Issue 2

Of course you could figure I’m for No on Issue 2. A "no" vote repeals SB5. I’m a teacher, and I’m simply trying to protect my own pocket book, right? Well, yes and no.

I’ve heard it before. Teachers are overpaid, get too much time off, have too good a pension... First of all, I don’t agree with those, but I'll agree that those things are certainly fair game for discussion. But SB5 makes no sense for a number of reasons.

First of all, republicans are behind it. That doesn't make it bad of course. I used to be a republican. Back then, we stood for small government, keeping government out of peoples’ lives whenever possible. Republicans hated big government telling local people what to do. So here comes SB5, a totally republican initiative. SB5 imposes the state’s idea of how schools should be run onto the local school districts. Let me say that a different way. SB5 takes control of many aspects of local education from the local school districts and turns it over to Ohio. It tells local school districts in what ways they can negotiate with staff. It tells local school districts how to resolve disputes. It tells local school districts how to decide which staff gets laid off. You get the idea. I’m guessing even Reagan himself would have hated this. But then, republicans today show no resemblance to the republicans I used to be proud of.

But the most amazing part of SB5 is rarely mentioned. In SB5, teachers (and firefighters and police) are allowed to have collective bargaining for a few items, determined by the state of course. Salary is one. But according to this law, if the school board and the teachers can’t come to an agreement, after a short period of time, it goes to the "governing body," whose decision is final. And that governing body: is it an impartial negotiator? Maybe a judge? How about a jury? Nope, the governing body is the school board. So if the school board proposes a huge pay cut and we don’t like it, the school board gets to decide whose side to take, and their decision is final. No, I can’t figure that one out either.

If you call yourself a conservative, maybe you object to the “excessive pensions” (as stated on a commercial) of teachers or firefighters, or police. Or maybe you think we have cushy jobs, or we get paid too much, or any of a thousand other things. Fine. But I have yet to understand how a true conservative can support this as a proper solution.

And don’t even begin to tell me that this law is needed because the unions are all-powerful. Union membership in America is at an all time low. They don’t have the power they used to. And besides, how often do you hear about teachers striking? If our unions were so all-powerful, that would happen a lot. But it doesn’t. For two reasons: our unions are not that strong, and, believe it or not,  teachers don’t want to mess with the kids’ education. Really.

SB5 is a bad idea.  I just can’t say it any other way.

Occupy Wall Street?

Let me guess. You’ve heard of this movement. You know it’s a bunch of college age kids mostly. And they’re camping out on Wall Street (obviously) to protest... what exactly? And how long have they been doing this? And what do they want? And what's this 99% stuff? And...

Yeah, me too. Turns out it’s been going on for almost a month, and it started with just a few people. Nobody really noticed. I didn’t read much, if anything, on the web, and I don’t remember it being a big deal on the news either. But it’s grown. Now, everybody knows about it. But still, what is it?

It’s a bunch of people who are frustrated. They are frustrated that the top 1% in this country make a disproportionate amount of income, while many of the 99% struggle. Now I'm sure that 99% is an exaggeration, but Wall Street continues to rack up huge profits, and upper level executives continue to make huge salaries. And this is AFTER we bailed them out.

And the reason all that frustrates them is because they, themselves, can’t find jobs. Yeah, I know, a bunch of whining kids living off mom and dad, too lazy to look for work, and that’s what’s wrong with America. I’ve heard them described that way.

Well maybe not. I know two young women, 23-24 years old. They both have four year college degrees. And they’re both looking for jobs. And no, they are not hanging out at home on dad’s couch, as they’re often portrayed. No, these kids aren’t lazy. In fact, they’ve both been working two jobs. Because none of their jobs pay much more than minimum wage. You know how this goes: a 9-5 job all week, then waitress at night. Both are working way more than I ever did, and desperately trying to get ahead. Without much luck.

I know another woman the same age, who didn’t have the money for college. She went right into the work force. Guess what. She’s in the same boat.

Didn’t they do everything right? They all were good students. They studied hard, got good grades, and graduated in good standing. Then.... nothing.

I’m not sure how it was when you were in college, but when my friends and I graduated, almost all of us got jobs when we graduated. In our field of study. Making enough money to actually survive. Not rich of course, but we could buy used cars, get married, have children, eventually buy a house, and gradually get ahead.

But this generation isn’t getting that chance. Sure, some of them are getting good jobs in their chosen field. But a higher percentage than ever before are just... stuck.

The average college graduate now has $22,000 in student loans. Incredible. And even if they go through bankruptcy, the college loans don’t go way. They’re sunk before they even get started.

That’s what they’re protesting about. When Wall Street collapsed and brought down the economy through their own doing, they got bailed out. But the students have done everything right. And nobody’s bailing them out.  Yeah, I’d be pissed too. In fact, I am.

But don't be fooled into thinking this is a right/left issue. These people have made it clear that they are angry with both parties. That makes sense. Almost nobody, right or left, feels good about the bailouts. And everyone wants more jobs. This is not party related.

You know, I’m sure there are some lazy ones in there, and I guarantee some news outlets will make a point of showing us this. But really, these protesters have a point.

What is happening to the 20 somethings today; it’s just plain wrong.