Republicans leave Wisconsin's Hollowed Out Education Carcass on Roadside.

Scott Walker policy decisions are finally coming home to roost as we predicted. 

Republicans Hate getting a College Education: Republicans are obsessed with defunding state colleges, the supposed hotbed of liberal indoctrination, because every great mind and innovation that made the U.S. the world power it still is today...well, that just wasn't good enough. It's onto job training and tech schools folks.

After 7 years of Scott Walker, the collapse of our state colleges has now begun:

Chancellor Bernie Patterson said UWSP is facing a “perfect storm” caused by declining enrollment, 15 years of state budget cuts, and the state imposed tuition freeze.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point students held a sit-in in front of the chancellor's office on to protest the planned elimination of academic majors in the humanities (like) American studies, art, English, French, German, Spanish, philosophy, political science, history, geography, geoscience, music literature and sociology. The cuts come as the school faces a $4.5 million structural deficit.

Colleges turn into Tech Schools: 

UWSP officials are also planning to add or expand majors in 13 mostly technical fields. Andy Felt, a professor of mathematical sciences, said “an entire swath of majors will not be available."  

Democratic Party candidate for governor Mike McCabe said, "To shrink the mission of a university and to say that it really is just about getting people ready for the workplace is a huge mistake, and what's happening at UW-Stevens Point, I think, is like the canary in a coal mine. It's a sign that there's something toxic.”

Republicans Rep. John Nygren: "Taxpayers don't need to ... contribute to buying down" Tech School Tuition.

The nice thing about public education is that everyone will end up contributing their tax dollars to educate the next generation, paying it forward. That's what makes public education so affordable, it has a large pot of money, from everyone.

Spreading the cost so everyone can afford things like education, state parks and health care is a lesson lost on Republicans. Like their idea of education savings accounts, so families can take their money and spend it anywhere they want. It won't be long before childless taxpayers will be off the hook.

And so it is with Scott Walker's always popular technical schools program. But...

Republicans on the Wisconsin Legislature’s budget committee have rejected Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to freeze tuition at Wisconsin’s technical colleges.

Not even Walker is as brutal as Rep. John Nygren, who thinks it's a valuable lesson in life to be up to your eyes in student loans debt. WPR's Shawn Johnson:

"We believe it’s affordable," Nygren said. "We believe that other taxpayers don’t necessarily need to be continuing to contribute to buy down that cost artificially."

Nygren got his, now it's time to end this generational assistance program that artificially pampers kids tasked with making our future brighter.

Republicans lied about refinancing options for Students loans, ignore UW for Dual Credit Program.

Getting college education shouldn't be this hard.

Like everything else, the Republicans Rube Goldberg political agenda just keeps making things harder to get, with hoops and big government regulations that are meant to discourage people from pursuing their life goals. Like going to college.

Check out a clip from Michael Moore's latest documentary, "Where to Invade Next," that shows us all how easy going to college can be:



Scott Walker, like all Republicans, aren't fans of letting regular Americans get a college education. That's only a good idea when it comes to the elite, our leaders, like Walker's own two college educated sons. Walker's massive cuts to the UW system and accusations of liberal indoctrination have worked wonders with their conspiratorial voters.

And while Minnesota's "Self-Refi" state program gets underway, Walker has no intention of cutting into the banking industries college loan interest bonanza. Should Wisconsin start it's own program? Are you kidding. The "accountant caucus's" know-it-all answer man Rep. Dale Kooyenga even lied about why it was a bad idea:

As for Kooyenga, he told us his "I was speaking to the fact that beginning in 2008 the federal government began purchasing the loans made by private lenders" … (but) the context of the discussion was about students refinancing their loans through the government.

Indeed, that’s why Democrats have been pushing legislation to allow federal refinancing. Backers include Baldwin and Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold. Democrats have pushed legislation to allow the federal government to offer refinancing, so that student borrowers can get lower interest rates. But that legislation has not been adopted, and the federal government does not do refinancing.

Which means Kooyenga’s claim is False.

Scott Walker’s Dual Credit Program excludes UW. Walker’s college assistance plan only applies to tech schools. Dual credit simply means you can get high school and college credits at the same time.

While Walker references research that says dual credit programs save money and make it more likely students will complete college, it only applies to technical colleges. Don't we want UW students to get their money's worth and finish too?

My gut tells me Walker’s is only interested in bumping up his job creation numbers, so technical training is the fastest way to do that. Chippewa Herald: 

Research has shown students who are exposed to college-level experiences while still in high school are more likely to complete college, according to CVTC officials. Walker has proposed an additional $3 million statewide to support dual credit programs, in addition to the $35.4 million of funding for the Wisconsin Fast Forward program, which includes dual credit initiatives. “We’d like to put even more resources into the next state budget so all 434 Wisconsin school districts can start dual credit programs,” Walker said.

Walker also proposed increasing financial aid grants for technical college students.

Walker cut Tech School Funding during Recession and Peak Enrollment. Restored Funding is up now and enrollment is down.

While a few areas of our state are blessed with low unemployment numbers, others aren't so lucky, and fading tech school enrollment is a sign many are just giving up. Wisconsin’s thriving manufacturing climate is now part of a bygone age, replaced by supposed “free market” global trade agreements, offshoring and an expansion of the new low wage service economy.

Who can take Republicans like Scott Walker and Paul Ryan seriously when they talk about lazy low wage people in poverty not trying, while strongly supporting businesses that wouldn't have it any other way; low wage labor dependent on taxpayer funded social safety nets equals high profits. That’s what makes the next wave of safety net cuts so cruel. Ryan’s “everybody can be rich, everybody should be a business owner” delusion is nurtured by an unquestioning media willing to treat bad ideas like real alternatives.

Declining tech school enrollment might be expected after it peaked during the Great Recession (our brainy governor cut tech school funding at the worst time), but it also might be a sign a skeptical public isn't willing to invest in retraining when jobs have become so disposable. The WPR news headline tells that story:

Wisconsin Technical Schools See 2-Year Decline In Enrollment: Drop Comes As Schools Try To Increase Number Of Students In Technical, Vocational Training - Census data shows that enrollment at technical schools around the country declined for the second year in a row.

Conor Smyth, the director of strategic partnerships for the Wisconsin Technical College System, said … over a two-year period starting in 2008 the number of full time students jumped 16 percent. As the economy improved, however, enrollment dropped by 5 percent in 2011 and a little less in 2012.

Admit it, we’re in a Service Economy Now: While Scott Walker echoes his party’s resistance to minimum wage hikes, even floating ideas to get rid of the floor completely, the low wage service sector is now a dominant part of our economy. And demand is down because people don’t have any discretionary cash.

Guess who isn't rushing into low wage service industry jobs? The surprising news out of all of this is that hard working Americans have decided to steer clear of service industry jobs. Serves these bottom feeders right:

Recently, Smyth said he met with businesses in the hospitality and tourism sector and heard similar concerns. “We have employer partners coming to us saying, ‘We need twice the number of graduates.’ In some cases, the colleges simply can't find students who are interested in getting into that program area,” said Smyth.

Here's a Journal Sentinel graph that proves my point. You'll also notice in the map to the right how two GOP targets for cuts, health care and social assistance, are the biggest growth areas. That can't be good: