Piecing together the fragments of far left political orthodoxy can be a daunting task - don't try it at home. Leave that task to me.
When elections or school referenda come around, the left will stress the importance of voting. We must have an informed and active electorate to ensure the proper functioning of our democracy blah blah blah. We need to get kids involved in this process early, so we will take them out of school to urge people to vote, so long as they live in Democratic wards.
After the election, depending on the outcome, there may need to be retribution. Voting and political participation are good - see previous paragraph - unless we don't like the outcome. It is important to punish those who voted the wrong way. Let's boycott those businesses that gave money to the candidates that we don't like. This will demonstrate our love for working people.
This boycotting business can get a little tricky. Those Koch brothers have their greedy paws involved in virtually every business imaginable. Time to swear off butt wiping because a subsidiary of the Koch brothers owns a 12% stake in a paper company that subcontracts with a non-union trucking company that delivers to PDQ, whose owner gave money to a pro-marriage initiative in California... And lets not forget Culvers, M$I bank, their investors, Woodman's cause they are non -union, no wait they are good cause they are employee owned, Taco Bell doesn't provide a suitable pension for the Mexican tomato pickers and on and on.
It is important to bring these businesses to their knees so they have to lay off the workers that we love. And we don't have to worry about failing businesses because those damn businesses aren't paying any taxes anyway, we'll show em dammit. The whole private sector is just so greedy, we should join Michael Moore, declare their wealth a national resource and take it, proving once and for all our selflessness and generosity.
Now kids, today we are going to talk about bullying. We must learn to get along and appreciate, even celebrate, our differences. Bullying is wrong, unless you disagree with the political agenda of the teachers union. Then we try to destroy the business that employs your mother. Oh I know, she is a sweet woman, she votes the right, er, correct way and everything, but she works for a company whose Chief Financial Officer gave money to Scott Walker, so she will have to be sacrificed, for you kids of course.
So, to conclude this lesson on liberalism, we value voting, democratic participation, a socially just marketplace, workers, diversity, fairness and getting along with people who are different than us, unless our pension deal is threatened.
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9 comments:
This repair bill was about balancing budget. But the largest portion of public expenditures go towards cops and firefighters who, for some strange reason are not included in this bill. new Cops start off making 50k, with no degree needed and their union still can negotiate increases. new teachers start off at about 30 and are mandated to maintain licensee by continual education. 65% of teachers in RUSD have masters degree. Most beat cops have no degree but yet earn more.
Anon, as you have not identified yourself, I can't be sure if you are the same person bringing up this same topic over and over again. If it is you, please stop. You have made your point repeatedly. What's more, I agree with you that police and fire should also have their CB privileges curtailed so as to be in line with every other person, corporation, association etc....
But......I don't see the point in discussing this subject repeatedly.
anon - Actually, the largest portion of my "public expenditure" via my tax bill goes to RUSD - are teachers not the largest expenditure for that taxing entity? Yes, police and fire make up the largest portion of my local municipal taxes, but I pay 50% more to RUSD than Caledonia!
That said, I agree with you - they should be included.
When comparing salaries, though, let's make appropriate comparisons:
Beat cops have gone through rather extensive training; are on the job 12 months of the year; don't have off weeks at Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, whatever; and do you really want to compare the stress and danger levels of a beat cop to a school teacher? Does potentially risking your life every day not deserve some level of compensation?
As well, most teachers go back to get their masters simply so they can get bumped up to that higher level of compensation and eventual higher pension levels, not because they need it for their job - their choice.
On the school referenda point Denis you forgot about the outcome.
If it wins, it is the law, if it loses it comes back again and again and again.
True enough Fred. Laws and votes should be respected, unless we don't like them and can't change them, at which point we should throw a tantrum until we get our way.
Anon makes the supposition that the more college you have the more money you should be paid. Not true in America, nor should it be.
Most police around SE Wisconsin are required an AA degree and most have a BA. These degrees or education levels are needed by police to do the job properly, even for "beat cops." Police are paid what they are because of the nature of the job they do not for the education level. Do teachers need masters degrees? I would argue not and should not be paid more for it.
It depends on where those Masters (and PhDs) are from. How many teachers are getting them online? One of my cats could get one of those and the firefighters and police would be wise to start getting those as well. But that is true at ALL levels of government. Just look at who is running the water department, a smart technician with little more than a mail-order PhD that we paid her full salary to "work on".
so u think arresting crack heads at 2am and writing tickets requires a college degree, but being a professor at a public university doesn't? Most anyone would agree that assessment is laughable.
I don't believe the skill sets needed to write tickets warrants a lifetime pension paid for on the backs of the public. Particularly in these economic conditions. US military enlistees make far less than cops and endure much more risks but do not have the plush salaries and benefits as cops do.
Anon,
In 11:34 you wrote about RUSD teachers and in 8:08 you wrote about public university professors. Not the same thing.
Furthermore I was discussing the need for graduate degrees among RUSD teachers not simple "college degrees." The way you put forth argument I suspect you are a product of public schools and maybe, sadly, a public school teacher as well.
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