Tue
Jan 31 2012
11:59 am
Haslam: Believe in Better
By: R. Neal

Tom Humphrey reports on Gov. Haslam's State of the State:

"We can believe in better for how state government serves Tennesseans. We can believe in better when it comes to the education of our children and we can believe in better when we talk about a stronger, healthier economy for our state."

Apparently we believe it's better to eliminate 1,166 state workers, raise tuition, allocate only 12.5% of the requested funding for college and university construction projects, and close the Lakeshore Mental Health Institute and the Taft Youth Center.

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Andy Axel's picture

"Believe in better." You can

Submitted by Andy Axel on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 12:49pm.

"Believe in better." You can believe in the Tooth Fairy too.

We can demand better.

michael kaplan's picture

it's not an uncommon slogan.

Submitted by michael kaplan on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 3:22pm.

it's not an uncommon slogan. sky tv (in the uk) uses it in their ads.

Andy Axel's picture

it's not an uncommon slogan.

Submitted by Andy Axel on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 3:30pm.

it's not an uncommon slogan. sky tv (in the uk) uses it in their ads.

I'm probably not the only one that can spot the difference between cable TV and civil services.

R. Neal's picture

They probably worked longer

Submitted by R. Neal on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 1:53pm.

They probably worked longer on that than they did the budget.

R. Neal's picture

I also like how the front

Submitted by R. Neal on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 2:10pm.

I also like how the front page above the fold headline in today's KNS says "Haslam urges state raises." I guess that will be popular in Knoxville, where state government is one of the top ten employers. Unless you are one of the 1100 getting cut.

Andy Axel's picture

Zombie apocalypse. The

Submitted by Andy Axel on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 3:23pm.

Zombie apocalypse. The survivors wind up envying the dead in that instance.

"The good news is... you're getting a raise. The bad news is... we're letting everyone else go, and you need to pick up all of their work."

Rachel's picture

Actually it's only about 600

Submitted by Rachel on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 4:01pm.

Actually it's only about 600 actually losing their jobs. The other 500 positions are not filled.

Not that that's a whole lot better.

And I wonder which positions these are, and how losing 600 of them will impact State services?

reform4's picture

I'd like to believe in a Better Governor

Submitted by reform4 on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 5:19pm.

Who actually READS the bills before he signs them.

I know, a silly dream.

Min's picture

In other words...

Submitted by Min on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 5:54pm.

...we'll blather on about believing in better, while refusing to do better. For example, increasing average class size in schools and eliminating the salary schedule steps that motivate and reward teachers for continuing to teach in Tennessee.

But don't get me started.

Tamara Shepherd's picture

Salary steps

Submitted by Tamara Shepherd on Tue, 2012/01/31 - 9:44pm.

Min, would you have time to start a thread on the subject of this salary step elimination, with a link or two to recommended reading? Thanks.

Min's picture

I'll see what I can find.

Submitted by Min on Wed, 2012/02/01 - 4:00pm.

I don't know that anyone has actually written about that issue yet. Increasing class size seems to be drawing more attention.

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