Call the point

In another lifetime, I used to referee sparring matches at karate tournaments.

This was before my pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Okinawa in my case), when I came to believe that turning our sacred art into a game was a sacrilege.

Still, one thing I kept from that experience was simple but worth hanging on to: call the point.

At the time, that meant that whatever I thought of the personality, style, instructor or uniform of the fighter I was judging, I needed to watch as objectively as possible and call the point if a legitimate technique hit a legitimate target.

It was a matter of fair play, and one which our world is sorely lacking.

For that reason, I make an effort to "call the point" when people I usually disagree with do the right thing or make a valid point.

So, in that spirit, I want to call a point in favor of (now former) Republican Kentucky governor Matt Bevin, who announced today that he would concede the election to his opponent Andy Beshear.

It goes without saying that I opposed Bevin's attacks on Medicaid and public education and pretty much everything else. But he probably could have dragged out the recount and pulled all kinds of strings to annul the results.,

He didn't. So, not that anyone cares what I think about Kentucky, I award him with an ippon (Japanese for full point).

Another basic rule of fair play I took from those days is this: when your opponent is no longer a threat to you or those you love, it's OK chill out.

Learning from Kentucky

The victory of Andy Beshear over Matt Bevin in the Kentucky governor's race has gotten nationwide attention. For good reasons. There are two key factors that seemed to tip the balance--and two kinds of constituencies that, if united in solidarity, could kick up all kinds of dust.

First, it almost never pays to antagonize public school teachers and support workers, as this Huffington Post item reminds us. I'm proud of the West Virginia education workers who helped inspire their Kentucky colleagues. I still love that picture of someone in Kentucky holding a sign that said, "Don't make us go West Virginia on you."

I hope West Virginia school workers in turn follow their example in showing up and voting next year.

But it wasn't just the teachers in Kentucky that made a difference. The other major factor was Medicaid expansion. Andy Beshear's father Steve expanded the program to low income working adults when he was governor. That decision brought coverage to 400,000 adult Kentuckians.
It also opened up the way to addiction treatment, as I mentioned in this 2017 post, which refers to
a 740 percent increase in substance abuse services since the expansion.

In addition to dissing teachers, Bevin also proposed draconian reporting requirements (disguised as work requirements) that would have cut off health care for tens of thousands of Kentuckians who gained from the expansion and taken millions of dollars out of the states economy.

As this article in The Hill notes, Andy Beshear specifically campaigned on defending the expansion and rescinding Bevin's attack on the program.

I don't think either the teachers and school support workers or the people who wanted to defend Medicaid could have done it alone. I'm not sure how consciously it happened, but together they did.

That kind of bridging solidarity takes some work. I've heard poor peoples' advocates say disparaging things about teachers and vice versa. It can amount to divide and rule from below, a luxury we can't afford now and one that never did us any good.

I think it comes down to this: over the last few decades wealth and power have been concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. We're not just talking about the richest one percent. It's more like the richest one-tenth of a percent.

The majority of the population, therefore, does not greatly benefit by the existing division of wealth and power and thus at least potentially could benefit from and support a more equitable arrangement, whatever differences there are between us.

Imagine what might be possible if we got really good at consciously reaching out in solidarity, joining forces and showing up for each other.

Poll shows strong support for WV teachers

I don't know if WV legislators are paying attention (or if some of them listen to anything but out of state dark money), but a new poll shows solid support for public schools and teachers, up to and including another strike.

Sixty two percent support higher salaries for teachers. That includes 75 percent of self-described liberals, 60 percent of moderates and 57 percent of conservatives.

The most pleasant surprise for me was that 69 percent of those surveyed would support teachers if they went on another strike. And, despite the an aggressive anti-labor drive, teachers and school support workers unions enjoy the support of 55 percent.

This is no surprise, but the poll reveals little support for charter schools, with 40 percent opposing, 25 percent with no opinion, and only 35 percent supporting them.

It's nice to know that even in this toxic political climate, there's still support for workers, their organizations and their right to strike.

Eye on the Ominous Omnibus education "reform" bill

I've been a bit under the weather lately so am behind on blogging the ups and downs of the Ominous Omnibus education "reform" bill in the WV legislature. Here's where I think we are:

SB 451, aka SB 666, passed the Senate 18-16 Feb. 4, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting against. It contained an infinity of charter schools, thousands of "education savings accounts" (ESAs) to siphon money away from public schools, anti-union "paycheck protection" measures, penalties for work stoppages and such. And a 5% raise for state workers. It was clearly an effort to punish teachers and school service workers for winning last year.

In the House education committee, amendments were made that took out some of the worst features, including paycheck, penalties, and ESAs. It limited charter schools to two.

Yesterday there were two public hearings at which teachers and parents vastly outnumbered  the out of state and astroturf bill supporters. I love it that one of the speakers against the bill compared charter schools to bedbugs. Bring two of them home and see how it goes...

THEN, the house finance committee apparently thought it was the REAL education committee and began putting more bad stuff back in the bill. THEN that failed and the earler, somewhat less bad, bill was sent to the floor, where it is now.

My friend and twitter critter Sean O'Leary of the WV Center on Budget and Policy dropped these gems during the process:

"Marathon public hearings, all night committee meetings, all for a bill that nobody but lobbyists want. Meanwhile, PEIA stuck with a band-aid of a one-year fix, with no permanent solution in sight."

and

"Lobbyists for charter schools and ESA's get called up to present to House Finance committee, while teachers and parents opposed get shuffled though a public hearing 70 seconds at a time."

It's still not clear what teachers and school service workers are going to do. I guess it depends on what goes down on the House floor...but we could be looking at an epic rematch. A rally in support of public education is planned for tomorrow at 6:30 on the riverside steps of the capitol.

And just to be clear, many teachers and school service workers are willing to give up a pay raise in order to kill a bill that threatens public education in this state.

Through the WV Looking Glass

As if these times weren't trippy enough, I decided to listen to Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. Although taken as a whole it didn't seem to hang together as tightly as Alice in Wonderland, it does contain some of my favorites from the master of trippiness, including The Jabberwocky, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the walrus and the carpenter and such.

A little trippiness these days may be necessary in order to follow West Virginia politics, from the impeachment hearings about the WV Supreme Court mess to state senate president Mitch Carmichael's bizarre twitter storm accusing WV teachers of supporting an "Obama-styled socialist agenda. "

Among the items on this alleged pinko agenda were universal health care, child care for working parents and debt-free higher education. More than one commentator has pointed out that Carmichael himself was leading the charge on a free community college bill earlier this year.

I'm not sure what Carmichael was thinking since he didn't gain a whole lot of popularity points during the WV teachers' strike--and then had the gumption to claim credit for the pay raise he tried to squelch.

My friend and twitter warrior Sean O'Leary had this to say about that,

"Just woke up from a terrifying nightmare where all West Virginians had health insurance, could go to college without going into debt, and all children had quality childcare while their parents worked."

All told, things are pretty brillig here and the slithy toves are gyring and gimbling in the wabe.

Credit where it's due

It's nice to see West Virginia getting some love in the national media for its historic and victorious teachers' strike.

Here's just a sampling of coverage of the spreading ripples of the WV victory:

NY Times: "Thousands of teachers in Oklahoma and Kentucky walked off the job Monday morning, shutting down school districts as they protested cuts in pay, benefits and school funding in a movement that has spread rapidly since igniting in West Virginia this year."

Washington Post: "The demonstrations were inspired by West Virginia, where teachers walked out for nine days earlier this year and won a 5 percent increase in pay. Teachers in Arizona are now considering a strike over their demands for a 20 percent salary increase."

LA Times: "The fire started in West Virginia..."

NPR: "This wave of teacher-led actions around the country was kicked off when teachers in West Virginia emerged victorious from a nearly two-week strike earlier this month."

I really hope our state started a fire that ignites labor militant labor action all over the country.

It's way past time.

Unveiling Appalachia: #55strong

When teachers, school support workers and public employees rise in West Virginia, they rip away the veil from West Virginia's open secret, which is hidden in plain sight.

(Geek moment: the word "apocalypse" comes from the Greek meaning to  unveil, uncover or reveal, which is why the last book of the New Testament in English is called Revelations. So we could actually call this an Appalachian apocalypse even if the moon doesn't turn to blood.)

That open secret  WV workers are revealing is that behind the squalor of our public institutions and poverty is the fact that for over 100 years the wealth of our state has been drained away by outside extractive industries which left a lot of wreckage in their way. And it's still happening.

This is an old secret but it's still new. As far back as 1884, the Tax Commission appointed by the WV state legislature warned of the dangers ahead if state leaders didn't act to protect the interests of the people who actually live here.

The Commission argued that economic activity alone was not a measure of prosperity or progress unless the wealth generated remained in the state and benefited its residents. It warned that extractive industries owned by outside interests would, in the end, leave West Virginia “despoiled of her wealth and her resident population poor, helpless, and despondent.”

The report’s conclusion is worth quoting in full:

“The wealth of this State is immense; the development of this wealth will earn vast private fortunes far beyond the dreams even of a modem Croesus; the question is, whether this vast wealth shall belong to persons who live here and who are permanently identified with the future of West Virginia, or whether it shall pass into the hands of persons who do not live here and who care nothing for our State except to pocket the treasures which lie buried in our hills?

If the people of West Virginia can be roused to an appreciation of the situation we ourselves will gather this harvest now ripe on the lands inherited from our ancestors; on the other hand, if the people are not roused to an understanding of the situation in less than ten years this vast wealth will have passed from our present population into the hands of non-residents, and West Virginia will be almost like Ireland and her history will be like that of Poland.”

Alas, this warning went unheeded. But this struggle has once again awakened thousands of West Virginians to the need to ensure that our natural wealth contributes to the lasting well being of all West Virginians.

For starters, this means increasing severance taxes and eventually creating a functioning Future Fund to create a lasting source of wealth. That  could help prop up PEIA and deal with many of our other problems.  That struggle won't be won right away, but at least many more people are aware of what needs to happen.

Speaking of apocalypse, if we actually did that it really would be the end of the world as we know it.

Talking points for WV teachers and public employees

When it comes to a decent income and benefits, you may hear a lot of “We can’t afford it.” The question is “We who?” Here are some talking points:

1. Since 2007, WV has cut state taxes by over $400 million per year. “We” could have done any number of things with that, including treating working people right;

2. Over $200 million of those cuts went to business through eliminating the business franchise tax and reducing the corporate net income tax. That was more than enough to pay for debt free two and four-year college for every student at state institutions.

3. Those business tax cuts were supposed to create jobs. They didn’t. We have fewer private sector jobs in WV now than we did 10 years ago.

4. Those business tax cuts were supposed to “pay for themselves.” They didn’t. They never have.
5. What works, on the other hand, is having an educated workforce and a decent quality of life to attract and keep people here.

6. You may hear that “We have to live within our means.” Here’s the deal: our “means” aren’t caused by fate. Unlike a teacher or public employee, the state legislature decides how much income it gets.

7. State legislators get to decide to reduce income (tax cuts) or increase income (things like increasing the severance tax, rolling back some unproductive corporate tax cuts, a modest sales tax on sugary drinks, etc. West Virginia could be a failed state or one that invests in its people.

8. Incredibly, the legislature is pondering yet more unproductive tax cuts, including the business machinery tax on certain industries (mostly based out of state) and massive giveaways to the gas industry.

9. The legislature is even moving to cut SNAP food assistance for low income people, which includes many public employees. Even worse things are rolling down from the federal level.

10. Teachers and public employees in recent weeks have made a lot of progress in pressuring politicians to do the right thing and in gaining public support. This is no time to slow down or stop. It’s pretty much now or never.

Last word goes to escaped slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass: “Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them.”