Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Providence plans to pink slip all teachers | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Providence plans to pink slip all teachers | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal


I wonder how this will play out in light of what is going on in Wisconsin. Will Union workers see this as Union busting? Based on the article the move is required to notify any teacher that may or may not be employed next year by March 1st. Should be interesting to see this one plays out!

6 comments:

  1. Viper,
    What positive outcome do you think is going to come from this assault on the education system, specifically the unions? I would agree in many cases that the teachers unions have over-reached in their demands and need to be reined in, but removing citizens rights seems contrary to the beliefs you advocate so often.

    I'll ask again, how is it that you can reconcile your anti-big government stance with this use of the government through legislation to curtail a portion of the citizens of a states rights?

    If the state decided to curtail the rights of financial advisors in order to balance it's budget, would you support that infringement of your rights?

    I've noted several times that you seem to be a believer in things as long as they meet the NIMBY requirement. (Not in my back yard)

    So, how do you reconcile these opposing stances in your political beliefs? I'm really curious about this, because you consistently say you are anti-big government. But that only seems to hold true for things that affect you, such as healthcare. But when it's someone else that the big government is assailing the rights of, you seem quite often to support it, with one evident exception - marital rights for gays. (which I applaud you for)

    So again, how do you reconcile these clearly contradictory stances on issues that seem so clearly correlative?

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  2. Truman - Why do you see the actions by this Governor and the Governor of Wisconsin as being big government?

    The Teachers in this case, per their collective bargaining agreement, need to be notified by March 1st if they may or may not be employed for the next school system. These teacher and other government public union workers are all employed by the state so I am not sure where your question of "If the state decided to curtail the rights of financial advisors in order to balance it's budget, would you support that infringement of your rights?"

    The financial segment of our free market is the one of the most regulated out there. Unfortunately, too many people have allowed greed and the notion of a quick buck to override integrity, honesty and their fiduciary responsibility to service their clients.

    I don't see a Governor trying to bust the public union or firing teachers as being big government as I stated above they are willingly employed by the state. We all waive many of our rights when employed by another.

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  3. "We all waive many of our rights when employed by another."

    WHAT?!?

    The only person that can take your rights from you is YOU. The fact that you think you give up rights to work for another person gives me pause as to your understanding of what your constitutional rights are and what they mean.

    Your rights are yours alone. No one can take them away. Only you can sacrifice them. And you never do so for a job. What you do accept is that if you exercise certain rights in a way your employer disagrees with, such as freedom of speech, you may lose your job.

    But you never lose those rights.

    "Why do you see the actions by this Governor and the Governor of Wisconsin as being big government?"

    Below are 5 concepts that the Tea Party seems to consider actions of "big government".

    Excessive regulation
    Excessive taxation
    Excessive intrusion in citizens lives
    Extra-Constitutional Activities
    Infringement on citizen's liberties

    Given that I can make the case that the Governor's actions break 4 of those concepts, the question isn't really how I can say the actions are "big government".

    The question is, how can you say they aren't?

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  4. Truman - We all waive certain rights when we step into the work realm. Can you surf the internet at will? Can your employer track your email, internet and other usage of company equipment?

    Are you saying that collective bargaining agreements never change?

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  5. I keep forgetting that the union workers don't ever have the "right" to collective bargaining, but the wealthy in this country have all the "right" to low taxes.

    Makes me sick.

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  6. Anonymous - I don't not recall where it has ever been stated on the blogsite that the wealthy are entitled or have the right to low taxes. And yes, there is no right to collective bargaining.

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