REPRESENTATIVE JOHN ESPINOZA
Preparing for the future must be part of Labor Day

There’s an iconic photo marking a Labor Day celebration in the mining town of Silverton, Colorado, in 1940. In the photo, two men who appear to be miners stand, each with a child on his shoulder. The two small children – one of them pointing at what lies ahead – look forward at what we can imagine is a Labor Day parade.

To me, this photo is important this Labor Day. I’m blessed with three sons and six beautiful grandchildren and I can’t help but worry about the state we’re leaving them. That’s why I believe that Labor Day has to take on a little different meaning.

Of course, the holiday should still celebrate American workers. After all, our workforce is the most productive the world has ever seen and has built our great country. That’s certainly worth celebrating, but like the two children in the photo, we must look forward. The world has changed. The global economy has created challenges and hardships that have pushed us to our limit. In Michigan, we’ve felt it the worst.

But that’s all the more reason to make Labor Day about the future. Despite the down times, the American Spirit is still strong in Michigan. However, that spirit alone will not carry us through the next century. To move our state forward workers must have a properly stocked “toolbox” that includes the skills needed to succeed – there’s no better way to ensure that happens than to support education.

Unfortunately, many lawmakers are willing to slash education funding with little regard for how it will hurt future generations. Our children will be the doctors, engineers and computer programmers of tomorrow. If they’re going to compete in the global economy and get good-paying jobs, they must have the proper tools. This can’t occur if education funding is cut every year. While we passed the School Aid budget earlier this year without greater cuts, funding for our schools is still too low, and we risk sending future generations out into the world ill-prepared to succeed.

That’s not even considering the fact that as tuition continues to soar, important programs like the Michigan Promise Scholarship have been cut. Every year college becomes unaffordable for more and more families. They just can’t afford higher education, which still serves as an invaluable tool to building a better life for themselves and their families.

That’s why Labor Day in Michigan has to be about more than just the past. It has to be about our workforce moving forward – a workforce made up of our children and grandchildren who will be limited only by the tools we send them out into the world with. We must invest in education and retraining so our next generation of workers can carry on the legacy of the Great American Worker and enjoy the quality of life we all want them to have. So I ask lawmakers who are more concerned with playing politics than keeping schools open or sending kids to college: What are you putting in your child’s toolbox?

Contact State Representative John Espinoza by calling (888) 830-0835 or e-mailing him at johnespinoza@house.mi.gov.