Families Just Looking to Survive

Today, JSOnline reported that 2 out of every 5 children in this state will qualify for subsidized lunch programs. 

  To be eligible for free lunch, a student must come from a family (say a family of four as example) earning $28,655/year or less. 

  Reduced-price lunches are available to students whose families have incomes which amount to $40, 793 for a family of four.

  Statistically, it's reported that the average public school teacher earns $49,000.

  (I have a family of five and for starters will lose $630/month from my family’s income as a result of Governor Walker’s cuts.) 

  After Walker’s cuts and without collective bargaining to help the average worker empower themselves, the average Wisconsin teacher’s kids will qualify for free or reduced lunch.

  Does it appear the families of Wisconsin teachers have too much?

Wisconsin governor defends budget bill as opposition persists 
By the CNN Wire Staff

"The state's Legislative Fiscal Bureau -- similar to the federal government's Congressional Budget Office -- reported last month that tax cuts passed late last year by Wisconsin's newly elected, Republican-led legislature had helped add more than $200 million to the state's budget shortfall."

State Legislature Passes $67M Tax Cut

By WTMJ Radio

Story Updated: Jan 27, 2011

 

 MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Republican Gov. Scott Walker scored more victories Thursday, signing a major lawsuit reform bill into law and watching as the Legislature approved a tax cut for businesses that he says will create new jobs.

   Walker had promised swift action to show that Wisconsin, in his words, is "open for business." Even though most of his measures have received some support from Democrats, critics argue they are largely symbolic and will do little to actually create jobs or improve the state's economy.

   Senate Democrats said the latest tax cut measure, expected to cost the state $67 million over two years, was too expensive given the projected $3 billion shortfall in the two-year budget. They also said the tax bill, which would give businesses deductions worth $92 to $316 per job, wouldn't be enough by itself to get businesses to hire more people.

   That bill is the third tax cut the Legislature has passed this month. Walker has already signed into law a measure that eliminates income taxes on contributions made to health savings accounts. Another bill awaiting his signature would eliminate corporate and personal income taxes on companies that relocate to Wisconsin.

  The average worker in the private sector is not faring much better.  Yes, today’s average worker has it tough.

  In the state of Wisconsin, a single person making just over $20,000 pays 6.5% in income tax.  A single person making over $150,000 pays 6.75% of his income to the state in the form of income tax. 

  Does that seem fair to anyone?  

  A married couple in the state of Wisconsin making just under $27,000 pays income tax at a rate of 6.5%.  If this married couple has three children, this figure is just $2,000 over the poverty level.  A married couple making over $201,000 pays state income tax at a 6.75% clip. 

  Does that seem fair?

  Today’s battle in Wisconsin is not about unions per se – it’s about fairness – it’s about families struggling to survive.

Harmony for Families

Weeks ago, union leaders wrote me this:

"On Friday, state and local public employees offered to accept all economic concessions called for in the budget repair bill – including Governor Walker’s pension and health care concessions that he says are needed to solve the state budget challenge.

Governor Walker turned it down.  He wants more."

Walker got what he wanted last night. [Read Here]

 Admittedly, public employees have not always made the most favorable impressions.

A story came out of Milwaukee this summer reporting that their teacher union leaders wanted Viagra to be covered under their insurance plan. [Here]

Disappointing for sure.  In many respects, union leadership and some teachers, as exemplified in this case, have proven themselves unworthy for leadership positions. 

  

This lack of leadership has been obvious on both sides.  

“Republicans devised a plan to get around the impasse and hurriedly approved the bill late in the day after meeting for hours behind closed doors.” – JSOnline.com

This plan may have been legal but it certainly was not democratic.  Few would argue that it portrays the lack of political leadership show by the state’s chief executive.

As for my family and our resulting sacrifices, the financial concessions we’ll make will equate to $630/month out of pocket.  However, the financial costs will be so much more when all other contractual variables are considered.

To ask anyone of already moderate income to drop this sum from their family's monthly income is completely unreasonable and potentially economically devastating for us.

For families such as mine, and for so many others, we simply can't budget for those losses.

These personal losses are just a drop in the state’s economic bucket.  My family’s purchasing power was already comparatively minimal.  However, when one considers the impact of the decreased purchasing power accrued by the hundreds of thousands of families of state employees…it may devastate local economies and the economy state-wide.

Those in the private sector, who have so much scorn for the public employee, may find solace in our legislated miseries but that comfort won’t last long. 

Though my family’s contributions to this economy may amount to only one drop, the economy will have to endure the loss of hundreds of thousands of such drops.  Those in the private sector will soon learn that it’s difficult to fill an economic trough when so many drops are absent.  Indicators show the state will lose trillions of dollars worth of purchasing power from its economy.  

Whether or not this state’s economy can endure the loss of so much purchasing power,   I can promise this:  Those of us in the public sector will not find comfort in your losses, will not find refuge in some distorted sense of revenge, and will not celebrate your destruction with commentary.

Reasonable people are everywhere.  Empathetic and hard-working people abound.   

It’s the extremism, absolutism, and authoritarianism in leadership that concerns me.

I tell my students this, “Balance the needs of the individual with those of the greater good.”  If our state leaders put into practice this simple creed, union members, Republicans, teachers and taxpayers would find reasonable solutions for bringing harmony to our families. 

Taxes for Bridges, not Walls

As we consider the role of politicians, we must hope they will practice social responsibility. 

This sense of social responsibility would promote an allegiance to a democratic nation, a commitment to the public's well-being, and an ability to prudently address the needs of our future generations.

It's become evident that the goal of this state, under this governor, is to move public schools into the hands of private interests. (See this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online, in regards to public response.)

With that goal in mind, here are a few questions we must consider:

1. Would corporations promote an allegiance to a democratic nation or to a capitalistic structure?

  Democracy and the open market of capitalism often go hand in hand.  In fact, the open market will not reach its potential in a democratic state that is not a healthy democratic state.  However, democracy promotes the power of the people, in fact rule by the people, wherein no one person has more power than any other.  In the corporate world, that would equate to the power of the worker, in fact rule by the worker, wherein no one employee has more power than any other.  Of course the corporate structure does not allow power to be shared.   

  In other words, do we want schools that empower all of the people or empower only some of the people?

2. Would corporations commit to the public's well-being or to the well-being of a few?

  The idea of a corporation is to generate profits and display a dedication to the share holder.  Corporations do not dedicate themselves to the citizen, of course, but to a select few who have a vested interest in the corporation.  

   As schools become corporate, would McDonald's master lunch?  Would Pepsi decide diet?  Would student service hours be dedicated to the greater good or to door-to-door salesmanship?  We already have perfect evidence of Nike selling apparel and local businesses selling discount cards using our school's athletes.  

   Greater fuel efficiency in cars is a product of government law, not corporate response to consumer demands.  Corporate efforts to protect the environment and to clean our rivers, streams, and lakes are the result of government law, not corporate altruism.       

   In our schools, we will bear witness to the profit motive taking precedence over public well-being. 

3. Would corporations commit to standardizing students or to creating engaged citizens who are problem-solvers?

  Already, as a product of President Bush's "No Child Left Behind", we see a narrowing of school curriculum.  Would a corporate school's curriculum continue to narrow or will we see a greater emphasis on the arts, music, agriculture, creative writing, and so much else?  You already know the answer to that.

  Today, we see advanced placement classes redirecting from conventional assessment to one where problem solving and content depth takes priority.  Today's schools are already moving away from standard, conventional methods to an approach that emphasizes creativity, innovation, problem solving, and entrepreneur-ism.  The continued movement away from standardized tests would allow schools to continue to develop engaged citizens who are problem solvers. 

The lesson of capitalism is "what's in it for me?"

The lesson of democracy is "what's in it for us?"

The only advantage of the corporate school is financing.  Clearly, the state's citizens would have less tax responsibility if corporations take over our schools.  But would it be worth the overall costs?

Remember, coming out of the American Revolution and failing to generate an effective constitution in the form of the Articles of Confederation, our Founding Fathers knew very well the necessity of paying taxes.  More than ten years after Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations gave capitalism its birth, our nation's wisest men knew that its citizens had to pay taxes.  In an effort for the tranquility and general welfare of the Union, our founders knew of the insurances and protections capably offered by the tax dollar.  

We are at the moment when lines have been drawn and allegiances pledged. 

And in the spirit of the Oklahoma land rush, territory has been staked with no willingness of giving ground.

Instead, it should be our time to build bridges, not walls.

Job Security

Those employed in the private sector seem to think that a government employee is somehow benefiting from something that they are not.  It appears to me that our economic culture has rendered us all to lives of desperation.

One out of every four teachers leaves the profession within the first three years.  Thirty percent leave within the first five years of teaching.

Why?

It’s been reported that those who leave the profession look for higher salaries or easier conditions elsewhere.

Here’s another answer to consider: Performance reviews.

Despite mentoring programs, continual opportunities for peer assistance, professional development opportunities, and additional formal schooling, some employees just don’t grasp the nuances of the profession.

With or without union contracts, teachers may be fired for “just cause”.  Just cause is any violation of school or district policy.  In many cases, an act may not be specifically addressed by district policy but may warrant one’s firing.  Employees are given due process but the employer simply needs to defend its decision.

There are no severance packages in public education.  There are no additional payments, no payments for unused vacation or sick time, no stock options, and no assistance in finding new work. 

There is a misperception about job security for public school teachers. 

Today, hundreds of thousands teachers nationwide face layoffs due to state budget issues.  

This is due primarily to budget cuts caused by the ubiquitous economic challenges of the day -  Budget cuts with which the private sector is unfortunately familiar. 

Budget cuts and performance reviews.  There’s more that binds us than separates us.  

This One’s for You, Honey!

“We must also reform our education system.  Clearly, we have to produce graduates who are able to compete - not only with their peers from Chicago or Des Moines - but also from Shanghai.” – Governor Scott Walker

I learned recently that each of my children scored at an “advanced” level on their last standardized test.

Hooray?

However, my teenage daughter scored at the 65^th percentile on her reading test.  To me, that score appears to be much closer to 50 than to one hundred. 

Hmmm…50^th percentile, middle of the road, average….

My daughter spends a great deal of time in the library. 

In fact, she may very well be more comfortable in the library than she is in any other public setting. 

She loves to read.  And, write. 

She’s sits at our family computer, almost endlessly, and creates stories.  She then shares these stories on online, which allow other people her age to read, respond, and share their stories.   It’s pretty neat.  

I love my daughter.  I love her beyond words.

What I hope for my daughter is that she wonders…dreams…hypothesizes…and learns to begin sentences with the two words “what if”. 

I want her to continue to create and share stories…to innovate…to invent…to hope.

In Shanghai and other areas of China, 1/10 people live on less than $1/day.

A little over half of their population has access to phones.  Their work environments are typically characterized by oppressive factory conditions…crushing workloads… denied human rights...   

It’s been widely reported that U.S. education has fallen behind that of China; that we need to adopt a more Asian philosophy based on constant repetition and recitation, drilling and grilling.  The attempted justification for these reports detail figures of trade deficits, exchange rates, and gross external debt.

Education in this country must improve; it must evolve.  There’s no question about it.  But how and for what reasons? 

Today’s education must focus on deep learning through collaboration rather than covering a breadth of topics through rote memorization.

Today’s education must emphasize developing leadership abilities, self-esteem, and expanding, not only a young person’s intellect but also, their social and physical capabilities.

Today’s education must develop problem-solvers, critical thinkers, explorers and innovators.

Today’s education must hone our culture’s goal setters, planners, organizers and, dare I say, dreamers.

These traits strike me to be American qualities.

Allow the Chinese to be products of repetition and recitation.

Our children can be so much more.

There are no standardized tests which can measure these American qualities. 

Compete with Shanghai? 

Why would we sacrifice American ideals and our children to do such a thing? 

As for the young Asian students who are scoring higher on their standardized tests than my child, please know of my deepest regrets and genuine sadness.  No young person should live a life of dull repetition and meaningless recitation.  Your life should be filled with books; books that challenge you to wonder, dream, create, and share.  I fear, instead, that your life is peppered with instruction manuals.

As for my daughter, honey, there is no test that could ever convince me that you are “middle of the road”.  You are wonderful and beautiful and good and there is nothing about you that I would ever change.  Keep doing what you’re doing.

Perfect Irony

  In response to my previous post, a friend wrote to me, "Have to admit to reading this after returning from church...The sky hasn't fallen...all things are relative...things will work out."
  In church today, my pastor preached, "Don't be afraid of the unknown...take that step off the edge and into the unknown...trust in God."

  I'm a Wisconsin Teacher.  Darn right I am afraid.  And, though I am doing what I can to protect my family,
I am also doing what I know to be right.
 
  In appreciation for the responses from these fine people, allow me this reference to Thessalonians:
  "We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it.  On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow...never tire of doing what is right."
 
  While in church, I learned of a local family who lost their son. 
As I write one more passage, this is written with no disrespect or insensitivity to those who have lost so much more than an income.

  I am a teacher, civic in mind and action.  This passage is a product of such.

  Saturday morning, I put my truck on "Craigslist".  It was a 1992 red Dodge Dakota.
  Within two hours of the posting, an interested buyer had called and asked to see my truck.

   In preparation for this buyer, my son and I drove the truck to the local Citgo station to put gas in the tank and air in the tires.  When finished, I stuck my wallet under the front seat cushion.

   Later, I sold my truck to this very buyer, a single mother.  The truck was for her only child, a teenage boy.  Seems she works the third shift and couldn't always get her son to school on time.  The two of them came prepared to pay the full asking price.
  As she began counting her cash, I walked inside my home to seek counsel from my wife.  I asked, "They're going to pay full asking price.  Do I have permission to cut them a deal?"
  "No," she responded.  "You talk about the greater good and, in this case, the greater good rests with your family.  We need the money."
  When I returned, I removed my license plates from the truck and told the two of them that they could keep the towing ball that was attached on back. 
  This single mother then handed me the full asking price in cash.
  She said, "You can count it if you'd like."
  "No, that won't be necessary," I replied.  "Please take some this back and let me pay for the first few times you gas up," I said as I counted out some of the bills on top of the stack.
  They showed their appreciation and drove away with my truck.  I thought my gesture to be an act of altruism.

  Later that day, I couldn't find my wallet...

  This lady and her son met me half way, somewhere between our two homes, to return my wallet.

  Not only is this story one of perfect irony but it is also a great lesson in economics.
  First lesson, as I always tell my students, "never pay full asking price."
  Second, an economy does not function in a linear capacity.  One's tax dollars, as an example, do not merely drift away in linear fashion, never to return. 
  An economy is cyclical and often circular.  Tax dollars are not acts of altruism.  Tax dollars are a necessary component of a cyclical economy. 
  At some point in our history, and I don't know how I missed it, education turned from "an investment in our future" to "a cost".
  They next time tax dollars appear to be too great of a cost, keep my red Dodge Dakota in mind.   
     

 

Glue on Marble

  When I knew enough to ask my wife to marry me, I took a job selling used cars to raise the revenues for an engagement ring.     
  Over the course of a twenty year teaching career, I've had to work several "odd jobs" in order to raise revenues. 
  When my first daughter was about to be born, I sold shoes.  As soon as the school day was over, I rushed to the shoe store for 3-4 hours.   My boss was a local high school student - he was employed there before I was.
  When my son was about to be born, I worked on an assembly line for Benchmark Electronics.  I worked alongside a young lady who insisted she could become a bowler on the pro tour...if she practiced more.
  As my son grew, I milked cows when I could.  I learned to move quick when I saw the bovine's tail raise.
  I tended bar.  Worked sport camps for many, many years.  I did what I had to do.
  I don't believe that to be a rare quality for a husband and father. 
  A man dedicates himself to his family.  He tends to their needs and looks over them.  Nothing is more fundamental than that for a man.  And, an essential trait of a man's dedication to his family is paying the bills.
  Oh, and there was one other job that I once held...


  Early this week, it was reported out of Governor Walker's office that state protesters did $7.5 million worth of damages to the capital. Click {here} for that story. Click {here} for related budget story.
  Today, that number was adjusted...by $7.15 million.  The actual cost of removing the glue would be $350,000. 
  The damage done to the capitol?  Glue on marble.
  Protesters apparently used Duck Tape to hang their signs.  The glue on the marble walls left by the Duck Tape is apparently difficult to remove.
  I would know.
  On weekends, as one other job I once held, I used to remove glue, wax, and other unwanted substances from school hallway floors and walls.  It was a painstaking job.  Progress was slow.  In the end, the job was finished and the school looked as new. 
  I got paid $8/hour and amassed nearly $500 for my labor.  However, I wasn't working on the pristine surface of the capitol - just the hardened, gray surroundings of an ordinary school; a school that needed someone to get on their hands and knees so that a sparkle might make a difference somehow.


  A man does what he needs to do for the welfare of others.
  I will not take this opportunity to comment on what I perceive to be Governor Walker's math skills or his ability to tell truths. 
  I will end by writing that I lost my job selling used cars.  Well, more to the point, I was fired.
  This particular dealership had an 8-cylinder Chevy Cavalier that had been on the lot for too long.  One day, finally, a customer wanted to buy that car.  My commission for that particular sale was going to make my next check a dandy.  The customer: a meek, slight, elderly woman who was much closer to 80 years old than she was seventy. 
  Before I would sell her that car, I felt compelled to inform her of some things first. 
  She needed to know that the car had previously been in an accident.  She needed to know that the car still needed work done.  She needed to know that we had better runners and better deals on the lot.  And, I couldn't help but let her know my opinion - that maybe 8-cylinders wasn't necessary to fulfill her driving needs.
  She decided to wait, re-think her decision, left the lot, and never returned.
  Later that week, I lost my job.


  A man does what he needs to for the welfare of others.
  That includes making sure the bills get paid but...
  must the bills get paid through the approach of "buyer beware"?