We have become a bargain basement, discount society. I can remember back in the 1960's when the first "discount" store opened in my town. I believe it was called "Gibson's Discount", and they had lots of common things a few cents cheaper than our established local stores did. Soon we saw K-Mart's with their "blue light specials", along with the first Walmart's in the smaller rural towns, and then in the big cities, too. Today even the most exclusive retailers have non-stop sales.
Today everyone is looking for a deal on EVERYTHING. In recent years that mindset has moved into politics, too. Whichever candidate promises to spend the least, and cut taxes the most, wins! And by looking at the most recent red state/blue state map, Republicans are comfortably on top. But there are now unintended consequences to our cheapskatedness (take note Webster...new word) that we simply can't conveniently overlook any longer.
Today America's newest, most affluent cities and school districts still have shiny new schools and well paid teachers, but everyone else, not so much. Teachers in Kentucky and Oklahoma, and I believe Arizona and West Virginia, too, are on the verge of walking out. I heard an OK teacher today on the news say she has to work a second and third job after school, and she's taken in a roommate to cut personal expenses, just to survive.
Without PTA bake sales and carnivals and other fund raisers to help out, teachers would have absurdly few classroom supplies to work with. Recently my daughter, an elementary school teacher in an affluent Dallas suburban district, had to resort to appealing for help on a school fundraising internet site in order to get books for her small classroom library. REALLY?
If I haven't already lit your fuse, maybe this will: Most of this tax cutting fervor is thanks to Republicans. They want to cut taxes at all costs, damn the consequences. Then they look surprised when they try and recruit new high tech businesses to locate there and are told, "Sorry, but your educational system isn't producing students with the skills we need."
These cheapskate, tax cut Republicans MUST GO! The conundrum, however, is that I doubt Democrats have the cojones to do any better. Oh, they could, but they won't stand up to the bargain basement, discount citizen/voters we've become, either.
"I've got mine, F__K YOU!"
It looks like we're getting exactly what we deserve.
S
