Consequences come

Years ago the people of this state passed term limits; over time they have been adjusted. The people did not intend that professional politicians would move from one office to another just to get around the law. Now we have people playing musical chairs with the constitutional offices; term-limited in one, just move over to another or swap with another term-limited officer. And the Legislature is no better; move from House to Senate or Senate to House just to hold on to an office.

And as I sat and looked out at the frozen ground last week, I was reminded that our legislators don’t read the bills they pass. The two bills about the Department of Corrections look to be in direct conflict with the Constitution. And the LEARNS Act that was rushed through without a close public scrutiny; now we have all the school districts scrambling to figure out what to do about the missed days. In the recent past they could use AMI days, but apparently not now. While AMI is not as good as in person, it is better than days added to the end of the school year. And AMI is better than all the students playing video games or playing in the snow. It appears that the Legislature either did not read the bills or was to lazy to fix them. The attorney general can’t find time to stop scam phone calls but has plenty of time to sue the Corrections Board.

It all goes to show that the law of unintended consequences has come into play. Both houses of the Legislature were in such a rush to please the governor that they just passed what she wanted without any thought to what the consequences might be.

Don’t get me wrong; I was and am in favor of paying teachers more money. I am not in favor of subsidizing private schools with tax money. But if we are going that route, they should meet all the requirements of the public schools.

Those are my thoughts; so many rants in one letter.

MIKE SCOTT Benton