Visionaries or Living in the Valley of the Blind?

By:  Russ Stilwell

Everywhere you look, you hear that government is not working, that government needs to get out of the way and that government should not dictate to us how we lead our lives.  My oh my, do we ever live in a strange world! 

Let’s look at some of the more noticeable examples right here in our Hoosier state.  It’s a political gold mine for the political junkie unless you are a visionary.

While calling for less government and for government to get out of the way, the Indiana General Assembly is passing laws to insure that the government sneaks into your bedroom, stays out of your gun safe and makes sure local units of government are banned from local decision making. 

They are a busy group as they are also making every effort to dismantle public education, take away local school board decision making and insuring that one day in the not-too-distant future we can boast of being a union-free right-to-work state.  Talk about a race to the bottom for Hoosier working class paychecks.

And then there are the others.  Now, thanks to the Senate, we can carry a concealed weapon into public meetings at the local level (wonder why they left out the state level?).   The House is debating a bill that would raise marriage license fees four-fold, unless you completed a state premarital course.  And if we are lucky, we will have a constitutional right to fish, hunt, and harvest game and who-knows-what-else by the time this session ends. 

Since Indiana law on the ban of gay marriage (1997) hasn’t been challenged or even talked about for years, I’m sure that Hoosiers will be pleased to know that the General Assembly will spend countless hours making sure we add this to our constitution as well.  And for good measure, we’ll just make sure that civil unions and any conveyance or marriage are felonious as well.  Make sure you pull the bedcovers up tight tonight!

Education?  I’ m afraid to even bring it up.  But . . . seems we are headed for lots of change, even change most candidates did not even talk about.  Let’s make sure, as Governor Daniels likes to say, “Kids come first.” 

Let us expand charter schools and take existing money from our already financially strapped public schools.  Oh, and while we’re at it, let’s let public school kids take their state money and enroll in a private school.  I’ll bet our private schools don’t just take the emotionally, physically and mentally disadvantaged challenged.  Wanna bet they want the others? Let the public schools teach ‘those’ kids!  And then we can say we told you so when our public schools erode further.

The list goes on.  In the Senate, cuts for education benefits for disabled veteran’s kids are on the chopping block while another committee is having hearings to cut business taxes by $140 Million. 

And one of my favorites is the continual bragging by our governor that Indiana has the fewest state employee per capita in nation.  And we pay them at the bottom as well.  I wonder if this included FSSA and the ill-fated private for-profit firm that created one of the most colossal erosions of fairness for poor people in the history of our state.  Probably not.

Yep, it’s a fun time if you are a political junkie, but I don’t think that fun will be felt by teachers, construction workers and countless others in our Hoosier State.

How, in only a few short weeks, can the party of less government place government under the sheets, insert it into every decision of local decision makers and tell the fastest growing segment of our population (Hispanic) to hang on while we pass the most invasive immigration bill of all the 50 states?  You can if Visionaries are leading the state.

Got time for my last point?  Sometimes I just can’t help myself.  A quick observation about the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthiest Americans?  Let’s review Obama’s concession to the national Republican leadership to allow these cuts to continue, despite adding $700 billion in debt at a time of record budget deficits.

 It amazes me how 2% of the American people (the wealthiest) can get the rest of the us to believe it is in our best interest to reward them with $700 Billion.

Talk about salesmanship!  Surly, the proponents of this exclusive club of rich Americans must be visionaries too. 

Recently, while watching a 60 Minutes rerun, Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas mega-rich visionary who transformed that city, when asked if he was a visionary said,” a visionary can be a one-eyed man with failing eyesight if he is walking through a valley of the blind.”    It is all in the eye of the beholder.

We need to balance the budget, cut spending and quit bailing out the banks and auto industry.  But it’s ok to give the super rich a continuation of a $700 Billion tax break? 

And right here in Indiana we need to balance the budget, keep government from intruding into our lives and insure that Hoosiers have quality public education.  But it’s ok to send our public tax monies to private schools enact restrictive measures for local government and carry heat anywhere you want.

I must surely live in the valley of the blind.

It's the Economy, Stupid!

It’s the economy, stupid!
Russ Stilwell
"It's the economy, stupid" was a phrase widely used during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign against President George HW Bush.  “I do not believe we can repair the basic fabric of society until people who are willing to work have work.”    ~Bill Clinton

Along with thousands of other Hoosiers I watched Governor Daniels deliver his State of State message just a short couple weeks ago.  I even concluded that he delivered a powerful speech with a specific list of things to do.  I was impressed.  But then I took the time to actually read the speech.  It wasn’t about Jobs and the Economy.

The governor included all the clever references such as how “Hoosiers are waiting tonight for a national economic recovery.”  He eloquently spoke of building one of the best job climates in the country (think he should review the WTHR “Where are the Jobs” investigative reporting every once in a while?).  

He continued, “Breaking the all-time record for new job commitments isn’t enough.  Adding new jobs at twice the national average isn’t enough.   It could not offset the terrible drag of a national economic tide that continues to leave too many boats suck in the muck.”  Seems that “national economy” has singled out our Hoosier state in spite of our state’s Herculean efforts!

And with that he took off and spent the remainder of the evening talking about cutting taxes, his proposed budget and education.  And he quoted that famous Hoosier philosopher who said, “its tainted money. ‘Taint yours, and ‘taint mine.” 

I’ll bet the bankers in our state liked that ‘tainted money’ line when they realized the Gov planned on taking $200 million of their contributions from the insurance trust fund that protects Hoosiers from possible bank meltdowns!

But one should always save the best for last, just like Governor Daniels did in his annual address:    Education Reform. 

Every Hoosier governor has attempted educational reform in every possible fashion since the beginning of time.  Some got it right and some just didn’t get it!  I think Governor Daniels is somewhere in the middle. 

Last week, I asked a normal hard-working small business owner a question about public school reform.   She doesn’t give a hoot about education policy or the sport of political jousting.  The question was simple:  “Why do some kids do well and others seem to fail in our public schools?”

She thought for only a second or two and very expertly explained to me why some kids do well and others poorly.  She noted why most private school kids seem to do very well and why charter schools get high remarks.  All of this from a person who does not give these issues a thought or two throughout the course of a year?

She began, “It isn’t rocket science. Kids that have a stable home life with supportive parents that instill an environment of education and learning will do well in school.  Kids from poorer neighborhoods whose single parent (or parents) work dead-end jobs and don’t find the time to help with homework, or are just to worn out from putting food on the table, will not fare very well.  Education reform begins at home.” 
She gets it better than most of our school experts.  It’s about Jobs and the Economy!

Solid meaningful jobs for Hoosiers should always be our number one priority.  With good jobs come stable homes, supportive parents and better educational achievement for our kids!  But I didn’t hear the governor venture into our dismal state jobs numbers.   And I can’t blame him either.  I wouldn’t want to talk about these figures if they occurred on my watch.

 I didn’t hear him talk about our 300,000 long-term unemployed Hoosiers.  I seemed to miss any mention of our nearly 10% Hoosier unemployment rate that consistently ranks as one of the worst in the nation.  And I missed how he intends to help the nearly 1 in 5 Hoosiers who are unemployed or underemployed.  Think maybe the House majority can fix this when they tidy up the unemployment insurance trust fund with lower benefits?

But I did hear a lot about education reform.  Let’s pass Charter School reform and let scores of new entities start new Charter Schools and continue the drain on our public schools.

Let’s eliminate some of our most challenged teachers because they happen to teach students from public schools that accept students from all walks of life. 

Let’s send our kids to private schools with public money, and let the public schools teach only those who are physically, emotionally and mentally challenged!  A real recipe for success not to mention constitutionally questionable!

Seems the legislators listened.  Just last week they passed enabling legislation that dictated  the start date for local schools cannot begin until after Labor Day regardless of what the local school officials think.  I bet that will really get them test scores up, won’t it?

They held hearings on a massive increase in Charter Schools.   And more change is sure to come. 
At the end of the day in all probability, things won’t change much if the real issues in the 2010 election aren’t addressed.  Clinton got it right.  It’s about Jobs and the Economy.

The quicker someone begins a serious dialogue about Jobs for Hoosiers, the quicker we will have quality education and a better place for all Hoosiers to call home!  After all, it’s the economy, stupid.

"Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em"

Russ Stilwell: “Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em”

By Russ Stilwell

                The opening session of the 2011 General Assembly should not have surprised anyone.  When the House Democrats pulled a never-used rule out of their political playbook that delayed opening day feel- good speeches, it was a classic case of the minority informing the majority (or in this case Pat Bauer sending not so subtle political smoke signals to Speaker Bosma) that we matter, we count and be careful with your agenda or you just might not have one. 

                He could have just as well sung lyrics from classic Kenny Rogers, The Gambler:

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,

Know when to walk away, and know when to run.

You never count your money when you’re sittin‘ at the table.

There will be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

                A long time ago, a prominent State Senator commented about House Democrat Leader B. Patrick Bauer, “Never underestimate Pat Bauer politically or intellectually.”  Wise words from a wise former senator.  No doubt that Governor Daniels gets it.  The bigger question is whether or not the House Republicans get it.

                The governor has been on the receiving end of the good, the bad and the indifferent from the feisty partisan from South Bend throughout his tenure.  That’s one of the reasons the Gov has repeatedly stated that now is not the time to for a contentious Right-to-Work battle.  The state has other issues far more deserving debate.  I hope that Speaker Bosma and his caucus understand as well.

                Some of the most successful politicians in the Hoosier state are familiar with the crosshairs of political weapons – sometime aiming the sights and sometimes being the target.    Bauer and Daniels are experts at this political sport.  Both have a lot of practice with each other.  But the shot initiated last week by Bauer was not directed at the governor; rather it was a shot over the bow to Bosma and the House Republicans.  If they hope to move their weighty agenda, hopefully they took notice. 

                One only has to look at the past to predict the future.  The year was 1995 and the Republicans had captured the Indiana House with fifty-six seats.  They had run on an aggressive agenda of a Contract for Indiana.  They were swept into office with a national wave just short of a tsunami.   Times were good.  Sound familiar?

                Fast forward to 2010.  With a wealth of “capital” support from Daniels, House Republicans ran on a Daniel’s agenda of reform.  They were swept into office with a national wave of relentless tsunami proportion.  Sixty house seats and nearly a score of fresh faces in the freshmen class. 

                In ‘95, they began the move to dismantle organized labor that created the most contentious and massive lobbying the Hoosier capitol had ever experienced!  Twenty five thousand trade unionists converged on the state capital. 

                The only issue talked about or written about was the controversial labor issues.  They had forgotten their agenda and the political reality that a near tsunami propelled them into office.   And they lost their impressive majority the very next election.

                2010?  It was a very popular and motivated Governor with the hurricane-force winds of a tsunami of the century that propelled the House Republicans to victory.  According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the repudiation of Democrats in 2010 put the GOP in control of the most state legislative seats since 1928.  Sounds to me like a national storm of epic proportion, not a recipe to take on all of organized labor in a mid-sized industrial state with a strong union presence. 

                The 2010 win in Indiana ended with a political tsunami with waves that pounded the shores in a relentless torrent.  They just kept coming, beginning at the doors of then Speaker Pelosi and continuing the cascade through the state legislatures all the way to the courthouses.  It was not a call to arms to dismantle labor and pick a fight that will overshadow what the election was really all about.

                The House Democrats know when to pick a fight and when to take their medicine.  They demonstrated this on opening day last week.  Just like Kenny Rogers, they know when to “hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.”   After all, they are in the minority.

                The House Republicans also know when to pick a fight and when to take their medicine.  However, time will tell if they know when to “hold ‘em and when to fold’em.”  I hope they learn lessons from years past.  Maybe they should review this classic song’s other lyrics as well.   

Now Ev’ry gambler know the secret to survivin’

Is knowin’ what to throw away and what to keep

                 “Knowin’ what to throw away and what to keep” just might make the 2011 session a whole lot more productive, albeit a whole lot less interesting.

Russ Stilwell New Blog Site

Welcome to the Russ Stilwell new Blog Site.  This is the initial blog and only a test to insure that the new blog is up and running.  Dated 12-8-2010

A new blog

Hello, welcome to my new page!