For years living in rural Wisconsin, Frugal Ron listened to Tea Party predecessors recite their solution for solving our nation’s ills, “We need to get Jesus back into schools!”
Religion
Of course, before the Supreme Court’s 1962 decision striking down state sponsored prayer in public schools, we didn’t have all this homosexuality and abortion nonsense. So, according to current Republican logic (or lack thereof), if we can put the fear of God into today’s children for several hours a day while they are in school, we won’t have any more of this liberal decay of our society.
For sure, God-fearing children won’t choose homosexual lifestyles or have promiscuous sex. (Editor’s note: We don’t want to complicate this argument with facts. Please ignore, as Republicans do, that almost all peer-reviewed current literature suggests sexual preference is determined before birth and among those born in the 1940s and turning 15 from 1954 to 1963, 82% had premarital sex by age 30, and 88% had done so by age 44).
Education
Not deterred by a simple Supreme Court ruling, using voucher schools, which are almost all religiously affiliated, Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker found a way to use taxpayer money to get Jesus back into schools. Unfortunately, with education, like so many other things, you get what you pay for. Voucher school teacher pay is a fraction of public school teacher compensation and results mirror that.
A 2011 study found students participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program scored proficient or advanced on standardized tests at a rate of 34.4 percent in math and 55.2 percent for reading. Students in Milwaukee Public Schools scored proficient or advanced at a rate of 47.8 percent in math and 59 percent in reading on the same assessments, according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. And, this was comparing against Milwaukee public schools, some of the worst in the country.
But, Governor Walker seems to have a plan to fix this learning gap. Continually expanding the voucher school program by taking money away from public schools will put more downward pressure on public school teacher salaries. This will result in an exodus of teachers able to get jobs elsewhere and an influx of lower skilled instructors taking their places. In this race to the bottom, we will see public school student performance drop to the voucher school level.
Job creation
For any organization, attracting the right people is the secret to success. So, what does Wisconsin offer companies who must attract well-educated and creative employees? The first thing managers note are the exorbitant health insurance costs in Wisconsin compared to neighboring states that accepted the federal Medicare funding Walker spurned.
If your work has anything to do with stem cell research, the state legislature delivered a strong message that you aren’t welcome here. Gay employees must accept they are second class citizens in Wisconsin. Why would they want to move here?
Employees with children will demand outstanding schools. Don’t expect Walker’s church affiliated voucher schools that teach the earth is 6,000 years old to impress them. They want the outstanding teachers Republicans sacrificed to fund their minuscule tax cuts and voucher schools.
C They are the direct result of his policies. Walker is a lifetime politician who violates the first rule of marketing; always design your product to meet your target customers’ needs and wants , not yours. While Walker and his supporters want to take Wisconsin schools back to the 1950’s, companies with 21st century technology and information needs will look elsewhere.
