Get Ready for Another Brain Drain? (Milwaukee, Madison: to buy, school districts, to live in)

[ranger17]

well politics aside and speaking for myself, we moved south in 09 for a warm climate only. Yes SC was far less in taxes than WI, but that showed up in other areas. Wasn't happy with some of the politics at the time here, and sure wasn't always happy with how things were ran down there. In fact we often were surprised that for being in the "bible belt" there were a lot of crimes perpetrated by those in public office... those who played for both the red and the blue teams.
And on the flip side, being tired of any issues in the south wasn't the reason we came back up here, it was purely for family. So all i can say is the grass wasn't always greener in the south, it just never was snow covered.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by earthlyfather

Jobs are a structural problem, associated with Wisconsin's economic base. On Walker; what four years, three elections won. Must be a lot of low information voters, eh?

Yes, there are. There are many people anti education, and eschew education. I can't believe the number of people I knew in Madison that had family members tell them that the jobs they were doing, or studying to do, weren't "real work".

If you cut education support and funding for education, you'll have less highly education jobs be created, which pushes the highly educated out of the state (which happened for most I went to school with), and you're left with the leftovers... And what do you get? A nice low information voter base.

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by earthlyfather

Jobs are a structural problem, associated with Wisconsin's economic base. On Walker; what four years, three elections won. Must be a lot of low information voters, eh?

Apparently.

[TRlaura]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

More people moving to Oregon - Jan. 7, 2014
The vitriol of a few Whiners who emotionally hate Scott Walker, and always will, does not refute fact.

They are commonly known as WOD's (Walker Obsession Disorder).
I find them hilarious and actually enjoy reading their daily rants. Everything is gloom and doom. It's gotta suck to wake up to that feeling every morning. Keep it up!!!

[Empidonax]

Originally Posted by TRlaura

They are commonly known as WOD's (Walker Obsession Disorder).
I find them hilarious and actually enjoy reading their daily rants. Everything is gloom and doom. It's gotta suck to wake up to that feeling every morning. Keep it up!!!

That's okay. We make up for it by watching the likes of you squirm in front of Obama, the big bad Muslim socialist. To wit:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/curre...l#post38044738
http://www.city-data.com/forum/polit...l#post35154941
http://www.city-data.com/forum/idaho...l#post35060985

[NomadStephanie]

For the record, I don't look down on technical education, or those who choose "technical" career paths. Believe it or not, I've considered such a path myself, and know many skilled professionals whom I deeply admire for their skills and passion for what they do. Many of these folks are quite intelligent, and could hold, or have already held, their own in a 'non-technical' educational program or milieu.

What I look down on is when people say the ONLY value in going to school is to learn technical skills. My meaning was that if you have a population of people who do not value education other than technical education for the purpose of getting a job; people who have not sought or do not wish their children to seek education beyond developing technical skills; who actively oppose higher education and its values; you have a population that embraces ignorance, which in turn fosters manipulation by the less ignorant.

Some of the smartest people I've known do not have four-year degrees. They are people whose curiosity has led them to educate themselves. But these are not people who oppose formal liberal arts education. These are people who embrace what comes out of the academy as fodder for their own intellectual development, who understand the value of research in a rapidly technologically advancing society.

The people I meet who oppose education--who berate teachers and their unions; who favor stripping a nationally respected research university of this status to turn it into a 'job training institute'; etc.; are people who show little to no intellectual curiosity or capacity for critical thinking. This is why so much of the United States consists of climate denying Biblical literalists who oppose vaccines; who claim that nothing is more important than cutting spending to balance a budget, but would never consider cutting military expense (by far the largest line item in the national budget); who think that dismantling an institution that puts more money into the Wisconsin economy than it takes out is the key to making their state more prosperous; who claim that conservative policies are best for the economy even though a state-by-state analysis shows that on average, "blue states" prosper more than "red states"...

The thing that seems to unite conservatives is hatred focused on "liberals." Look at this thread. Look at Facebook comment feeds. Far more often, people on the "liberal" side of the argument will support their arguments with examples, references, and even statistics, while conservatives resort to ad hominem attacks and appeals to authority or tradition. What I see over and over again with conservatives is people who rush to support overly simplified notions of how things work. You get people who will not only refute arguments without considering them, but will even refute facts if they do not fit in with the belief system they already have. Sure, I, like many liberals, will agree there are "liberal wackos" out there and extremists with whose positions I disagree. But the average liberal looks to facts, evidence, and the scientific method more than the average conservative does. I would be the first to be happy and relieved about the policies of a Republican governor if the evidence I reviewed indicated these policies improve the economy and generate wealth for everyone, rather than just a very elite few.

As for the consideration that Walker is bought by the Kochs and other rich lobbyists and donors who have a vested interest in dismantling labor protections--do you really think this is a "wacko conspiracy theory"?

[thefragile]

Originally Posted by TRlaura

They are commonly known as WOD's (Walker Obsession Disorder).
I find them hilarious and actually enjoy reading their daily rants. Everything is gloom and doom. It's gotta suck to wake up to that feeling every morning. Keep it up!!!

Like the Obama whiners?

[MassVt]

Originally Posted by NomadStephanie

For the record, I don't look down on technical education, or those who choose "technical" career paths. Believe it or not, I've considered such a path myself, and know many skilled professionals whom I deeply admire for their skills and passion for what they do. Many of these folks are quite intelligent, and could hold, or have already held, their own in a 'non-technical' educational program or milieu.

What I look down on is when people say the ONLY value in going to school is to learn technical skills. My meaning was that if you have a population of people who do not value education other than technical education for the purpose of getting a job; people who have not sought or do not wish their children to seek education beyond developing technical skills; who actively oppose higher education and its values; you have a population that embraces ignorance, which in turn fosters manipulation by the less ignorant.

Some of the smartest people I've known do not have four-year degrees. They are people whose curiosity has led them to educate themselves. But these are not people who oppose formal liberal arts education. These are people who embrace what comes out of the academy as fodder for their own intellectual development, who understand the value of research in a rapidly technologically advancing society.

The people I meet who oppose education--who berate teachers and their unions; who favor stripping a nationally respected research university of this status to turn it into a 'job training institute'; etc.; are people who show little to no intellectual curiosity or capacity for critical thinking. This is why so much of the United States consists of climate denying Biblical literalists who oppose vaccines; who claim that nothing is more important than cutting spending to balance a budget, but would never consider cutting military expense (by far the largest line item in the national budget); who think that dismantling an institution that puts more money into the Wisconsin economy than it takes out is the key to making their state more prosperous; who claim that conservative policies are best for the economy even though a state-by-state analysis shows that on average, "blue states" prosper more than "red states"...

The thing that seems to unite conservatives is hatred focused on "liberals." Look at this thread. Look at Facebook comment feeds. Far more often, people on the "liberal" side of the argument will support their arguments with examples, references, and even statistics, while conservatives resort to ad hominem attacks and appeals to authority or tradition. What I see over and over again with conservatives is people who rush to support overly simplified notions of how things work. You get people who will not only refute arguments without considering them, but will even refute facts if they do not fit in with the belief system they already have. Sure, I, like many liberals, will agree there are "liberal wackos" out there and extremists with whose positions I disagree. But the average liberal looks to facts, evidence, and the scientific method more than the average conservative does. I would be the first to be happy and relieved about the policies of a Republican governor if the evidence I reviewed indicated these policies improve the economy and generate wealth for everyone, rather than just a very elite few.

As for the consideration that Walker is bought by the Kochs and other rich lobbyists and donors who have a vested interest in dismantling labor protections--do you really think this is a "wacko conspiracy theory"?

Excellent post--all of it true.

[cheese plate]

Originally Posted by TRlaura

They are commonly known as WOD's (Walker Obsession Disorder).
I find them hilarious and actually enjoy reading their daily rants. Everything is gloom and doom. It's gotta suck to wake up to that feeling every morning. Keep it up!!!

Sounds identical to you during 8 years of Doyle

[MassVt]

I will admit, though, that there are those who spend too much time in academia, often as a way to avoid the "real world". I have met, and read about, people who enroll in more degree programs/classes that will not increase their employability, while putting themselves further and further in debt. You do have to learn when it's time to turn off the spigot..