Dear Governor Corbett,
You don’t know me and, based on your budget, you probably don’t want to. I’m a teacher. But that’s actually not even the most important facet of who I am. Mostly, I’m a conscientious member of my society that cares about the well-being of my fellow man. That kind of thing is usually important to us little guys.
The opening line of a recent article in the Times-Tribune of Scranton read, “Gale Whispell may go hungry.” A blatant use of pathos if ever there was one – a sympathy-grabber, something to tug at the heart strings. I don’t have to tell you why she may go hungry. Or why kids may not be able to afford college. Or why class sizes will be going up. Or why the quality of a Pennsylvania education is surely about to begin a downward spiral. You know why. You’re making it happen.
I’m sure there are industry hacks, like those Marcellus Shale drillers or mega-corporations, that love your budget. After all, you didn’t bother taxing drillers who make millions off of Pennsylvania’s resources while simultaneously poisoning our land. And, hey, those corporations have to love you for not closing the Delaware Tax Loophole, which would’ve stopped them from avoiding the hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes they should be paying into the state’s coffers. I know your nickname, Tom Corporate, sounds silly and childish, but you’ve certainly earned it.
But for the rest of us, the average people who see government and functions of government (like education, for example) as something helpful and necessary to society, you’ve left us out in the cold.
Boy, you must hate learning. I mean, you cut half of state funding to state and state affiliated universities. Putting kids through college will be pretty hard for the average middle class family, which is already undoubtedly struggling, because, let’s face it, the middle class isn’t what it used to be. Maybe the kids should just skip college and stay home. That would be the fiscally conservative thing to do, right? That’s the kind of society you want.
And that’ll be what you get, too. You increased funding for the corrections and parole and state police. That’s all well and good because aside from cutting funding for universities, you cut a boatload from public school. Bye, bye, all day kindgergarten! I’m sure you read those studies that show programs like All-Day Kingergarten, Head Start, and 3-year old preschool all dramatically reduce the chances that low income kids will grow up to commit crimes. You do read studies and pay attention to facts and such before you make sweeping decisions like budget cuts, right? I figured you did, because prisons will need more money to keep up with all of the uneducated and desperate souls you’ll be leaving on the street. Good call. That’s thinking ahead.
Unions gave us the weekend. You probably know that, too. And you’ve resented them ever since. Why shouldn’t you? The forty-hour work week, family-sustaining wages, and benefits are all pretty inconvenient to corporations who have to worry about shareholders and massive bonuses for failed CEOs. It’s good to be on their side, God knows nobody else is.
It’s pretty smart, too, how you and the Republicans and all of the corporate media the wealthy owns figured out how to avoid scrutiny. Blame the unions! Take one facet of the middle class and turn it against another! Brilliant strategy! Seriously, pat yourselves on the back. Or pay a former teacher minimum wage to do it for you, there certainly will be plenty around after this budget, let me tell you. See, I read this quote from a woman who said she didn’t understand why public workers are worth more than private workers. Here’s where your cleverness comes in. Public workers aren’t worth more than anyone. But neither are rich people. Except nobody’s blaming the corporations that ruined the economy. Instead, it’s the have-littles versus the have-slightly-more-than-the-littles-but-not-nearly-as-much-as-the-upper-class.
Non-union workers, instead of attacking union workers for having more, should ask themselves why they, too, aren’t being paid more, rather than demand that union workers be paid less. Good job sufficiently distracting most Americans for long enough so that they don’t think that way. Otherwise, they would be forming unions themselves and demanding decent wages and getting upset when CEOs get hundreds of millions of dollars for running a company into the ground while they’re getting pink-slips because the government rewards companies who ship jobs overseas.
Now, teachers will get pink-slips, too.
That’s why your plan isn’t just brilliant, it’s super-duper brilliant. With higher class sizes, less teachers, less qualifications needed to become a teacher, inevitably declining standards, and unaffordable tuition, the middle class will shrink because, let’s face it, they will either be too stupid or too poor to do anything about their situations in life. How can a citizen meaningfully participate in a democracy when they’re wondering when their next meal is and wondering why they don’t make enough at Walmart to feed their kids?
So, Governor Corbett, kudos. Sure, you’re no Scott Walker and this isn’t Wisconsin, but you’ve got your own set of draconian, morally bankrupt policies to be proud of.
Meanwhile, there’s me, the Scranton School Board candidate. Somehow, if I win, I’ve got to make sure the children of this city get the tools they need to succeed all while you’re doing everything you can to make sure they don’t. Me, the teacher, the guy that worries about the kids that you’ve declared war on, gets to wonder just how bleak a future students will have in your dystopian vision for Pennsylvania.
At least do me one favor. Wish those of us you’ve left out in the cold a hearty, “Good luck!” We’ll surely need it.
Sincerely,
Tom Borthwick
Scranton School Board Candidate, Teacher, Citizen with a Conscience
Originally posted at NEPArtisan.com