Blogs Feb 27, 2013 at 12:46 pm

Comments

1
Because when a hack politician, (i.e. a republican wannabe who lives in a district that is too liberal to elect an actual republican so instead runs as a 'moderate' (wink, wink) democrat) works to "reform" education, the last thing he is trying to actually accomplish is improve education. Really, it is about money and the ongoing and accelerating effort by Wall Street and their lackeys everywhere to dismantle public education and replace it with private, for-profit, publicly financed schools (i.e. charter schools) geared towards producing docile and obedient workers for The Plantation, (what was formerly known as the United States).
2
His recall is already in progress, right?
3
Impeach the mother fucker already
4
So where's Governor Insley saying "oh, hells no" to this? Didn't like his slow-to-start campaign, don't like his low profile, idea free kick-off to his administration, and now that he's dealing with this turncoat, where is his promise to break out the veto pen?

Voting against McKenna was a no-brainer. But I'd like to see Insley give me a reason to feel good about voting for him.
5
But.. but... profits!?!
Gotta lower people's --and teachers' especially-- standard of living, so that we can compete in the... global market... for... education... (?)
6
@1 - What's the difference between Tom and the New Democrats? (honest question)
7
I'm really quite tired of public employee unions insisting their members are owed Cadillac benefit plans at the expense of taxpayers, who are struggling to save up for a second-hand Yugo of their own. TAXPAYERS CANNOT AFFORD THIS ANYMORE. Nor should they have to fund benefits for public employees that they themselves will never see. Especially not when the penalty for refusing to fund this largesse is a gun shoved in their faces and prison time (if not death). This is like having a robber insist he's doing you a service (even though you never asked for it), then holding a gun in your face while you pay up, and then telling you that HE'S being treated unfairly in this exchange.
8
#7 yes, let's all race to the bottom and accept that unless you are super rich, you do not deserve quality health care or a respectable retirement. Don't worry about the corrupt politics and the ongoing shifting of national wealth to 1% and their corporations. Right now the oligarchy is destroying our democracy to enable ever increasing amounts of plundering of our national wealth for their immediate consumption. Lowering expectations is part of that process so we don't get all uppity when we finally realize the only food we can afford is cat food. Destroying public education and the profession of teaching is all part of that process. The rich don't mind the little people paying taxes, indeed they need us to pay more in taxes in order for us to finance their lifestyle (military and police forces ain't cheap). A tax cut to the rich means a tax increase, in some form or another, for the rest of us.

#6 good question. There is definitely a Wall Street democrat wing in the party, of which the New Democrats are part of. I don't think Tom really has a logical or consistent ideology beyond looking out for number one. He is a wannabe oligarch, and would sell his soul if it earned him a nickel. He's for sale.
9
Funny considering it's an employee funded pension plan. Senator Tom basically wants to orchestrate theft on a massive scale from Washington public employees.
10
What pension plan do the legislators get? What kind of health care? What the king goose seems to think he should do to the gander can also be done to the goose.
11
The thing is, Tom doesn't care if you take his pension. He's part of the 1%. He doesn't need a pension. He doesn't need public schools. His kids go to Lakeside. His only purpose is to push the lower class farther into poverty and the middle class into poverty. He also wants the WEA to disintegrate.
12
How many legislators are under 45? Arbitrary cutoff date?

My dad cried when I finally found a state job (after 80 or so applications) in a small company town out east of the Cascades where the median income is just over $24k (which is exactly my annual net income).

Finally, I had some hope of being able to eat food and have shelter in old age, as I've chosen not to have children who could let me move in with them. Oh. Wait.

Thanks a lot Mr. Greedy Tom. I know you think I'm "lazy," but I've merely worked my ass of in low wage, no benefit jobs for most of my life.
13
I don't know why people are so mad at Tom. It's totally reasonable to think that you're going to get and retain high quality public employees when you offer non-competitive salaries, and then follow it up with shitty benefits too. It's science.
14
So I just want to make sure I'm reading this correctly. This essentially sets up "rubber rooms" for the state school systems, right?

And let's say you were "displaced" on the second day of instruction—if not given a new assignment, you would continue to draw full salary and benefits until the end of the next following school year. (For example, if you were "displaced" in August or September of 2012 [the 2012-13 school year], you couldn't be fired "for cause" until May/June of 2014 [the following school year]?)

So on the one hand, you can hardly be "fired at any time"—you get to pay your mortgage for at least another 12 months ("displaced" near the last day of instruction) and at most 21 months—but on the other hand, I'm guessing the only way you can avoid being fired "for cause," which presumably would effectively end your teaching career, is to resign before the clock runs out.

Oh come on, Rodney Tom. Surely you can think of more ways than just that of shitting on teachers and making them rue the day they ever thought of education as a fulfilling career.
15
Well my wife is a state worker and I have a son that is a teacher. We all voted for Rodney, but next time around we will support a someone else. Both my wife and son work hard for the people of washington. They often work long days and even on weekends. They have earned what they make. I am sorry that Rodney feels that state workers are not worthy of their hard work. I just wonder what made him so worthy for what he has?
16
It seems to me that if we need a 2/3 majority to raise taxes, we should also need a 2/3 majority to lower taxes. The one way system of changing our monetary state system is skewed in favor of those citizens who have higher incomes and think they do not want to pay taxes. They enjoy all the benefits of lower income citizens who have to pay a larger portion of their salaries in taxes (like sales taxes or gas taxes). Rose Fink
17
He may hate teachers but for some reason the teachers and constituents in his district vote him in. As long as there is a 'D' next to his name he must be for the teachers (lol).

Anyone working in the public sector that lives in Bellevue or Medina (as if anyone in the public sector actually lives in Medina ... ha) need to step up and put a more marketable democrat on the ballot. Most teachers/public sector employees in this area, I find, are more concerned about finding a good parking spot at Bellevue Square versus their livelihoods/pensions.


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