January 11, 2009
(South Carolina) - Apparently, our elected officials don't understand education. This malady is not
new. Somewhere in the mist of Southern and American lore, the people who passed
our laws lost their way from the simplicity of the log cabin to the confusion of the
People's House (and Legislature and Judiciary).
The people to whom we have given or sold our sacred trust have not only not delivered
on their impossible promises, but also worked diligently to put themselves in the
comfortable position of becoming our masters, instead of our servants.
We voted for Locke, but got Hobbs, instead.1
We gripe, but we do nothing. This gladdens their hearts and they continue on in
the sure knowledge that we will continue to be their field-hands and yard-boys. It
is an equal opportunity slavery shared by every citizen of this state. We vote for
economy and we get stupidity. We vote for good roads and we get ball parks and
a few favored civil service workers. We vote for good schools and we get rhetoric,
trailers, and fired teachers. We vote for college funding and then jerk it away,
as if it were some divine right of a budget and control board which is notorious
for its favoritism and politicalization.
So, in case you haven't heard, REAL TEACHERS, HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE
PROFESSORS, ARE BEING LAID OFF, heck, even FIRE FIGHTERS, thanks to the unthinking arrogance of
the people WE VOTED FOR.2, 3 What is so unbelievable is that there is so much that
can be delayed (not cut) that does not effect jobs that can help in our so-called
crisis (which may not actually be much of a crisis).
If you have been reading this column for any length of time, you already know that
the only real thing we have to fear is banks, themselves. They are the ones who
panicked. They are the ones who refused to loan money. And that was mostly in
the North (which local papers discovered only this Sunday morning). You also
know that education ought to be considered as infrastructure, that it should be
accessed voluntarily, and that it should be run entirely with the same kind of tax
with which roads and bridges are funded. From Primer to Doctoral degree. Inter-School
sports should be voluntary and self paid. Period.
So when I saw that our beloved governor had suggested doing away with USC Union,
Salkahatchie, and the other 2-year institution, my last straw broke my camel's back.
How arrogant is that? Does he not know that the people who go to Union, Laurens,
Salkahatchie and others cannot afford to travel to Spartanburg or Columbia? They
can barely afford ..
to go where they are going!4 Does he not know that the fuel price
drop is temporary? Does he not not know that poverty in these places is extensive?
And worse, doe he not know that Union is on the cusp of becoming a useful work
population (for meaningful industry)?5
Our beloved governor also seems not to know that the cheapest form of teacher
is an "adjunct." When you take courses away from an adjunct you don't save money -
you lose quality!
No wonder USC Sumter went to four years. With ignorance such as that shown
recently by our beloved governor and his trained simians on the Budget and Control
Board, USC Sumter's actions now seem almost prescient.
But now, after the governor has submitted his bone-headed budget, the office has
assumed the mantle of unbearable waste of time and money. And I, for one, am no longer
taking, "Well.. I didn't realize.." as a justifiable answer. Therefore, I am suggesting
the citizens of the state do the following:
We should abolish the office and person of Governor and replace him with a sock
puppet. The only prerequisite should be that the person manipulating the puppet
be unable to speak and think, giving the puppet a more life-like characteristic. This
position would have no power, but the sock puppet would go about the state on a
bicycle encouraging other sock puppets to be fit. We would save close to a billion
dollars in un-performed stupid ideas and salaries. The sock-puppet manipulator should
be paid minimum wage.
We should also abolish the budget and control board, using the legislature to perform
that function as it should do anyway. The Supreme court should be shot and replaced
with people of provable logical acumen. Either that, or lock them up with
the rapists, murderers, and pedaphiles they have allowed to live.
But let's not kid ourselves. WE are responsible for putting these persons
in office. And we are equally responsible for removing them. And we should let
our representatives know that you want the money put back in schools and colleges
and taken from the Governor's office!
Can we start NOW? PLEASE?
