To the Editor,
Re: Student needs economics lesson, Letters, March 12.
I think the writer might be the one in need of a lesson in Economics 101.
His letter comes at an interesting time. In Wisconsin, and across the planet, the impact of “austerity measures” and “budget cuts” has been targeted at supposed “fatcat professors” and “greedy unions”, not to mention those “freeloading” students.
In spite of such buzzwords, economics can also be about choice. In fact, there are many economic theories to choose from.
Randy O’Donnell seem to be a reader of Adam Smith; let the invisible hand of the market take care of it. One of the problems with this is that it is the market that got us into a financial crisis in the first place, not teachers’ wages and student loans.
Much like Gov. Walker in Madison, he would have us believe that it is the non-tenure, part-time/casual, $8/hr wage earner, dental-benefits-having, types of people that deserve to pay for the priorities of government’s corporate friends.
In his letter, he states that, “We the taxpayers” are not an endless source of revenue. Who does he claim to speak for?
Those tax dollars belong to all of us, not just to O’Donnell and other believers in Smith’s teachings. The government has underfunded education for years. Rhetoric and the false narrative of “austerity” are part of a dangerous series of events unfolding around the world – those being made to sacrifice the most are among those with the least.
I trust O’Donnell will brushup on his reading in other classes, Education Funding 101 and Corporate Tax Cuts 101. These are some other opportunities to learn about how economic theories are involved in the decisions made by governments and the people who elect them.
Some classmates have already taken these classes.They want the government to choose an economic policy that puts quality, accessible, affordable education at the top of its priority list.
Kelly Black
Nanaimo
