Let's Talk Issues

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                Once again as I was talking to school district employees, I was amazed by some of the things that our young people are doing.  Now this is not a negative thing.  Our kids are taking more AP (advanced placement) courses in high school than ever.  What they aren’t doing is always taking the AP test.  AP courses are tougher courses across most subjects like math, biology, chemistry, history, English, etc that kids can take in high school after they shown that they can achieve at a higher level.  In May, after the majority of the coursework is done, there is a week in which all kids across the country take the exact same test for the particular subject they took.

                What is disappointing is that after taking these rigorous courses some kids aren’t taking the AP test.  They take this tough course for a semester or a whole year and don’t take the AP test which can help them get though college sooner and save money.  How is that?  If you take the test and get a 3, 4, or 5 on the test on a scale of 1-5, you can get credit at most colleges  that will shorten the number of credits you will need to take in college.  The test does cost money but the offset of college cost is probably at least $3-4 saved for each dollar spent on the test.  It also looks very good on the high school transcript.

                In the case of my own kids, our daughter who went to MIT only got credit for electives for two courses even though she took 7 AP courses but that was definitely worth it because she probably never would have gotten into the school without them.  She ended up graduating in 3 ½ years.  Our son who goes to the University of Washington in Seattle which is a public school, got almost a quarters worth of credits for the 6 AP courses he took and then took the test.  He’s anticipating graduating in 3 years and a quarter.  There are 3 quarters in the normal September to June school year with a summer quarter from June through August.

                The other great benefit is the test taking experience that the kids get from taking the final test of a tough course.  After taking some of the toughest courses in high school, the kids should want to take the test. 

                Our young people should be very proud of their achievements. 

 

                Governor Doyle’s budget should expect more sacrifice from all state workers to resolve our budget deficit.  We should ask all of our state workers to take a pay freeze for 2 years and if necessary we should lay people off. I’ve supported our teachers and staff for many years as a school board member and would not suggest this type of action unless I really felt we needed it.  I’ve even had to take a 10 % pay cut as a computer analyst which is very unusual in our industry.  While I realize that many teachers use some of their own money for their classrooms, this is a very trying time in our state.  I also realize that the pay freezes would need to be negotiated but it is time for everyone in government at every level to participate and share in the recovery of our state.  We should also reduce the pensions for any future state employees so as to reduce long term liabilities like the one Tommy Thompson gave us just before he left office.  He increased state pensions to the tune of $5 billion and the bill was passed in just three days.  Doyle's idea to remove the QEO that covers the wages and benefits of teachers is the worst idea I've heard in years. Schools need to be able to focus their energy on educating our children, not on spending excessive time negotiating with unions.  Finally mandating increases on the the minimum insurance limits on car insurance is a terrible idea.  At the very least it should be discussed separate from the budget bill.

                On the republican side, they can’t just say no new taxes since the state mandates increases in spending each year especially for school districts. In the Muskego-Norway school district alone, the state mandate for the 3.8% increase in wages and benefits amounts to around $1 million each year.  They need to be willing to say what they are going to cut.  As of this point they have not done anything but said NO new taxes.  Why? In fact, Senator Lazich just today said that releasing prisoners early is not a good option.  Then she should be willing to fund it or offer up another idea.  I will be waiting for her response.  Have you ever seen a specific list of items they are will to not increase or cut?  I haven't.

                Thank you.

                 It was interesting to watch the Tea parties around the country.  I don’t have a problem with it other than most of the message was just that government is spending too much without ever saying what they might cut.  The top five federal programs in for fiscal year 2007 were Health (medicare and Medicaid) 23% at $627 billion, social security 21.5% 586 billion, defense 20.5% $560 billion, Income security $13.4 % $367 billion, and interest on debt 8.7% $238 billion.  That is over 85% of the federal budget.  We need to make changes to most of these programs to address our serious deficits.  I think we should raise the retirement age for social security, increase payroll taxes for it (just like President Reagan did), and stop providing a cost of living increase.  Just the cost of living increase alone added $35 billion to the annual cost of social security in 2009. We need to do make these changes and others now. 

                We’ve talked a lot recently about bank bailouts which many of them really aren’t as the TARP money is to be repaid with interest and some large banks are getting ready to do it soon.  What about the bailouts we’ve provided to the defense contractors?  The top 95 weapons programs for the Pentagon are almost $300 billion over budget.  The only thing I’m shocked and awed about is that we’re still spending a ton of money on weapons for a cold war that aren’t  very effective in the type of war we are currently in and will be for the foreseeable future.   We didn’t even have enough armor against road side bombs on our vehicles in the first several years of the Iraq war. 

                What about the bailouts we’ve provided to sports teams across the country for the new stadiums and arenas financed by the public including over $600 million for Miller park and now $5 million of state money for improvements to the Bradley Center that was donated by the Pettits and  opened in 1988 and isn't even a state facility.  It supposedly has significant maintenance issues because it’s 21 years old.  Maybe those same people who support this type bailout should visit some or the schools in the less affluent parts of the state and ask them if their 50, 60, or 80 year old buildings have any needs.  I know it’s not just as much fun to pay for improvements to a school where the future leaders  and workers of our country are being educated  as it is to go a game to watch overpaid athletes from expensive seats.  Thank you.

 

                The discussion of bonuses needs to come to an end now so we can move on to the important tasks of unwinding the bad financial decisions at AIG and repairing our economy.  Remember, we own 80% of AIG so we’re destroying even more of the value of our ownership with our un-ending criticism.  While there are many reasons to get upset over bonuses at AIG, we need to move beyond that as fast as possible to work on freeing up our credit markets and getting our economy going.  Knee-jerk reactions are rarely good decisions and now Congress has decided to recover bonuses even at other firms that have taken TARP money some of who never really needed or wanted it.  Not only will this drive good people from some of the other firms but it will slow the recovery of our financial system which affects all of us.   We have a very difficult time in looking at the long term in this country and seem to be willing to cut off our nose to spite our face and this is one of those critical times. Get mad but get over it quickly because we are losing credibility with many other countries in the world.  We should all be very concerned when China and Russia start to question the safety of the dollar because if the world loses confidence in the dollar’s value, we will lose even more on a long term basis.  Thank you.

 

                Once again we have a controversy concerning a coach at the Muskego-Norway high school.  Having spent 12 years on the school board, I suspect the circumstances surrounding this conflict are similar as they have been in the past.   There hasn’t been any wrongdoing or inappropriate behavior by the coach.  If there was, this is an easy decision to remove a coach.  I think this is a group of parents who want to control what and how the coach does things.  That could be you’re not playing my child enough, I don’t like the strategies you’re using to play the team or you’re not motivating the players.  This happened back when I was on the Board with our soccer coach who was removed by the School Board.  The parents just were not happy until the coach was removed.  This coach then went on to be a very successful coach at the college level and still coaches to this day.
                This kind of behavior by parents starts much earlier than high school though.  It shows up at soccer games or whatever sport you pick when the kids are in middle school or even earlier.  The intensity of criticism by some of these parents is disgusting.  The intensity with which they criticize unpaid coaches, young referees, and even parents doing the sideline flagging is unacceptable.  More than once while I was parent asked to do the sideline flagging for a soccer game,  I was criticized on the direction I had picked to inbound the ball.  I turned to the parent and said “here, you do it, since I obviously don’t know how to do”.  They immediately declined to accept the responsibility to control what they had seen as wrong.  How many of our young referees and unpaid coaches  quit because of parents like this?  Why is such poor sportsmanship acceptable. It’s because we let it happen as other parents who aren’t anywhere as intense as the aggressive parent, yet are not willing to say no them. Just go to a basketball or football game and listen to the comments of some of the parents.
                At the high school level, it’s even worse because some these parents think their kids scholarship chances are being impacted by the actions of a coach.  Few of our high school athletes have ever received Division I college scholarships and then they’re going to a college that might not fit their academic interests.
                Sports are a great thing that you should enjoy, work hard at, be competitive at, be a good sport at and realize that for over 99% of us will never pay the bills.  Academics are what will bring home the bacon. Mom and Dad won’t be there when you get a bad manager at your job that you just don’t like or will they? If you truly love the sport, suck it up, adapt, play hard, and show what you’re made of.
                If these current parents have such a valid argument, they should be willing to present it to the public.  My guess is that it will never happen. Thank you.

 

             It’s amazing to me how fast republicans are trying to become fiscal conservatives after having spent recklessly for years.  The republicans won the presidency and congress in 2000 and started a spending spree unprecedented in modern times.  President Bush and the republicans added over 4 Trillion to the national debt and now we have republicans who are concerned about giving our children more debt. George Bush never used his veto pen once from 2000- 2006 when republicans were in control of the house and senate.  They added a prescription drug plan that was to cost $400 billion over 10 years became $600 billion over 10 years or $2.4 trillion over 40 years and they never paid for it.  Not only that, but the number of earmarks exploded under President Bush and the republican congress, 2000- 2006.  In 1999 there were less than 3,000 earmarks but it exploded to almost 14,000 in 2005 under President Bush and the republicans.  Please go to Senator DeMint's web site for a nice chart on earmarks.  At the state level we had spend it all Tommy, $600 million for a stadium we didn’t need passed in the middle of the night. Then just before he left office a $5 billion pension bill passed in three days with not actuarial study done that we will be paying for decades to come.

Now when we have the worst yearly job loss since world war two, we have a huge number of foreclosures, and 401ks being hammered, the republicans are trying to portray themselves as fiscal conservatives.  If they were like Senator DeMint from South Carolina, I could believe it but they’re not.  We need a stimulus package and I’m sure it won’t be perfect but we need to try it.  When I see many governors from both parties asking for a package, it says a lot.  Remember Obama has only been in office for not even a month and President Bush pretty much got his way for the 1^st six years of his administration.  We have lost a lot of credibility around the world due to this financial crisis and the war in Iraq.  It’s time to move in a different direction. Thanks.

       Having visited Salt Lake City, Utah again recently, other than being a very conservative state it is interesting  that mass transit is very alive and well in Salt Lake City.  They actually have light rail that runs the valley and the buses feed off of the rail.  It’s fast, clean, runs often, is convenient and is well used.  I’ve listened to Scott Walker talk about how he would like to have another lane on I-94 from Milwaukee to Chicago but is against talking about mass transit options.  When I’ve been on that stretch of I-94 traffic has never been backed up much less slowed down.  If any section of I-94 needs an additional lane, it’s between Milwaukee and Madison.  There are many more backups on that stretch than the other one.  For someone who is so against any type of tax increase, how does he think we will fund such a huge road project.  He doesn’t seem to want to even discuss the issue of light rail or mass transit.  We need to get a discussion going of how some type of system could be implemented, with the costs, and pros and cons of each option whether he wants to be involved or not.  Every major city needs a good mass transit system.  We need to also talk about the long term cost of all of the road building in our state.  The long term maintenance costs are always overlooked when people talk about roads.  I feel we should building very few new miles of roads but spending significant money on maintaining what we have.  We should also consider whether tolls are an option for funding some of our road construction costs.  Thank you.
 

           It’s time for Wisconsin to enact a statewide smoke-free restaurant law.  After visiting Utah again recently and enjoying smoke free dinners it’s amazing we are still haven’t even come close to getting it passed in Wisconsin.  There are approximately 20% of the adults who still smoke yet are allowed to affect the health of the rest of us with their smoke.  I hope that the legislature finally gets going on implementing a smoking ban so that we can enjoy our restaurant dinners smoke free.  Do the 20% of people who smoke have rights?  You bet, but so do the 80% who don’t.  People will continue to go to restaurants after it is enacted.  In fact, many would probably consider going out more.  Thank you.

         I would like to apologize for not keeping up with blogging after initially starting.  I’m looking forward to being more active otherwise I will discontinue it.  For today’s topic I’d like to discuss the real estate quagmire that we find ourselves in.  That would be the sub-prime but also two other kinds of mortgages that are yet to hit the fan.  They would be Alt-a and option ARMs.  Option ARMs were a product that had really low teaser rates.  These rates are set to reset to higher rates over the next couple of years and the number of foreclosures that will occur is anticipated to be very high.  My problem with the sub-prime but also these new problems is not that it is a surprise because it should not have been.  Having dealt with purchasing real estate only couple of times in my life has been more  than enough!  I was told that I could use 30% of my gross pay over 20 years ago to fund a mortgage.  I looked at the real estate people and said no way!  It is one of the most tax advantaged investments in the country. Not only do you get to write off your mortgage interest, your home equity interest, and don’t have to pay taxes on up to $500,000 of one time gain on a personal residence.  How many times have you been told that real estate always goes up?  Of course lending standards were relaxed even more.  There are shows on cable, flip that house, etc.  It reminded me of the technology boom in the late 1990’s and the early 2000’s that went bust but much broader.  

          My problem with how this problem is being described is that it was created just on Wall Street. They were part of the problem for sure but if we didn’t have people pushing real estate to people who couldn’t afford it. people walking away from contracts they signed, or people getting mortgages they never should have, or banks lending for people and properties that they never should have in and appraisers agreeing with most of the valuations.  I don’t like providing a bailout for our banks anymore than anyone else.  We just don’t seem to learn anything from our past mistakes like the Saving and Loan bailout in the late 1980’s.  We have the same states, California, Nevada, Florida with overvalued real estate and then we have very high default rates.  It easy to just point your finger at Wall Street instead of looking at the broader issue.  Thank you.

        Thanks to everyone who took the time to vote no matter who your choice was!   Here we are over 5 years after the war in Iraq started with no end in sight and our troops are getting worn out, and there isn't a shared sacrifice in this war.  We're not paying for the war which has already cost over $500 billion, most of us aren't paying much attention to the war, and our troops are literally being worn out.  I feel we should be paying for the Iraq war now instead of putting on the national debt.  I would suggest to add a tax to specifically pay for it and to take care of our seriously wounded troops.   Please make sure to remember November 11th, Veterans Day!   

         As I watch the nightly news each night and fast forward through all of those prescription drug ads,  I can only wonder how much time is wasted by patients asking their doctors about a drug which they saw a commercial which they feel would solve their health concern.  I think all prescription drug ads on tv should be banned like they used to be.  At least the political ads have ended but the drug ads just keep on going and going.  All of us need to take better care of ourselves doing the simple things our doctors ask us to do, eating right and exercise.  That doesn't solve all of our health problems but it would go a long way in reducing health costs.  I will get into that in the future.

        When I was in line to vote a friend of mine made a comment about the plasma tvs at the high school.  It is interesting to talk about flat screens tvs three years later and guess what?   Best Buy only sells flat screens today.  So as we look to get more tvs at the high school in the future, please give me your thoughts of where we should get tvs and what type we should get.  If they're not flat screens, could you please suggest where they could be purchased. Remember, I'm not on the School Board anymore.   Also please don't bother the high school or district office as I'm just trying to get opinions.  Thank you.

         Finally as we head into the holidays, please consider helping the Christmas Clearing Council which assists families in our area in need during the Christmas holiday.  You can call (262) 549-6635 or go to http://www.christmasclearingcouncil.org/   to find a way to help.  It great way to bring a smile to someone!

 

     Senator Lazich had an entry in her blog last week that school spending has continued to increase even though enrollment has declined over that time.  What she fails to mention is that the state requires that school districts to offer at least 3.8% salary and benefit increase to teachers each year.  When you lose just a few students each year, it takes quite a while before you have dropped enough in enrollment enough to layoff a teacher.  Another item left out is the number of school referendums that have passed that have increased school costs.  These were put to the voters and approved by the voters.  Many times they are referendums to improve facilities that haven't had a major remodel in 30-40 years just like we did to the high school in Muskego.  The costs of maintaining the buildings have gone up also.  We just spent over $1 million for new roofs in the Muskego-Norway because we had deferred maintenance.  In the latest busing contract we we able to get a 2.5% annual increase for three years but there are always escalator clauses for the increased fuel costs like we've just experienced.  Again you can't drop a  bus route just because you've got 30 less kids across 4-5 schools. 
    Recently you've all noticed the price of oil going from $70 to $140 and back down again.  My thought is that it may last for a few months or more but if you look at the long term trend the price will be going up.  I'm personally very interested in the plan that T. Boone.Pickens is talking about at http://www.pickensplan.com/index.php   to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce the amount of money we are putting in the pockets of people who hate us. It a serious security issue from my perspective and something each of us can help change.
       I hope you've had a great weekend and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather.  I did as I watched the Muskego boys and girls cross country teams both win their sectional meet.  Now it's on to the state meet in Wisconsin Rapids next Saturday.  Good luck to everyone and enjoy the moment!
 

Being this is my first blog, I would like to talk about school issues first, something I have had a passion about for some time having served on the school board for 12 years.  The school district has an offer to purchase 57 acres of land from the Colette Schweitzer Trust.   This parcel of land is near Tudor Oaks retirement community on the east side of Muskego.  Please consider coming to the School District annual meeting on Oct. 27 at Lake Denoon middle school to approve this purchase.  This is a very important and required part of the of land acquisition for the school district.  It is important to acquire this parcel for the long term needs of the district.  Next on my priority list is drunk driving.  This is not because I'm someone who doesn't drink.  I enjoy having a beer, a mixed drink, or a glass of wine as much as anyone.  It is all about not getting behind the wheel  after we've had too much.  The interesting thing is that the Milwaukee Journal is running a series of articles about excessive drinking in our state.  Please take the time to read them.  The event that really brought it back to my attention was the Mark Benson crash where he killed Jennifer Bukosky, her unborn child,  and her 12 year old daughter, Courtney.  While in this case, he is accused of being high on prescription drugs, I personally don't see a difference between that and driving drunk.  We are way too lenient in our state with alcohol and especially drunk driving.  We need to talk to our district attorneys on how and what we can do to take these dangerous people off of our roads. Finally I would like to congratulate the Muskego-Norway cross country boys and girls JV and Varsity teams who all won their conference meet at Burlington this last weekend.  Next weekend the varsity teams will be at the WIAA sectional at UW-Parkside to compete for an opportunity to run at the State meet at Wisconsin Rapids November 1st.  Take time to enjoy the beautiful fall colors and have a great week!.