Free to Say What Others Only Dare to Think! (Part Two)
While he was President of the Maine AFL-CIO, Charles O’Leary was fond of stating that the Maine Legislature was already too full of “lawyers, retired farmers and failed businessmen” and said that what was really needed were more working people.
Looking at the current makeup of the Legislature I would argue that there are probably too many education professionals at the controls now.
In a March 14, 2007, Bangor Daily News opinion piece, State Senator Peter Mills points out that about 90 percent of all social services “contract payments go to private nonprofit providers who employ tens of thousands of Maine citizens to take care of hundreds of thousands more.” According to Mills, some of these employees are elected to the Legislature each year and “serve on key committees such as Appropriations and Human Services, where public money is dispensed to their employers.”
He also states that “current and retired teachers comprise a fifth of the Maine Legislature and 70 percent of the Education Committee”. It shouldn’t surprise anyone then that the Education Committee is “proposing to sustain the status quo well into the next biennium.”
Don’t forget though that this is the same basic legislative makeup that supported increasing the minimum teacher salary to $30,000.00. How they loved Governor John Baldacci then!
"Right now, those with a vested interest in the status quo – those content to just say no to any change – are dominating the public discussion. They are using fear and misinformation... When I put my plan forward, I expected the hue and cry from the highly paid administrators who are trying to protect their own interests," Governor Baldacci said in his inaugural weekly radio address.
The Governor has promised to veto anything less than real taxpayer relief through his education proposal, and has also said "I didn’t expect the silence from many of the state’s business and political leaders who for years have complained about State spending, high taxes and heavy-handed administration."
Well Governor, you know where the educators are anyway. As he dared to state in his address, "The forces that want to stop reform and entangle us with inaction are aligned. They are organized and effective, and their message is deceivingly simple: “Go slow, leave things alone, don’t rock the boat.”
The irony of it all is that many who were in favor of TABOR are now using the banner of local control to unintentionally ally with their previous adversaries against anything remotely resembling the Governor's school reform plan.
The Governor needs business and citizen help for implementation of his plan. Isn't it ironic that after all the uproar over TABOR and taxpayer relief cries, the powers that be are frantically working to maintain the status quo, higher taxes and more of the same.
Senator Mills and Governor Baldacci each dare to say what others only dare to think. Unless you want to maintain a status quo that is unfair to both taxpayers and students, it's time to weigh in before it's too late.
Like the Governor said, "If you want change, then your voice must be heard. Today."
Looking at the current makeup of the Legislature I would argue that there are probably too many education professionals at the controls now.
In a March 14, 2007, Bangor Daily News opinion piece, State Senator Peter Mills points out that about 90 percent of all social services “contract payments go to private nonprofit providers who employ tens of thousands of Maine citizens to take care of hundreds of thousands more.” According to Mills, some of these employees are elected to the Legislature each year and “serve on key committees such as Appropriations and Human Services, where public money is dispensed to their employers.”
He also states that “current and retired teachers comprise a fifth of the Maine Legislature and 70 percent of the Education Committee”. It shouldn’t surprise anyone then that the Education Committee is “proposing to sustain the status quo well into the next biennium.”
Don’t forget though that this is the same basic legislative makeup that supported increasing the minimum teacher salary to $30,000.00. How they loved Governor John Baldacci then!
"Right now, those with a vested interest in the status quo – those content to just say no to any change – are dominating the public discussion. They are using fear and misinformation... When I put my plan forward, I expected the hue and cry from the highly paid administrators who are trying to protect their own interests," Governor Baldacci said in his inaugural weekly radio address.
The Governor has promised to veto anything less than real taxpayer relief through his education proposal, and has also said "I didn’t expect the silence from many of the state’s business and political leaders who for years have complained about State spending, high taxes and heavy-handed administration."
Well Governor, you know where the educators are anyway. As he dared to state in his address, "The forces that want to stop reform and entangle us with inaction are aligned. They are organized and effective, and their message is deceivingly simple: “Go slow, leave things alone, don’t rock the boat.”
The irony of it all is that many who were in favor of TABOR are now using the banner of local control to unintentionally ally with their previous adversaries against anything remotely resembling the Governor's school reform plan.
The Governor needs business and citizen help for implementation of his plan. Isn't it ironic that after all the uproar over TABOR and taxpayer relief cries, the powers that be are frantically working to maintain the status quo, higher taxes and more of the same.
Senator Mills and Governor Baldacci each dare to say what others only dare to think. Unless you want to maintain a status quo that is unfair to both taxpayers and students, it's time to weigh in before it's too late.
Like the Governor said, "If you want change, then your voice must be heard. Today."
posted by Art | 3/15/2007 08:32:00 PM
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