The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More
by Andrew J. CoulsonUPDATE: Cost figures for the period 1970 through 1980 in the original version of chart 2, below, were inaccurate, and have been corrected in the revised version of the chart that appears below. This change does not affect the text of the article.
***
Teachers unions, the Obama administration, and most Democrats in Congress want to spend another $23 billion that we don’t have to shore up public school employment. If we don’t go along, they tell us, it’ll be a “catastrophe” for American education. With fewer teachers our kids will supposedly learn less, further crippling our already wounded economy.
They couldn’t be more wrong.
Over the past forty years, public school employment has risen 10 times faster than enrollment (see chart). There are only 9 percent more students today, but nearly twice as many public school employees. To prove that rolling back this relentless hiring spree by a few years would hurt student achievement, you’d have to show that all those new employees raised achievement in the first place. That would be hard to do… because it never happened.
Student achievement at the end of high school has been flat for as long as we’ve been keeping track—all the way back to 1970. But we did get something in return for all that hiring: a great, big, fat, BILL.
If you graduated from high school in 1980, your entire k-12 education cost your fellow taxpayers about $75,000, in 2009 dollars. But the graduating class of 2009 had roughly twice that amount lavished on their public school careers. The extra $75,000 we’re now spending has done wonders for public school employee union membership, dues revenue, and political clout. It’s done a whole lotta nothin’ for student learning (see chart).
But, some readers may ask: were all those new employees teachers? About two thirds of public school employment growth has been teachers (41 percent) or teachers’ aides (23 percent). The remaining third was comprised almost entirely of support staff in schools and district offices.
So, yes, a bit of public schooling’s employment bloat can be put down to a swelling bureaucracy. But given that adding a couple of million new instructional jobs did nothing to improve achievement at the end of high school, there’s no reason to expect that shedding a few hundred thousand of them would hurt it.
Ed. sec. Arne Duncan and friends are thus mistaken if they really expect a negative academic or economic impact from reversing some of our costly and ineffectual public school employment growth. In fact, they actually have it backwards.
In the private sector, jobs are created and retained only if they are believed to add value to the enterprise—if their salary and benefit costs are outweighed by the revenue they generate. By contrast, we know that the millions of new government school positions added over the past four decades have not added measurably to student knowledge or skills at the end of high school. So instead of boosting the U.S. economy, these jobs have actually been a drain on it. Returning to the staff-to-student ratio we had in 1980 would save taxpayers about $142 billion every year.
Losing a job is a terrible experience, but the school hiring binge of the past four decades has been entirely disconnected from enrollment levels and unaccompanied by educational improvement. Foolish public officials and self-serving, empire building teachers’ unions have created millions of unproductive jobs that were never justified in the first place and that have been a terrible drain on the U.S. economy. With the nation $13 trillion in debt and many state governments looking at red ink for years to come, we just can’t afford to perpetuate their mistake any longer.
Throwing billions more at the system would only worsen the problem and delay the solution, which is to help ease the transition of these workers from their current unproductive employment back into the productive sector of the economy.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
893 Comments
Kick the union thugs out of the "public schools" and off of the "public dole" stop paying idiots and political shills to indoctrinate your children and ruin their chances for a successful life free of government intrusion.
It is time to put a PERMANENT END to the Indoctrination Warehouse Complex in America and rescue the kids from the progressive plantation of institutional slavery to government!!!
In our city, there are 17 administrative employees for each student. They've been throwing billions of dollars at the public schools and they aren't getting any better.
I love how NJ Governor Chris Christie called the Teachers' Union's bluff:
Teachers' Union: "You can't cut education!!! Think of the children you Nazi!!!!!"
Christie: "Ok, all funding for the kiddies stays as long as the Teachers' Union agrees to forgo their raise this year"
Teachers' Union: "Chris Christie is Satan!!! Pray for his death!!!!"
Wish I could vote for a gov like that here in NY this year, but I don't think Lazio has what it takes, but hey, if he starts talking like Christie, Lazio's got himself a vote.
[...] The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More [...]
NEA and SEIU — the two largest public unions — are plundering America.
Don't forget "public employee" pension plans which are by far the largest expenditure of every state's budget!
Cut the cord America!
Clearly, student/teacher ratios are not as important to education as they Unions would like us to believe. Maybe someone should suggest that they actually try, you know, teaching rather than social egineering?
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
Same where I live…and yet this is how truly dumb teachers are…they never question that aspect of the education system. The district where I live has 11 schools in it. That same district has 9 superintendents, and 9 assistant superintendents. Stunning!
Everyone should study Daniels up close in Indiana, and see what he has done. I certainly think Christie has!
"Throwing billions more at the system would only worsen the problem and delay the solution, which is to help ease the transition of these workers from their current unproductive employment back into the productive sector of the economy."
If the axiom, "Those who can't do; teach." is to be believed, I fail to see how they would ever be productively reabsorbed into the private sector. It is much more likely that they would simply gravitate to another union environment where they would continue to be a drain on society in a different field of endeavor. Until we get control over the union problem, I'm afraid this situation is not going to be satisfactorily resolved.
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
We spend more and more in Education and it gets worse and worse…Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results….The teachers unions suck hind teat….America are you tired of the left yet?
The teachers stopped caring about education a long time ago…when they realized that they can keep their jobs no matter what!
The best way to fix this problem is to provide parents with the money for educating their children and letting them choose which school they want. Inferior schools go bankrupt and superior schools will grow.
If this is done along with the conversion of all publics schools to charter schools the cost of education will plummet and the quality of teaching will improve.
It is too bad that Coulson did not do productivity comparisons of teachers (something like "students educated per dollar") with other professions. I would bet that teaching is the only profession whose productivity has declined over the years. Engineers produce more designs per dollar, auto workers produce more cars per dollar Heck, even hamburger flippers flip more hamburgers per dollar. Only teaching can show such a hideous decline in productivity.
[...] » Tһе U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Nοt More – Bіɡ… [...]
there was a old teamster joke, but i suppose i can insert teachers.
how many teachers does it take to change a light bulb?
seven, you got a problem with that. the problem is we need vouchers, so parents can take control of their child education, we don't need more teachers.
When I started school way back in the stone age (1967) we had a class of 30, in my small town, at the end of the year all 30 could read and do basic math. To contrast; when my nephew started school in '97 there was a class of 16, at the end of the school year only half could read at second grade level, and they were just learning subtraction.
First, Eliminate two thirds of school administrations. Then eliminate or drastically reduce the union stranglehold.Teach just the basics and do away with courses that divide us as Americans. We are Americans FIRST and our culture SECOND. I as a young man never was taught such devisive BS. My friends and I never even thought of our cultural differences. Not until the 70's and the birth of the RACE PIMPS did I even think about race. Now, all schools care about is seperating and classifying students, giving ribbons and diplomas to failing students for fear of damaging or hurting thier feelings and collecting that 35.00 a day per student for attendance. Teachers get a TON of time off and I'm tired of listening about how hard they work. I'm sure there are good teachers out there. If we can just free them of the La Cosa Nostra(Unions) and let the good teachers shine then we will see progress.Not until then.
[...] Read more from the original source: » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
Ya know, you all could keep your kids out of "big government" public schools and state universities and keep them home and perhaps home school them. That way they'll never pose a threat or get in the way of intelligent people. Imagine how effective a tea-tard is when they believe in evolution and Jesus riding dinosaurs while collecting their state checks they whine about people getting. Most of them are mental welfare recipients anyways and can't spell most of their protest signs they make so…eradicate yourselves through your own stupidity and allegiance to the elites and save all us smart folk a lot of headaches having to listen to you welfare hypocrites whining about YOUR entitlement programs and your continuous complaining about "big government" programs and spending that politicians YOU elect are responsible for.
Your children are making life difficult for our intelligent children. You kids will probably end up protesting on tax payer funded public land complaining about entitlement programs they're using and whining about on tax-payer funded public land. Keep your kids out of our kids way and we won't end up like stimulus funded Texas.
Day Cares centers,…
Head Start centers,………
Counseling centers,…….
Afro studies this,….Latino studies that centers,……..
educating millions of illegals,………..
more days off and holidays than 100 Greek government workers,……..
Looking at those graphs,……..I think we have done a commendable job holding the line,……..
on the cost of education,………..
maybe next semester we can even allocate some funding for,……
R,…R,.. and,…. R.
The chart stacking up cost and student performance is shocking, even if you start from the assumption that more money doesn't equal better education. But then, the NEA and their enablers won't let a lack of money get in the way of increased spending, so why should facts have any impact?
All the more reason to root for Governor Christie in his fight with the unions in New Jersey!
This is a spectacular demonstration of the art of a run-on sentence, coming from a troll criticizing the intelligence of others.
Syntax,
Home schooled kids CONSISTENTLY far out perform public schooled kids. http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/ray2009/2009_Ray_...
Your idiot libtard kids will be the welfare slobs, not mine. Their education is western guilt, gender studies, multicultural BS will make them perfect for the welfare line.
I've seen sewage processing plants less full of sh!t than you are.
Til they apply for college. My libtard kids hire your kids pal. Joe the plumber cleans the sh#t out of my kid's plugged toilet for a few dollars and then gets celebrated for doing it by you. The guy with my kid's sh#t on his hands is your hero.
THE SOLUTION:
VOUCHERS + TAX CREDITS = COMPETITION. Only good things will follow.
All unions fear competition. From autos, to steel, to furniture, to truck drivers, to farm workers, to tires, to government, to textiles, to education. They all fear competition because unions are not designed to compete, they are designed to plunder at the expense of the final consumer and industry that employs them. Just look at what has happened to EVERY American industry with entrenched unions.
U.A.W. = U Ain't Workin'
If you, sir, are any indication of the intelligence of YOUR children; I'd be surprised if they can even use a toilet by themselves…let alone do the requisite paperwork.
I'll give you a hint: Your lack of faith in a Divine Creator is the root cause of your ignorance AND your unhappiness. I know how you liberals love to get something for nothing, so I'm not even going to charge you for that one!
The big problem is that school systems are bureaucracies, the jobs being created are not teaching jobs, but administrative positions.
I love how all these Godless Communists tell me how stupid I am for my belief in God and point to science as having all the answers. Look at those science performance levels in the chart!
Let's review: Maybe if you idiots actually knew what you were talking about, I might even consider listening to what you have to say!
Well Syntax…I will keep my kid out of ur public school…no problem….Oh one thing….I take my tax money with me you leech
Oh but it's for the CHILDren! Every time I hear that line I want to put another liberal on the barbie.
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
I think I have more experience here than you.
I have been in public, private, and parochial schools. I have degrees from Ivy League schools and state schools. I have been employed by Ivy League schools, state schools, and community colleges.
The most waste I have ever seen is at schools run by the government (private schools and parochial schools have little waste). In gov't run schools, every time there is a "hiring freeze," the number of teachers decreases and the number of administrators increases.
BTW, teaching is not my profession.
If they were really concerned about the children, they wouldn't be piling up debt for our children's great-great grandchildren to pay.
There are groups of professional trolls whose job is to draw fire and sap the energy of people on blogs. They try to focus the blog away from the basic issue (in this case the enormous cost and meager results of public education) to other issues like evolution and religion. This fires up the blog readers and serves only to distract them from the subject at hand.
We're better off sticking to the subject and ignoring provocateurs like Syntax_game_II
Amen shipmate.
I'd love to get my tax dollars back to fund my home school.
DM, my friend. You are arguing in favor of critical independent thought against someone who is incapable of understanding the concept, like most Libthinkers.
Keep it up though. It impresses the rest of us. And everytime Syntax swears or calls you a name, consider it a point for you.
"Mental AIDS"? Really? Man, I though you libs were the tolerant ones, the ones with the burden of a heavy heart that cared for all?
But from that comment I can see that you are like all the others…….intolerant. You do know "syn" that home schooled kids are the winners 98% of the time in the National Spelling Bee, and outperform over 90% of Public School children? You have a truly scewed look at things my friend.
Do you have a problem with people protesting on public land as afforded by the 1st Ammendment? Be careful what you wish for, you may get what you want. Someday you may just be stopped for protesting YOUR views on public land. It can go both ways. THAT is what too much government can do for you.
cont.
You also speak of us having an allegence with the elite? Really? You do know that a large majority of the wealthy in this county are Liberal/Progressives. That goes for your politicians also. 8 out of the top 10 richest members of Congress are Democrats. That's why I always laugh when those of you on the Left, including politicians, speak out about the evil rich that don't pay taxes. Have you seen all the rich people in the President's cabinet that have either "forgotten" to pay their taxes or whatever excuse they are using today?
Your rhetoric is tiring and so out of date. But leave it to a compasionate Liberal to call any child of America stupid.
Or we could simply send them to good private schools with quality, non-union teachers.
"All us smart folk"- the self-delusion of liberal twerps is indefatigable. If liberals are so smart, then why do they advocate so many stupid things?
Dream on. The "liberal vote" comprises mostly illiterate welfare deadbeats, union goons, kleptocratic politicians, and a thin crust of silver-spoon Socialists and snotty academics who confuse education with intelligence and can't hack it in the real world.
And yet , in defiance of all the evidence, liberals (that's a diagnosable mental pathology, by the way) somehow delude themselves that they are the "smart" ones. HAH! There are only two kinds of liberal: stupid, and evil. Which one are you?
Adding staff obviously didn't help the big picture, though some kids somewhere may have benefited from less-crowded classrooms. This period of time (last 40 years, most of my life) has seen a major change in the teaching methods used in the classrooms. My late '90s teacher training program emphasized children "learning by doing", then learning by inquiry (http://bit.ly/bxw3Ak). Most kids definitely learn by doing (a few need to think things through first, and I allow that). However, I am the expert in my classroom, and if I allow the kids to decide what they need to learn and how they need to learn it, learning is less likely. Can we do occasional "inquiry" activities? Sure: the science fair is perfect for that, and there are other ways to build inquiry skills. I firmly believe, though, that kids are kids because they need adults to lead, guide and direct them. Parents do it (or should), and so should teachers. The good teachers do that, anyway.
If they gave met the money to spend on my sons education I would put it in a school I could watch like a hawk. I would be engaged in the process and follow the books. The money they spend on my son for his education is better used in private schools.
One of the biggest trends is the "group learning". I call it the clueless leading the clueless, yet many districts are mandating that at least 90% of the school day should be group activities. It frustrates the good students who can learn the material or finish the work quickly and, if they are isolated into groups, their group is bored while waiting for the rest. Those who are unmotivated can sit and let the rest learn or hold back the group. Those who are incapable are frustrated too.
Wow. I'm glad to live in a school district where the leadership knows who's boss: the taxpayers. My district has 50 schools (5 are charter, a new one opens in 2011) and ONE superintendent. Last year we voted a mill increase to plug a budget shortfall only on condition that it was used to avert teacher layoffs in a growing district. This year the district's budget has again been cut, so they laid off some administrators/support staff at the district offices.
Has the achievement stayed level or has it really dropped? Resetting the baseline for the SAT scores doesn't give me much confidence that the achievement level has stayed the same. And the mathematical illiteracy–mostly from laziness–of both our schoolchildren and their teachers doesn't reflect well on our educational system.
It is interesting to see how well immigrants from countries with a much more demanding (and less-expensive) educational system–Russia and India come to mind–in our colleges. Our home-grown students don't do so well and tend to avoid the more difficult quantitative fields (my state university is now graduating more art students than anything else).
Clearly we have not been getting our money's worth for our children. As others have said before, vouchers and charters combined with the utter destruction of the NEA would dramatically improve education int the USA.
OK,…OK,….. we'll get out your deadbeat kid's way,……
but,…….you still,….want,….our tax money,……no,….???,…..yes,…..?????
Shhhhhh,….don't tell him,.there David,……
let him keep thinking this stuff,……..
I know,…… I wouldn't want my kids any where near his snots.
I've been writing a good deal about this issue. When you have a problem with your kid's school, there's really no point in going and causing a fuss. At the end of the day, that union contract is all that stands. I would that that withg the high unemployment rate and the abundance of college-educated persons, we as a country could use this summer to research homeschooling, coschooling and other educational alternative to remove our kids from the indoctrination camps of public schools. Do it. Do it this summer. Don't wait until November to tell these leftists what for, you can begin now. Can you imagine the bottom line of this graph dropping even further. The system won't reform itself, only if we force it to. Trying to reform it from the inside will never work.
Don't let your babies grow up to be ignorant moocher – homeschool now. Friends don't let friends go to government school.
That's a flying leap of logic. There are people in every kind of work who are conscientious workers, and some who are lazy bums. Note that the comic strip "Dilbert" was based on the author's experiences in the private sector.
Anyone who thinks teaching is easy has not done it.
Bwahahahaha! Good one!
Guys, don't feed the troll. Let him eat his young instead.
I can confirm that. Every single homeschooled kid I've ever taught in my college courses has been MILES ahead of his/her public school colleagues. No exceptions. It's pretty amazing.
Whatever.
My kid is in a public school, and thus far we've had few complaints. Her academic performance is beyond her grade level; she enjoys her school and has a lot of friends. Shortfalls in the curriculum have been corrected at home. Also, there are enough local choices available that we don't feel the need to homeschool her. And frankly, I'd be lousy at it, even though I'm a teacher myself. Homeschooling is not for everyone!
What, no rebuttal to your monolithic belief that all public school teachers are lazy do-nothings and all public sector employees are Superman?
Lots of teachers, but not all teachers. Most of the teachers who don't care leave within the first 5 years anyway.
Reason,
Typically I agree and even advise the same.
I just tend to get my dander up over this issue of Home Schooling.
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
Sorry. I guess you'll have to go find someone else to argue with. This one is self explanatory. There is no point in pursuing it further.
In CA, there was a big push over the past decade or so to reduce classroom sizes. I haven't seen any study where that has resulted in better test scores. I suppose it increased union jobs, which probably was the real agenda for those pushing the measure.
Maybe we should simply go back to previous classroom sizes, and let go of the extra staff.
Whatever.
Small class sizes are effective in K-3; after that, there's not much difference.
I would encourage you to read "The Underground History of Education" by John Taylor Gatto. It is well documented and illustrates how our current system is a fairly recent invention and is not designed for acedemic greatness, but to produce the most docile citizen possible.
The main thing to remember about homeschooling, is that it is not about the facts and subject, but I will tell you this:
It is about the journey.
It is about instilling character and building a stronger family.
It's about friends you get to keep and your best friend always gets to sit beside you at your coop classes. (We don't have assigned seats.)
It's about getting rid of the busy work and moving forward with your interests.
It's about looking at popular culture and rolling your eyes.
It's about looking at a bully square in the eyes and saying, you have no hold over me.
It's about experiencing the world together.
For the Christian, it's about growing in God's Word together, and that has been the biggest impact in my life.
[...] » Tһе U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Nοt More – Bіɡ… [...]
[...] » Tһе U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Nοt More – Bіɡ… [...]
How much money do you think our country and each of us would save if we did away with the public school system altogether? The money we save could easily be used for home schooling, tutors or private schooling. You write a good article, but you overlooked the obvious.
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big Government [...]
Err…well. Noone is talking about getting rid of ALL teachers. The founders believed in public education, most notably religeon (school's preference), politics, and America herself. De Tocqueville (sp?) was amazed at how knowledgeable American citizens were about their own country and politics. With that being said, I don't think the founders would be particularly pleased at WHO is being hired into public schools. There is TONS of deadweight in public schools, and alot of teachers just don't give a crap about the students anymore; these are the people we need to get rid of.. It's all union rules and union preference. It's disgusting and it has to stop. The kids really ARE suffering in this instance.
On an off note, AFL-CIO is in Texas unionizing our nurses. They are pushing something called Nurse-patient ratios. Kinda like this student-teacher ratios. What it means, as far as I can tell, is these hospitals are going to need to hire many many more nurses and staff, all at higher wages and benefits. Coupled with Obamacare, I'm almost scared to go to a hospital. Maybe I'll pick up a copy of "Self-Surgery for Dummies"…
You got that right Missy!!! Great article Andrew!! But I am afraid to say that the teachers and the libs will miss the point entirely,,,,you are using FACTS.
Simple Solutions:
Vouchers to allow parents to vote with their feet,,,,and
Disbanding public employee unions,,,especially the teachers unions.
Something Christie in NJ just demonstrated,,,the solution is and can be simpler than many of us think. Just freezing the entitllements at present levels, freezing the growth of the bureaucracies,,,attrition will take care of it almost as well as some draconian measure we all would like to see.
Private Sector unions are palatable,,,public employee unions are insane and unsustainable.
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big Government [...]
There is something like that already being tossed around, called School Choice Vouchers. It works like you described. The parent/s get a voucher, they take the voucher to their school of choice, and the child is enrolled in said school. Quick, clean, and easy. Repubs are for it, dems are against it. Actually, the School Choice Voucher program in D.C. was rescinded recently by Obama and Co.
How many progs does it take to change a lightbulb?
None. A conservative has to buy the bulb first.
Being from AZ I find it rediculously funny that the LA teachers union wants to start a class to teach their students ow 'un-american' the AZ immigration law is.
Normally I would be concerned about a threat like that but in their case,,,with a 50% drop-out rate,,,they are not teaching anything anyway and this would be just one more thing that the students would not understand anyway.
So to all those twisted little minds in the LA Schools system,,,keep up the great work,,,those students you are failing to educate will be making decisions on how you will be cared for in your golden years.
KARMA is a b!tch!!!!
Hey twerp! Remember me? Ready to get schooled again in how to back up arguments? You gave up last time…maybe you should just give up now before it starts again. By the way, people here dont like intolerant racist homophobes here, so why don't you go back to Huff Po. Unless you want to argue intelligently with facts….
[...] » Tһе U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Nοt More – Bіɡ… [...]
Not ALL TEACHERS belong to unions and many, many do work very hard and love their kids too. There are many good teachers where I live, many who do an excellent job. I live in a good area.
Your trolling is rather weak.
Time to resurrect the Hot Babes for Lame Trolls category. In this one, some NSFW lovely ladies from the orient.
I have always felt the day they allowed teachers to unionize is the day the standards
went down, and with each passing year they went lower and lower…
"A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican"
Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should loose his home because of his temporary misfortune.
Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time.
Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark)
He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home.
He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day) Joe agrees, "We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have".
I admire that very much and appreciate the homeschooled kids I teach in college. But like most professions, being a teacher and teaching one's own kids is a difficult paradox. Same goes for doctoring, lawyering, or being business partners w/your kids.
Our current system is about creating a docile herd; but that didn't seem to be the case earlier in public schools' history. Basic skills and citizenship were the primary goals, and I believe we should return to that.
You, my barista friend, are a progressive fascist!
As you kick and scream, we will be busy making life for your children better, despite your efforts to the contrary.
We will save them…from you.
It did however result in more teachers = more dues-paying union members- which was the real purpose of the exercise in the first place.
What a load of hooey. Especially the horseshit claim that Joe's pay and benefits somehow are to be credited to the villainous extortion rackets called "labor unions."
Where should I start fisking this (re-posted) dreck? Maybe the fact that it's the insurance industry, not "liberals", who are responsible for auto safety, and for reasons of … wait for it… profit? Point out the laughably oxymoronic "His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself ?"
Nah, you're a lost cause.
But how about an on-topic posting, hmm, hockeypuck? An attempt to defend American public education, which manages to be sumultaneously the worst and the most expensive in the developed world?
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
Andrew…
Thanks for putting in black and white what most of us here have suspected for years…
This Public- mega school bureaucracy is something that needs to be scaled back and defunded…
Vouchers need to be implemented, in order break the back of the Union leeches..
Vouchers will give rise to values-based private schools, sort of like "home schooling" on a massive scale…
It's really the only way to begin the US reclamation process..
Only after the Marxist based schools are marginalized, can we be a great country again…
The Feds should NOT be involved in education period. Public schools were funded for locally and controlled by the parents during the Founding of America. I think education should begin at home myself.
Abolish all unions and the National Education Association.
Well said repmother. This is my 8th year home schooling my children and I love it!
It's fun to watch the light bulb of understanding go on in their little noggins. I get to experience watching my child learn to read. How awesome is that! I love to take little rabbit trails in every subject when some type of current event is going on. For example, the goings on in Israel right now is a good way to teach my crew about God's love and protection for Israel and also the world's hatred of Israel and why that is.
Eliminate the Dept. of Education, get rid of public employee unions. While our kids are floundering in public schools, due to lack of qualified teachers, the teachers are guaranteed a job, regardless of their qualifications, or whatever crimes they commit. The paychecks just keep coming. This is the time for America to act, after all these years of being dictated by the unions. Can't wait till November.
[...] » Tһе U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Nοt More – Bіɡ… [...]
The topic is "public schools"…Not this regurgitated drivil you've posted…
Besides, alot of Repubs went along with many of the "great" features you've listed..
We love clean water and air, too…!!
Dig, fool?
This is why for years I have been calling for the abolishment of the National Department of Education, Pres. Carter's payoff to the NEA for their support. It is nothing but a tool to undermine state and local school districts, bring in more money for the unions and indoctrinate America's youth. Call your Congressmen and Congresswomen. Find out where they stand on the National Dept. of Education. Ask that they stop funding this bureaucratic sink hole.
True. If you find old pictures (late 1800s, early 1900s) it is amazing how many students (of various grades) one teacher was expected to educate. Amen to the idea that one suggest the current educators actually try teaching rather than social engineering and perhaps they could teach fact, not their biased personal opinions. I know there are some excellent teachers still in the schools but I also know firsthand that there are plenty that are indoctrinating, not teaching.
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
[...] » The U.S. Economy Needs Fewer Public School Jobs, Not More – Big … [...]
More power to ya!
All day long Joe worries about the future of his children because some stupid "Liberal" decided to spend two generations of as-yet un-produced wealth on foolish schemes free people in a market based economy would never support. Joe is up in arms over the fact that so much of his property (earnings) are confiscated by the committee-of-535 who are so much more wise when it comes to the proper "redistribution" of his wealth than he, the one who produced it, and decide how to best "allocate" it. Joe is despondent because morons such as yourself have the right to vote.
Clean water exists because people demand it. Sure, the "government" had to step in because some aspects of geography/geology are "common property". That is where your crap post here begins to depart from the rails of sanity.
Most "government" action is reactive, not pro-active. The 8 hour work day? Preceded union pressure in most industries due to competitive nature of attracting and preserving the best workforce possible.
Safe medications? Seriously? Most prescriptions have little better of a track record than their placebo in any study. The vast majority of prescriptions have so much fine print regarding the damage they may do to the user that I refuse them in nearly every case. How many drugs warn of use if there are pre-existing problems with "liver or kidney function"? Do you know the purpose of your liver and kidneys serve for your body? The stamp of big government is only an assurance that someone has been properly paid off.
Health insurance? Because of unions? You can't be that DUMB! (Well, maybe… based on this post of yours). Employer provided health insurance (really medical insurance, since no one can "insure" health) was a response to government wage and price controls in the 1950's (meant to control inflation, and failed miserably).
"below market" student loans? Does your dumb ass even begin to understand that "below market" means it is subsidized? Might you ask at whose expense? If it is "below market" does that not mean it is distorting the natural market for that particular commodity (even if it is "education")? Have we just devalued the meaningful achievement of those who EARNED a right to be in the "market" for an education?
The new union thug retires in his 50's and collects a pension that dwarfs the earned income of the schlub taxpayer that will work past retirement age to support the "servant" of the people. I know a few of these assholes, and I despise all of them.
I will group most of the rest of the crap you attribute big government "greatness" to under the banner of "consumerism". Monopolies, bad products and risky schemes don't survive long without government sanction and the presence of free markets. Businesses that produce inferior products, or ones that charge too much are subject to competition in a free market. No monopoly exists without government sanction.
Private "mass" transportation' was a viable business prior to the "good intentions" of government subsidies of "public" transportation.
I will leave you at that. PLEASE keep posting such "wisdom". I will catch you another day and totally expose you for the moron you are. Your philosophy is both arrogant and anti-human. You are too stupid to understand this. I will school you at a later date. Later, numb-nuts…
You must be logged in to post a comment.