Editor:

The Feb. 28 edition of The News featured a column by Rep. Jared Klein in which he extolled the excellent stewardship he and the Republicans have brought to our state government. 

Lest Rep. Klein dislocate something while patting himself on the back it would be remiss to fail to point out that in truth things aren’t quite so rosy. 

Statehouse Republican’s attack on state employees and a collective bargaining system that had worked quite well for many years have resulted in a situation where you can now make as much working at McDonalds as you can working as a housekeeper at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. 

Hospital housekeepers are the first line of defense against hospital-acquired infections. They not only have to work hard, but they have to know something to ensure effective infection control. 

State parks show the neglect caused by always being short-handed and agencies statewide are in similar straits. 

Mr. Klein and the Republicans can cut the budget, short schools and universities, and reduce the pay and and benefits of state employees to pay for tax cuts, but ultimately we have to ask what kind of state do we want to live in.

Henry Ford understood that the best way to have a thriving economy is to pay the workers well. It was true in the days of the Model T and is still true today despite Republican propaganda to the contrary.

Tom Jacobson

Riverside