Fix the Budget Woes with One Word · 21 December 2011
I have a simple plan to fix all the state of Washington’s fiscal woes. It only involves one word and it would take an act of Congress to come to fruition. But this modest proposal would fix Washington’s financial problems.
The simple fix for all of Washington’s fiscal problems is to simply change the constitution with a single word – “not.” Article IX of the state constitution takes much of the state’s annual budget. The Article is about education and the following change to Article IX, Section One would get rid of much of the financial burden on Washington’s cash flow:
It is NOT the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders…
Placing “NOT” in the section would free up all the education dollars and make budget cuts in other areas smaller or even unnecessary. According to many pundits, the current state of education is abhorrent and the system needs to be overhauled anyway. So instead of trying to fix schools by enacting legislation without proper funding behind it, maybe the state should get out of the education business altogether.
Many people believe that there are plenty of resources on TV and the internet which could be used to replace teachers. I can just imagine all the learning that would take place when all public schools shut their doors and parents figured out that they could merely put their kids in front of the computer and leave for work. The internet would be alive with learning and kids would be so much more ready for entering the work force than they currently are when they leave the much maligned halls of public education. And they could enter that workforce at a much younger age without their teachers getting in the way.
Students would not be the only ones who benefited from this modest proposal. Teachers and others employed by the public schools would be free to find jobs where they could make a difference in society or at least make more money. And the state would not be footing the bill. I imagine lots of different businesses being started by those currently employed in education. Some might even take seriously the thought that they could make more money being baby sitters than educators (thirty kids for eight hours for 180 days at $10/hour is over $400,000).
People believe that there are no easy fixes to the budget crisis facing Washington legislators, but what could be simpler than adding a single word to the constitution. True, the state legislature would need to pass the amendment to the constitution, but without the drain of funding education, the state would be free to build bridges, fix potholes, and rescue people economically. (There might be more people to rescue later, but future legislative sessions could wrestle with those issues.)
The simple fix I propose should sit very well with those who govern the state. After all, the currently proposed budgets fit the addition of NOT to Article IX of the state constitution. After all, cutting pay for teachers and lowering the number of days students attend school only makes sense with a new Article IX. With the current wording of the constitution, legislation to cut schools beyond the bare bones they are already operating under seems more than wrong. It might even be considered illegal or unconstitutional. However, with the new word in Article IX, there would never be a question to the legality and even rightness of denying everybody free public education.
The experiment of free public education can finally come to an end in the state of Washington with a single word. Those involved with education including the students would be free to pursue other endeavors and contribute to the good of the state in ways that do not take from its coffers. Students would be able to say once and for all, “No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.” All with one modest proposal. All with one simple word. NOT!
© 2011 Michael T. Miyoshi
| Share on facebook | Tweet |
|
Published:
13 December 2011 in The Monroe Monitor & Valley News
19 December 2011 in River Current News
Help! I Am Being Robbed! · 9 February 2011
I am being robbed, and there is not much I can do about it. I have been robbed before by the same group and even now, they are planning on taking more from me. I do not really have a choice in the matter because of who the people doing the robbing are, but at least I can give a cry for help. For myself and those just like me who are also being robbed.
If I was being robbed because of where I live, I could move. If I was being robbed at the store where I shop, I could change stores. But I am being robbed because of my profession, and even though I could find a different career, I am not ready to do that yet. I love what I do and I love the people I work with. Therein lies the rub.
When the gang that robbed me before did so, they figured that they could pull off the heist in plain sight. They figured that nobody would care if they did it. And they figure the same thing will happen this time. Nobody will say anything, because they run this place. After all, they are the government.
When the legislature took away money that their constituents promised to teachers, they stole from all of us. Not just teachers, everybody. Now, they are threatening to steal more money from a group of teachers. They want to take the extra pay from those who are recognized as National Board Certified Teachers.
Personally, I did not become nationally certified for the money. I did it because I figured I was as good of a teacher as those around me who had become certified. The only thing that I cared about when it came to the money was that I got back the amount I paid into the process. Like many accomplishments in my life, I became nationally certified just to say I did it.
There are others like me who teach because they love what they do and they love the kids. Many others. We have gone through heavy-handed school reform. We have gone through countless hours of training and retraining, sometimes on subjects which are merely to cover somebody’s backside. We have gone through periods of harsh criticism and intense scrutiny. We have gone through budget cuts and broken promises, sometimes to the point where we wonder if anybody values what we do. And through it all, we still teach.
Contrary to what most of us reply when asked, we do not teach either general or specific subject matter. Rather, we teach children and young adults. We teach them how to read and write and do arithmetic. We teach them how to learn. We teach them how to follow and how to lead. We teach them how to be responsible citizens of our country and of our world.
When the legislature steals the money due to educators, they really are stealing from everybody. They are taking away opportunities from the students to have more individual class time with teachers because class sizes increase. They are taking potential teachers away from the pool of committed individuals who might choose education as a profession except for the broken promises and uncertain funding. They are taking trust from the taxpayers who believe that the schools are just not using their money wisely. And they are taking qualified applicants away from employers who wonder why it seems kids do not want to work anymore.
It is interesting to me that in many industries, money is thrown at problems which might or might not go away with the spending. But in educational funding, no penny is sacred. Even if it was put into law. Back in the early 1970s, a billboard in Seattle read, “Will the last person leaving SEATTLE – Turn out the lights.” With the legislature proposing to steal from not just teachers, but all of education, I wonder if somebody might post a billboard that says, “Will the last person leaving the schools, please turn out the lights?” Then again, who would there be who could read it?
If the legislature is poised to steal from me, teachers, and indeed all of education, who are they poised to steal from next?
© 2011 Michael T. Miyoshi
| Share on facebook | Tweet |
|
No Church Services · 3 July 2009
On August 16, 2009, several churches in the Skykomish valley will not be having services. Instead, they will be participating in the third annual Servefest. Church members from participating churches will be letting their light shine before others so that they can see and praise God (Matthew 5:16). In the words of the official website (http//:www.servefest.org), the members will be focusing “inward, outward, and upward.”
Members from the participating churches will be looking inward to evaluate their lives and what their priorities are. They will look outward to their community. And they will look upward to God for direction, guidance, and love.
Nobody can really understand the inward and upward focus of another, but the results can be seen through the outward focus – church members doing community service projects throughout the Skykomish valley. The cities of Monroe and Sultan, the Monroe School District, The Evergreen State Fairgrounds, and many other organizations will be the beneficiaries of the 84 service projects planned for Sunday, August 16, 2009.
Besides the community seeing positive outcomes of the day of service, they will see something often missing from diverse church groups around the world. Unity. The different church groups are serving the community as their one Lord commanded them to do. They are serving each other as Christ served his disciples and all the people he met.
Servefest is making an impact on the Sky Valley community like Jesus made in His community and beyond. Organizers have said, “It is amazing how people are responding to Servefest.” Emails from beneficiaries ask whether Servefest is happening again. They say things like, “I have my projects ready,” and “I can’t wait for it.” All the organizers and participants would agree with the sentiment, “We love being able to give back to our community in very real ways.”
Showing the love of Christ to people is paramount to Servefest. People serve with gladness working not only for the betterment of the communities in which they live, but for the glory of God.
While many might think that churches not having services on a Sunday in August is ludicrous or even insanity, there is a method to the madness. Jesus turned the world upside down serving His community and doing crazy things like washing His disciples’ feet. The churches participating in Servefest are trying to do the same. They are serving and changing the world in the name of Jesus.
So remember, if you plan on attending one of the participating churches August 16, 2009, be prepared to serve rather than to be served. And then join in the celebration of the day’s efforts in the evening at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds.
Turn the world upside down in the name of Jesus by focusing “inward, outward, and upward.” Participate in serving at Servefest 2009.
© 2009 Michael T. Miyoshi
| Share on facebook | Tweet |
|
| Older | Newer |