Working cheaper, not smart

Gov. Walker ran on a platform of cutting waste. That's a good thing. Sorta.  Except when you cut things just to cut things.

The current way Wisconsin is run is that you tighten things up regardless of what harm is done. They have screwed up how agencies order things.  For greater control. However, if you have dedicate, comptetent people, you do not have to worry about waste. Yes there are bad apples in every organization, but I doubt you really stop them.

Who you stop is those that want to make progress in their goals. Again, some oversight is good because it makes people answer questions- there are checks and balances.

More importantly though, too much power just makes the people in charge corrupt.  i suspect that the extra control is to give contracts to friends. 

Meanwhile those not in politics but work for the government, have their times wasted by the extra bureaucracy that has been in place to replace bureaucracy.

Sorry short-sighted dimwits, it takes money to do things.  You may as well use enough to accomplish things instead of cutting costs and achieving nothing.

Choose kindness

The End of Poverty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the poor and needy. Provide assistance and take care of people or tough love- let them suffer so that they grow into a person that does not need help   I do not believe either works.  As a principal I believe people that suffer but grow are in the end, happier. However, we want what works best, do we not.

It does not work.  Conservatives see all we do and think that we give to much to the poor. The important view here, though is how the people needing assistance see it.  I don’t believe they see it as a big gift.  I don’t think other people in the same position would either. For example, an African American on welfare see what?  They see the racism in the police force and in other places. They see that they are kept down.  No matter what color a poor person is, they will feel kept down and persecuted.  Anyone in that situation would.  Whether or not it a fact, it is human nature.

It does not matter how you view it

However, the truth vs. perception argument is not what I want to address.  I just believe that they think they are already in a tough love environment. Without the love.

On the other hand, we have had welfare programs since Roosevelt. They have not cured the problems with poverty. I think this is because poverty is just so complicated.  

So what to do?

I relate this to my working with special education students.  Years ago, I dealt with kids in a strict way. We had rules and they needed to be followed and there was consequences.  We are the adult so we will win.

Over the years, this has fallen to the wayside. The pendulum has swung as we say in education. I have a much more positive environment with less consequences. I see students succeed with this.  I saw them improve with the tough love. In fact the kids often were thankful that someone was willing to stand up to them and say, enough. I care enough to give consequences.

However, The strict way did not lead to an intrinsic change.  I think the resentment came out in other ways.  And for some children, it did not work

The encouraging way has about the same success.  However, it works longer term.  INstead of weakening problems, it increases strength. It is certainly easier on everyone. It models how to get along and exist with less strife

Perhaps the success rate is the same.  However, as a nation, how do we want to be?  We want to nurture.  Even those saying tough love, would change their attitude if they had to see people suffer when the could stop it.

Random Bits

Movement within a roundabout in a country where traffic drives on the left. Note the clockwise circulation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I agree with the conservatives.  Let’s go back to the fifties. Where companies paid a enough for one income to support a family.  Your boss had a nicer house, but not his own island.

Unless you’ve offered a welfare person a job with benefits, you can’t judge them for living off the system.


There will be a new regime in religion.  Just as the jewish faith had corruption and people go away fromt he values and jesus came in to renew people and advance people to a better way, there will be a new religion.  There were the moneychangers and the priests that kept people in line and they stayed above common people, there will be a CHANGE.  tHE PEOPle that use bible to judge and condemn and allow themselves to make new wealth at the expense of the poor will be turned out and a finger will be pointed at them.. perhaps it will be a new messiah that metaphorically overturns their tables.



Health care may be like roundabouts.  Anyone will tell you that they seemed like they would not work, cause havoc, and be downright dangerous.  We suspected that we were trying to copy something from some hippie country like France or California that was not going to work for us. Yet, now that there are here, we have found that they work.  They reorganized how we did intersections for the better.  Of course, like roundabouts, stupid people may put the rest of in danger.