Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Education, The Real Deal

The front of Albany Middle School at its locat...Image via Wikipedia     One of the three R's is racism. It isn't accidental that minorities don't do as well as white students. Economics are just a good way to cover up prejudice.
     When a teacher says it is all about the kids and in the same sentence complains they don't make enough money, which do you think they care about more. The rallying call is always the kids, but it's all about their agenda.
      The excuse " we have the neediest kids", is a cop out. Teachers use this excuse to explain why half the kids can't read, write, or do math. The fact is that if you translate this into every day language, it means don't expect needy kids to learn. Don't expect a child who lives in poverty to succeed. It isn't likely they will. Who do you think they spend their time teaching.
    Testing is not a fair way to measure how kids are doing in school. In elementary school kids are no longer tested, so they either sink or swim when they are given a standardized test. We shouldn't have to teach kids so they can pass a test. Maybe the reason that these kids drop out of middle school and high school is that they use testing there.
     When a kid comes into school, they have already heard that they aren't likely to succeed if their population source hasn't been succeeding historically. Kids talk. Bigger kids talk to younger kids. Brothers and sisters talk. The bottom line is that they know what the expectations are for them when they walk into kindergarten. The whole education system has spent decades broadcasting this message to generations of kids. Surprise we have illiterate,kids who don't have math skills.
     For decades we have sent the message that we have low expectations for certain populations of kids. Teachers know which kids they have to spend their time on to keep their jobs.
     I spent thirteen years in education and I can tell you about teachers who handed kids books and said read this and do it. I can tell you about the odd teacher who did her clothes shopping while a teaching assistant watched the kids. I can tell you a hell of a lot more too.
     Teachers are paid what they are worth. Actually more than they are worth for the number of kids that actually leave school prepared to go on to college. What would you pay an employee that had a 46% success rate. Oh that's right they couldn't keep a job with you.
     The old trick of trotting out ten good teachers to show that they are persecuted doesn't cut it any more. For those ten I bet they could trot out a thousand that couldn't house train their cats. Let alone, educate a child.
     We spend upwards of a trillion dollars a year on a basic college prep education. Over the years we have thrown good money after bad while people who home school their kids seem to succeed more often and get better result with out any tax dollars. There is definitely a problem when someone who has their own income to educate their kids can get better results than a system that spends so much. Of course we have to have stadiums for the kids to play sports and money for uniforms. A winning sports program obviously out weighs a real education.
     Lets hand them more money it has worked so well.
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Bury Your Heads (Economics 101)

Official photograph portrait of former U.S. Pr...Image via WikipediaIf you listen to the Republican message in this election year carefully, it seems to be, bury your head and do nothing. This is a very interesting proposal. After 8 years of George W. Bush's fantasy policies and life of denial, the Republicans want to try that policy again. It seems they think that Bernie Madoff wasn't such a bad investor after all. Why not leave the Wall street Banks and Money Advisers go back to business in the Bush years?
     On Afghanistan, they propose widening the war. Isn't that a good idea. Send 800,000 more troops to Afghanistan and win. Of course, there is no real government in Afghanistan and the country is run by drug lords outside Kabul, but those are minor details. Just throw money at the problem. Bush did that in Iraq and borrowed from the Chinese to pay for it. It didn't matter that the Chinese were financing the enemy by sending our money to Iran to buy weapons. This was a good policy and we should follow it in Afghanistan.
     Tax cuts to millionaires is also a great idea. Never mind that 9.5 million people have no income, let's make sure the rich can buy more gold. Why should they have to hide their income in Switzerland or the Caymans. Those poor people might have to cut back on their staffs in the French Riviera or the illegal aliens that garden and take care of their kids. Which, by the way, is the reason Republicans oppose immigration reform. All those millionaires would have to pay minimum wage. God forbid that.
     The government is spending too much money is the battle cry. OK during the Bush years, the Republicans threw money away faster than the twin towers fell. Didn't that happen when Bush was president. Oh well no matter.. Bush inherited a balanced budget from Clinton and in eight years he and the Republican Congress nuked it out of existence. Should we try that policy again? Are you willing to go for a one trillion dollar deficit every 6 months? Think back folks.
     Now even the Republicans hate the Republicans. All those Tea Party people are Republicans and conservatives.
     By all means vote Republican or don't vote all. Things can't get any worse. Right? Just because the Stock Market dropped to 8000 points by the time the Republicans were through last time doesn't mean it will happen again. Besides you own gold. Don't you. Oh well tough if you don't. Retire to the projects.
     Yes. I think doing nothing is a great strategy. You are keeping all those people in the unemployment offices employed. How is your city doing financially. We had one just close right up. Who's taxes are going to pay for those problems? Are you a millionaire who can afford to move to where the money is? All you need to do is sell that house and buy a new one. Oh I forgot you can't. The housing market dropped 27 percent last month.
     Well have nice life.
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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Politics Equals Gridlock

No mater what party you belong to it's time to understand that politics is keeping anything from getting done.
     Republicans and Democrats in office spend all their time trying not to offend people. It doesn't matter if the sky falls they will always spend the majority of their time raising money for campaigns and avoiding votes on anything that will anger their constituency. Nothing is getting done because neither side wants to do anything except get reelected, so they can be treated special. They are so immature that they can not stand the thought of being treated like we are.
     Elections are not about who will improve people's lives, they are about whether your elected official feels special.
     From the dog catcher , to the governor, to the White House (Democrat or Republican)  politics has become about who can get a free ride for life. You are the lowest priority on their lists. They lie to you continuously and you are to busy to check their stories. You vote for them over and over and get the same result over and over. That  result is never good either. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over, getting a negative result, and expecting that that will change.
     People you need a reality check. From the bible belt to liberal San Francisco things are bad. Your choices in representatives are not changing and neither is our situation. The fact is that electing someone who will not do anything you don't like, tells elected officials one thing; Don't do anything. For decades they haven't been doing anything. If your a Republican, you know they don't want to do anything. They keep telling you they don't.
     If you expect things to change you should be checking yourself into the hospital for psychological evaluation. You sent the message that you didn't want anyone to do anything to change anything from the dog catcher to the White House. Any one who tries to do anything doesn't get reelected. America has sent the message not in my back yard and it has been heard. Business has moved over seas to get away from you. You aren't worth the money you cost them trying to satisfy you. Americans don't want to work. All they want is a job that allows them to pretend and get paid. Politicians know this, so they have let all the companies move.
     Americans don't like stores near them, so people built malls and strip malls far away from them. Americans have said no to so many things no one even asks any more.
     By the way the only people who get paid to do nothing are local, county, state, and federal employees.
     Businesses have figured out that they had a hell of a lot of people that didn't work and they don't miss them.
     No matter who you elect on election day, you can count on one thing, they won't do anything, but eat on your dime and continue to run for reelection until they are set for life.
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Monday, September 6, 2010

Republicans Propose Plan to End The Recession!

Assorted international currency notes.Image via WikipediaToday Republicans announced their strategy to fix the broken economy. In a press release they unveiled the greatest plan in history.
     They propose to cut taxes for the4 highest one percent of income earning to rates that are one tenth of the rates that people making one hundred thousand or less pay now. They consider this a key to bringing back the economy. Their belief is that these people will begin to buy again, which in their view would create one million jobs. To make up for the loss of revenue from the highest one percent, they propose a federal sales tax of eight percent, to be applied to all products including food, gasoline, and many other necessities.
     Part two of the proposal is to eliminate taxes on companies making over ten million dollars if the hire people back at minimum wage. Their theory is that seven dollars and some odd sense is better than paying unemployment for nine point five million people. The companies will be exempt from providing benefits for the people who are hired under this program. They will also have an exemption from paying overtime.
     Republicans estimate that this will bring in 100,000,000,000 billion dollars in revenue for the reduction of the federal budget deficit. They also expect that companies will reduce their cost by sixty percent, which will be an incentive to begin production again.
     The third part of the proposal is to change banking regulations so that lenders can foreclose on home owners with out going to court. The lenders will decide based on people's credit scores when to foreclose on home owners. This proposal would end the practice that people have of stripping their houses before the bank can take possession, since home owners would have a week to move. It would also encourage banks to lend again, because they would have the ability to re coupe their money before a home owner defaulted.
      The final part for the proposal is to issue new money across the nation. The new currency would be bought at a rate of 5 dollars for every new dollar. This would reduce the national debt by a trillion dollars over time.
     If the Republicans did have a plan this would probably be it, but they don't have a plan. Their plan is to say no to every solution that is proposed, so they can win the White House in the next presidential election with the help of the tea party. A party they have no intention of satisfying in any way.
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