I am having a hard time understanding how the republican legislature in Wisconsin can justify cutting the pay of teachers in their state. They have somehow convinced themselves that teachers are overpaid, greedy, lazy leeches that are breaking the backs of taxpayers. These people should be ashamed of themselves. Teachers are underpaid and overworked. They have to deal with the spoiled children of people just like the ones who claim that they are living lavish lifestyles on the pitiful salaries that they get paid after years of college. Many teachers pay for supplies for their students out of their own pockets because of a lack of school funding. They arrive at work early and leave late and stay up way past most peoples bedtime grading papers. They do a thankless job and alot of them get the blame when a child whose parents are to busy to get involved in their own childs education wont accept the responsiblity of the rearing of their own children. Just think where we all would be today if each one of us had never met that one teacher that sparked our interest in one subject or other.

Unfortunately the idiots who are in charge now in Wisconsin have passed this infection on to other parts of the country. Not only are teachers under attack but now state workers are facing the same firing squad.  In Alabama for instance state employees have not had a pay raise in over 2 years.  Yet the newly elected legislature's first day in session voted themselves a pay raise.  Then in order to pay for this they decide the best thing to do is to almost triple the premiums that state employees pay for their health insurance.  They also suggested that employees have 2 furlough days a month which in effect means they are required to work those 2 days without pay. I know it is a commonly held belief that state employees are paid high salaries and do very little work and in some cases this is probably true ( see earlier comment about state legislature ) but many of these people are not making much more than minimum wage, it was the benefits that made the job lucrative.  But if the republicans have their way many of these people will be actually working for less than minimum wage.

 Robert Bentley, the new governor of Alabama ran on the platform that if elected he would not take a paycheck until the state was back on its feet again.  Apparently he has decided that along with him the more vulnerable of his employees shouldnt get one either.