Wisconsin readers of this blog probably almost all know about the new budget cuts the University of Wisconsin System is suddenly facing. After a $250,000,000 cut to the System over the biennium, it was announced last week that this would be upped by over $65,000,000 more. Now, that number has risen to more like $111,000,000. The numbers aren't final and official yet, but we're probably looking at cuts of over $360,000,000 to the System over two years.
Here's a clear version of what we know at this point, and as usual Sifting & Winnowing is an excellent place to go for info.
At the same time, yesterday on Wisconsin Public Radio, we heard that the governor of this state is backing a proposal that would eliminate English and math requirements for high school graduation, allowing them to be replaced with vocational training. (
Here's a good summary of that.) Many of us have long suspected that Walker's promises of job growth were based on the Texas model — minimum wage jobs without benefits, etc., rather than jobs that would truly move Wisconsin forward as an economic power — and this looks thoroughly consistent with that.
Image from
here.
6 comments:
Recall Walker, the sooner the better.
While there's still some little bit of Wisconsin left to save. PLEASE.
REcall WALker, REcall WALker. (Trochees, trying to get a linguistic angle.)
Maybe we should go back to having children leave home at twelve to enter apprenticeships in the trades. Or, heck, why don't we just revert to the feudal system?
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse.
Oh, it can definitely get worse. We still get hundreds of millions in state support. Money that does nothing to train people to fry burgers, operate the cash register at a convenience store or wash dishes!
And Jonathon, the aim here IS a kind of feudal system. The idea of wage slavery, which seems like what this is about, is to make us entirely dependent on the few who control essentially all available resources.
The Koch Brothers own a lot of coal, if memory serves, and I trust they know the labor history of that industry. The question is whether the people of Wisconsin know the history and the trajectory we're on.
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