In other news

I was listening to the news this morning, a story about American competitiveness and our vaunted ingenuity. The subject was 'the next big thing'. What device or system could we produce that would sell world wide and cement our reputation as the technological leader?

I don't remember who was being interviewed, but he said two things that got my attention. First, he said that American corporations are taxed at to high a rate. OK, that's pretty much dogma from any corporate spokesman. Even if we handed them gobs of money (and we do!) they'd kvetch about their excessive taxes.

Then it got interesting. He said that American corporations could be more competitive in global markets, except that they have difficulty finding suitably trained technical workers.

Do you see the connection? He complains that his taxes are too high, and in the next breath says he can't find educated workers. Excuse me? Doesn't paying those 'excessive' tax rates help to pay for schools, schools that presumably turn out a better educated, better trained workforce? It's in his company's best interest to support the schools that eventually supply his workers.

We're seeing this writ large in Wisconsin, where the governor and the majority party want to slash education spending while claiming that by doing so they'll produce more jobs. More jobs for whom? They're setting up conditions for an education and employment death spiral, as ill-prepared students enter the workforce and good jobs leave the state as employers look for better workers elsewhere. Even worse, those employers who remain will have to re-train workers, adding to their expenses. No doubt the blame will be placed on the public schools and the public school teachers, justifying yet more cuts to a 'dysfunctional' education system.