Tuesday, July 24, 2018
But its sure fun makin em!
But its sure fun makin em!
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There�s a lot to love about living in Utah; the incredible landscapes that offer endless hiking and camping opportunities, some of the best skiing in the world on what is often called �the greatest snow on earth, and the friendly and gregarious people with their equally friendly and gregarious children. But - ah - herein lies the rub, taking care of the little kindern. Me thinks there�s a bug in the ointment...and it�s buzzing louder than usual around the Deserets capitol building.
I have been watching in utter amazement this year as our head-strong Utah State legislators have been bulling their way through our statutes and laws with added vigor. I expect a certain amount of this to happen each each year and anticipate several �message bills� - the proverbial�middle finger� to the federal government (�We hate the U.N., Leave our wilderness alone, etc.). But this year, I am shocked at the effect this unchecked one-sided bravado is having on our most valuable asset - our Utah kids.
Follow this logic if you can: They have voted away a law mandating toddlers and young children sit in a safety-proven booster seat because it�s inconvenient and because �so few parents are following it anyway.� AND...the premise used to defeat it - government intrusion on our personal freedoms. If there was some evidence that booster seats did NOT make kids safer, I can understand the argument, but this law change was simply made because it wasn�t convenient for mommy and daddy.
Now - add to this decision a proposal our dubious state Senator Buttar�s is trying to make - that we do away with 12th grade and make 11th grade optional and you�ll start seeing the reason for my rising blood pressure. Also voted down was the banning of selling junk food in school vending machines. So - if we don�t kill them in booster seat-less cars, we�ll just fatten �em up in grade school and hasten them on their way to diabetes.
It�s ironic really - a state that touts children as its most prized asset is dead last in education spending per pupil, relaxes a booster-seat law which is proven to protect them, refuses to remove fatty and sugar-laden junk food in schools, and is hoping to subtract 1-2 years of schooling from their education.
I guess we�re great at making our children - it�s just the taking care of them part that we don�t do so well.
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