Tonight was gold mine of liberalthink in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's letters to the editor section.
First we begin with this gem:
PAID SICK DAYS
Law would have provided protection
School has begun for most Milwaukee students. This means flu season is just around the corner. It's the time of year many parents begin to worry about the impossible decision they must make if their child gets sick or is forced to be around other children who are sick.
Why? A lot of parents don't have paid sick days that will allow us to stay home and care for children until they are well. Parents are in a position to choose between staying home with their children or sending them to school so they can work. This not only places kids at risk of struggling in the classroom, but also of getting sicker and possibly spreading the cold or flu. It's a losing battle for the parents and the community.
If Milwaukee's paid sick days law wouldn't have been stolen by Gov. Scott Walker, working parents could easily keep sick children home and have the job protection needed to keep our children, schools and communities as healthy as possible.
As a working parent, I have more than enough to worry about during this season without worrying about losing pay and possibly losing a very much-needed job. It's time for elected officials to make paid sick days a priority in Wisconsin.
Torrie Moffett
Milwaukee
Torrie, Torrie, Torrie. I'm sure that nobody is denying you sick days. I'm sure your boss would gladly let you take unpaid days of absence to tend to your sick children. What's that? You can't afford to take unpaid days? Well, we can fix that, too. You can have your paid sick days.
There's one little problem, though, and that's called economics. If your employer is going to give you paid days off, your pay and the pay of everyone else in the company will have to be reduced to compensate for those days. There isn't a free lunch, really, or in this case a free flu.
Here's a radical idea to think about the next time you consider having a child: can you afford to have that child? Do you make enough money to have the child? Can you afford to take days off to tend to the child if necessary? Radical stuff, I know, but it's been thought of before.
ECONOMY
Middle class needed to grow economy
I'm not an economist, but I do have a brain and am capable of rational thought, and this one is, frankly, a no-brainer.
The main reason the United States' economy and employment are in the tank, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, is the fact that the buying power of the American middle class continues to shrink. The spending of the middle class is the engine that drives our economy - always has been. As the buying power of the average American has shrunk, so has U.S. economic growth.
As the income gap between the average American and the wealthy widens, so, too, does the economic malaise. Cutting taxes for the wealthy does not create jobs, but cutting taxes for the middle class does.
The only way to fix America's economy is to reverse this growing income inequality. How is this accomplished? Through strong labor unions that work for decent-paying jobs and improvements in education so people qualify for higher paying jobs.
What is the Republican agenda (especially in Wisconsin) based on? Busting unions, cutting funding for education and cutting taxes for the rich. Duh!
So if you think the right wing is going to improve America's economy, don't hold your breath. On second thought, go right ahead.
Todd Firer
Waukesha
Mr. Firer, you should have ended your letter after the clause, "I'm not an economist". The rest of the letter only hammered home that fact. Remember the old adage, "better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt".
As for having a brain, I'm sure your motor cortex is operational, as you apparently typed a letter. Have you had a scan to check your cerebral cortex? It may well be that this letter is indeed a "no-brainer".
