Walker Rant

When we study Thoreau in junior English, I talk about how Martin Luther King got his idea for peaceful protesting from Gandhi and Thoreau. These people believed that if the government did something objectionable, then it was the citizen's job, and right, to object.

So, consider this an objection.

Governor Walker's stance on refusing to negotiate with unions because "the state has nothing more to give" is infuriating and unfair. If it were not for unions, workers would not have decent wages, conditions and benefits. Granted, the state and national budgets need balancing, but why not set an example and start at the top?

Why can't the Governor show that he and the other elected officials are going to do some cutting too. I want to see them slice their salaries and benefits as much as they are proposing to do to the other state workers. Then, maybe people wouldn't resent it so much. It has begun to feel like a dictatorship that is accusing the workers for being at fault for the state's budget problems.

Walker should sit down with union reps and talk about what they can do to help make the most efficient cuts so that education is not compromised. This may take some time, but this budget deficit began many, many years ago, and it is not going to get repaired easily.

One would think that Walker would want his own two high schoolers to receive a good education from well trained, well educated, well paid teachers. Or, do his kids go to a private school? I don't know. But, that is what could happen if education and teachers become disrespected. What young person wants to spend five years learning and preparing for a profession that is not respected by our state's highest official?

Only the rich will be able to afford a good education for their children by sending them to private schools. Do we want this elitist attitude? Too many good, smart people have been educated in public schools.