Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Our allegedly Republican senator continues to blow it.



Sen. Ann “Gas Tax” Rivers, who continues to refuse to explain her bizarre vote where she promised to oppose the gas tax and tab fee increases to get elected only to betray this district when the time came continues to put the letter “C” in the word “clueless.”

It is now 75 days since I emailed her to ask her to clarify her statement that had she voted “no” on the gas tax, we would have been forced to pay $7 billion instead of the $700 million her betrayal has cost us… with zero response.

In today's above the fold article (Seriously?  This had to be above the fold?) Rivers expounds on education among other things.  She tells us that a bill passed this past session was a “path toward solving McCleary.”

The 8000 pound gorilla in the room, of course, is that McCleary does not HAVE to be solved.

The Supreme Court has zero power over the legislature, save that which the legislature is handing over to them. 

There’s nothing the Court can do to force the legislature to legislate on this or any other issue, any more than the Legislature can force the Court to rule on any issue that comes in front of them.

The Court knows that.  The Legislature knows that.  *I* know that.

Ultimately, the sole arbiter of the legislature’s efforts to fund education is the people of this state.

And no arbitrary decision, arbitrarily arrived at, by 9 Puget Sound leftists sitting on a court can change that.

Then, the nonsense about teacher pay.

Rivers strangely tells us, “What we’ve found in our research it that, if you’re in Everett, it’s fabulous to be a teacher.  If you’re in Battle Ground, maybe not so much,” she said.  “If I teach in Battle Ground and I make $57,000 per year, but this guy who has the same amount of education and experience is making $105,000, how fair is that?”

Why, it’s TOTALLY “fair,” Senator.  I’m glad you asked.

You see, no one forces anyone to teach in Battle Ground.  No one forces anyone to be a police officer, a fireman, change tires, pump gas, build houses, fix cars, cook, do wiring or anything else in Battle Ground.

Teachers, presumably, knew what the job paid here before they took it.

If they don’t like the pay here, they can go somewhere else.  In that regard, the current system is perfectly fair, and the way to resolve it, if it must be resolved, is to reduce the obviously outrageously high pay of the teacher in Everett making this usurious amount for what they do, and not to jack up the pay of those who make less down here where the cost of living is completely different.

Bernie Sanders would be proud of this crap.

Sen. Rivers needs to remember that being a teacher is one of those strange and wonderful jobs that no one is required to do.  And if you agree to do the job for less money… why is it on us to pay you more?

I also get that Rivers wants us to believe she’s a Republican.  But her gas tax betrayal killed that, and acting like the WEA lobbyist isn’t helping it any.

Remember who you are supposed to represent.  And it isn’t the teachers unions.

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