Curmudgeon's Corner

Sad to disappoint you if you’re expecting a real political bombshell.

I parked in the lot where I make my office and looked down as I stepped from my gas guzzling SUV. I saw a bright, shiny dime and stooped to pick it up. No one saw my action but I did look around slightly before committing myself to grabbing the money.

The next day or so, I saw a penny as I walked from the grocery store to the same gas guzzling vehicle…and I didn’t even give thought to picking up that coin. Was it because I might’ve been seen or because it was only a penny? Probably some of each.

All this got me thinking about how we assess worth over the process of adding years to our lives. When I was a kid…yes, there was money circulating at that time…a penny was a fortune for me. I could take it to the corner grocery store and actually buy something with a single penny!

I wasn’t alive to participate in the “Great Depression” but my parents and grandparents often lamented about that period of their lives.

Somewhere along the line, I got the idea that a penny wasn’t worth enough to cause me to pause and scoop.

Sometime later, I found that I was turning my nose up at the thought of a nickel. I don’t know exactly when that occurred but it did.

Now, I’m at the point where, with no one to see me, I’ll stoop to gather in a dime. I’m no longer certain of the point at which I’ll stoop to pick up some denomination even with people watching. Will that ever change and see me migrating upward to seeing quarters as unworthy of effort? Maybe, but doubtful. How about half-dollars? Highly unlikely!

I’d guess that our rate of inflation (read devaluation of money) and my level of disposable income may well have had an impact on those decision points. I suspect that once I’m beyond my active earning years, I’ll begin to regress and should I live long enough, a penny will loom large for me...if I’m still able to bend enough to pick it up.

Interesting journey we call life; even for mindlessness such as this.

The morning newspaper (article by Erica Perez-Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 8/29) reveals that MATC has fallen about $1.3 Million below its expected revenue due to shortfalls in enrollment for the 2007-2008 year.

MATC’s CFO, Michael Sargent, says this is caused by enrollments being down by 3% to 4% from last fall. Theresa Barry, MATC VP of Student Services, went on to indicate that 3% of last semester’s students didn’t re-enroll and the addition of new students dropped by 1% from budgeted expectations.

Board member Lauren Baker, bless her heart, suggests that this trend needs to be thoroughly examined and vows that she’ll cause this examination to occur in the coming months. MATC enrollment has decreased 17% since the 1997-1998 year, by the way.

The first question is: Why? The next question is: Why have we consistently paid more and more every year for less and less?

There are several things that cry out from this article and its revelations:

If students are migrating to private sector institutions where government subsidies probably do not exist or at least not in the degree found at MATC, can we begin to surmise there are shortcomings in quality and/or type of programs being offered by MATC?

If 3% of the prior semester’s students disenrolled, part of that was probably circumstantial but some had to be related to the experience and perceived shortcomings.

The downward trend over the past decade suggests that MATC may’ve lost sight of the needs of the community; both students and employers.

Has MATC spent too much money and too much energy in becoming another two-year degree institution when it was conceived as a technical college providing shorter courses more likely to result in fulfilling the needs of the community and the employers?

This whole thing, to my curmudgeonly mind, smacks of an egocentric institution that well may’ve lost its bearings while pursuing what it dreamed of being versus delivering what its publics needed.

I received several e-mails concerning my Blog on handicap parking and the apparent abuses.

“K” wrote to me to encourage that I be more understanding of those who park in handicap spaces and who appear to be without apparent handicap. As the story of K’s health background was told, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to not have compassion. K is one of those souls who have endured more than most of us will ever be called on to endure. K took exception to my Blog and essentially took me to task. I would’ve probably not been able to discern a handicap if I saw K and it is possible that one of those I observed was similarly situated.

“D” wrote to acquaint me with two personal stories that also were heart rending and that established the fact that not all handicaps are of a nature as to be readily visible. D also mentioned that a “curmudgeonly-aged” person talked with one of the people in one of the stories and was apologetic after he was assured that there was, indeed, a reason for the handicap tag being used.

Will I remember these two people’s stories the next time I witness what seems an abuse of the handicap parking privilege? Absolutely.

Do I continue to believe there is abuse of handicap parking? Absolutely.

Should there be more enforcement of the laws governing the use of handicap parking tags or plates? If there isn’t, we’ll ultimately find that truly handicapped persons will not be able to find the parking that they deserve.

I sat in Chili’s on Saturday early-afternoon and watched as three vehicles bearing handicap tags parked in the three handicap spaces. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, two of the three vehicles disgorged perfectly non-handicapped people, but no handicapped individuals. One lady driver returned to her vehicle, pulled the tag from behind her visor, and placed it over the mirror having forgotten, apparently, that she'd parked there. Only one bearing the tag and parking in the correct space had a handicapped passenger aboard. It was raining. I suspect the spaces were very attractive since there were no umbrellas visible either.

As I stewed over these apparent transgressions and considered publishing the plate numbers, my better-half talked enough sense into me so that I forgot about that.

We later parked in front of Joanne Fabrics, across from another handicap space by coincidence. A vehicle was there but I didn’t pay attention to whether or not it had the proper tag.

A young Menomonee Falls Police Aide, however, was on the ball and spotted the fact that the Jeep was improperly parked. He apparently radioed a patrol officer to cause the proper citation to be issued.

This has gotten to be fairly commonplace…and it needs to stop.

Should we all report our suspicions, or should we forget about it after lamenting over the thoughtlessness of those whom we observe violating the code? Or is this simply the true curmudgeon in me coming to the surface?

Thus begins the Op-Ed piece in the Saturday (8/18/07) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by Mr. Darnell E. Cole, President of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, or MATC as we all know it.

Mr. Cole writes to say that those of us pushing for Germantown to secede from the MATC District need to “stop and consider” whether or not such a move would be good for “our regional economy or, indeed, for these very communities”.

He states that the enrollment at Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) is about half that of MATC, and that MPTC has about half the number of program choices as does MPTC.

Mr. Cole also states that MATC’s statistics show that Germantown residents and those of neighboring communities take full advantage of the variety of courses offered by MATC. He further states that, even if we seceded from the MATC District, these residents would continue to do so and concludes that we would not be paying our fair share.

He voices the opinion that our leaving his District would not resolve our concerns about taxation without representation, and hastens to point out that MPTC is also governed by an appointed board.

He makes it quite clear that an elected board would probably be influenced by “special interests”, questions how well represented we would all be, and ponders whether or not anyone would even wish to run in such elections. He admits that the appointment process is not ideal, and agrees that improvements need be made, but chastises us Germantown folks for never having sought membership on his hand-picked board.

Finally, he assures us that he is committed to keeping property taxes to “an absolute minimum” and acknowledges the need for “increased institutional accountability”.

Somehow, I still like the idea of seceding from the MATC District.

Why? For starters, I note that MATC collected $126,528,000 in local property taxes compared to MPTC’s take of only 23.5% of that amount (or $29,672,000) in the 2005-2006 year. Why does MATC need four times the local taxes to educate only twice as many students in twice as many subjects as does MPTC according to Mr. Cole’s own statistics?

Second, MPTC and MATC spend nearly the same on a per student basis to educate their respective student bodies. MPTC spends $12,265 per student while MATC spends $12,745. That suggests to me some level of equality between the institutions. But it causes me to wonder why MPTC can do its job on less than a quarter as much revenue, and with only about 18% as many full time equivalent employees (MATC has 1,981 to MPTC’s 351).

Above all else, however, I find the attitude of Mr. Cole offensive. I do not believe we would not continue to pay our “fair share”. As a matter of fact, it appears that we’ve been paying far more than our fair share for years. It is as if we taxpayers are too dim witted to find our own way through the world, are too lazy to attempt to exercise our freedoms, and are thought unable to see waste in an institution. So far as appointed rather than elected boards avoiding the “political taint” of our free voting system, would he simply favor appointed boards to handle all things political? I doubt that very much. I know the country’s founding fathers and the state’s founding fathers didn’t agree.

The comparative numbers, by the way, are readily available on their two websites and are presented in a uniform manner making the process much easier.

The further this goes, the more I favor seceding! I hope you do as well, and that you make your feelings known to the Village board and to your school board members. And, please let your elected officials know that you support the Bill to be introduced by Senator Darling and others to require elected technical college boards.

There is great news on the AirTran vs. Midwest Airlines front. Midwest appears to have brought together an investment group that will work to take Midwest private thus erasing the “take-over” target on its back.

The fact that it seems Northwest is a passive investor could bring complications on the anti-trust front, but I suspect that will be dealt with successfully in one way or another.

So, we can continue to enjoy “The Best Care in the Air” and all the great connections it affords travelers departing from Milwaukee. We know there will be some changes: 2X2 seating will be available on Midwest flights along with the 2X3 “Super Saver” configuration. The leg room is still there and 2X3 seating is great compared with most other carriers. The people serving us will continue to have genuine smiles and concern for their passengers.

Milwaukee and Wisconsin continue to be the home of a major corporation. And, AirTran got its chops kicked after playing the uninvited elephant in the room for months and months. Its CEO showed a troubling side as he gave the company’s “we’re done with this thing” press conference. It seems that there is even more to celebrate in my opinion; we have a good, solid, Midwesterner at the helm of our favorite airline.

Thanks, Tim. We’re happy that you and your team didn’t roll over and play dead when the yucky stuff hit the fan.

Having just returned from Colorado and a round trip on Midwest Airlines, I am reminded of just how much we all will lose if AirTran prevails in its take over bid.

Even the Saver flight has extended leg room with the typical 2 X 3 seating configuration. That will go the way of the Dodo bird if AirTran has its way.

The people on the ground and onboard, reservations advisors, ticket attendants, pilots and flight attendants are the most courteous I’ve encountered in many years of air travel. I have yet, by the way, to encounter any Midwest employee who wants the AirTran deal to go forward.

The cookies are a treat that I usually pass up, except on this trip I enjoyed them on both flights. I guess I feared this might well be my last chance to enjoy Midwest.

I watched as the “cattle” who had been loaded aboard an AirTran flight from somewhere to Denver fought over getting to the luggage carousel. It was if they had already been brutalized sufficiently and were simply going to do whatever it took to get away from that airport as quickly as possible.

I watched at the boarding gates and compared the Midwest passengers to the AirTran passengers. Maybe it was my predisposition against this deal, but I thought there was a look of resignation on many of those AirTran passenger faces contrasted with anticipation on the faces of the Midwest passengers.

There is simply an overall good feeling about Midwest…even when there is a weather delay or maintenance delay. I haven’t seen that for many years with any other airline, and I fear I’m at the point where I’ll not see it for much longer in Milwaukee.

All the promises in the world will not suffice. If AirTran gets its way, you and I will suffer…whether or not we are air passengers. Our communities will suffer; our employers will suffer; our institutions will suffer and our state will suffer. I know that this is “uncurmudgeonly” of me, but I will feel a real sense of loss the day Midwest is taken away from us…if that happens.