Sunday, July 12, 2015

Before Scott Walker declares for Prez, read this


Now is not the time to discuss how horrific a candidate for President Wisconsin governor Scott Walker would be.   (Not to mention the nightmare of having him as a President.)    He might actually be a candidate for Most Dangerous Man in America, as he might be an appealing candidate for many Republicans to vote for.

But what is written in this Washington Post article should give any thinking voter, Republican or Democrat, pause to consider what Scott Walker running a government is really like.

What Governor Scott Walker is about to do to Wisconsin's public schools


"Buried within the [Wisconsin biennial] budget are 135 non-budget policy items — a toxic cocktail of attacks on public education, democracy, environmental protections and labor rights."

"The attack on the Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is in the context of a frontal assault on public education across the state. The budget cuts $250 million from the University of Wisconsin system, holds overall K-12 funding flat in the first year with modest increases in the second (which, given inflation, means cuts)."

"Elected school boards and lack of choices are not the problem with our schools. Milwaukee arguably has more publicly funded school options than any urban system in the country, from citywide and neighborhood-based public schools, to MPS charter schools, to city-controlled charter schools, to charters run by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to private voucher schools, to open enrollment that includes suburban districts. The rhetoric around governance is a smokescreen to get rid of democratically elected school boards and publicly controlled schools. Yes, democracy can be messy, but the alternative is worse. If we decide to abandon every democratic institution that is not up to our hopes and dreams, why not get rid of the U.S. Congress? Or the Wisconsin Legislature?"
Not good at all.


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