.S.: Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

 

In Finland, teaching is a prestigious career. Teachers are highly valued and teaching standards are high. 

Their schools are free from prescriptions based on political ideologies. (See BBC article.)

In Finland, to be competitive, the government has concluded that they must substantially boost investments in education and research in order to foster innovation and cutting-edge development.
(In the town in which I reside, the schools have given the responsibility of working with our most challenging kids - those kids behind in their math and reading and kids with special learning needs - to people making $9/hour.  These paraprofessionals are not master teachers, are not formally schooled in the challenge, and some are not even college educated.  They are people in town who are looking for work and willing to work for that hourly wage.) 

In Finland, the personal income tax structure is more progressive, the capital gains tax is greater, and the corporate tax structure is more demanding. 

Is it socialistic to look toward Finland for answers?

Is it un-American?

Does it violate our sense of national identity?

Only if one were ideological.

We have to find our potential beyond simple ideologies.

We can no longer skirt issues and defy logic.

We have to become pragmatic.