Alright, I'm going to climb up onto the rant box for a moment here. If your only interest when entering this thread is spamming, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from doing so. In all other cases, I'm all good with it... But I'd like to see some serious opinion on this one. Alright, now that we've got that over with... Let's get down to business. As you might already know, I am a student who is currently attending high school as a sophomore. In my area, when the legislature or the school board starts losing money, the first thing they do is look at how they can justify decreasing the teachers' pay grades or increasing work-loads. My school district has become quite notorious for this in the past few years. Pensions have been cut (if not taken away completely), pay raises have been delayed, extra work hours are ignored, et cetera et cetera. The list goes on and on, and the school staff has grown to be quite frustrated with legislature. To make matters worse, our district recently split into two halves: the retail-heavy half and the quiet neighborhood half. I reside in the neighborhood half. Because of this split, the retail half took 60% of the revenue and only 40% of the students, Leaving my area to fend for itself. (This split was ruled as completely illegal, as the neighborhood half had no say in the matter, but that's a different story). This lack of funding for the large mass of students that remained combined with the recent economic downturn has put my school district into over $30 million in debt. Naturally, the school board has been scrambling to find a solution. A survey was put out to the residents of the school district, asking which of several options they preferred. The nearly unanimous vote was to raise taxes. What it would have amounted to was an extra 32 cents every day. This much money from each taxpayer would have payed off half of the $30 million deficit. However, the school board would have none of that. Instead, they are deciding that it would be a much better option to remove over 500 staff members from the district. 250 teachers, 250 of everyone else. And to make up for the massive overload of students, teachers would have to lose their prep periods and teach an extra period every day without pay. This means that the teachers who already taught extra periods (sports, marching band, etc.) would no longer be paid for their efforts. Of course, teachers in my district are outraged, quite specifically in my school. (I guess my school would be considered the "flagship" of the district, as we have the most students, the oldest building, higher academic achievement, and many more sports championships than any of the others.) All this buildup has gotten them quite riled, and they're starting to take work action. Many extra-curricular programs (including a blood drive which was supposed to happen today) have been cancelled. Teachers are leaving the school as soon as they are allowed to, instead of staying to catch up on work, improve one of their programs, etc. If the district board doesn't respond, they're threatening to walk out, and hope to encourage other schools in the district to follow suit. They risk their jobs by doing this, but it's gotten to such a horrible level that they just don't care anymore. Now, I realize that there have been similar problems throughout the country, but since this has hit so close to home, it's had a profound affect on my outlook of the state of my area, of the United States and the world as a whole. _____________________________ This, along with the obvious decay of the economy, has got me to thinking: is the U.S. failing to hold together, much as other nations have that tried to have a government of a democracy? When you look back through history to great civilizations such as Rome and Greece who also followed a democratic path of government did not last as a democracy for more than 300 years. The U.S. is coming upon its 223rd anniversary under the Constitution. And everything is going to hell. Trillions of dollars in debt. An economy that isn't going to turn for the better anytime soon. Educational systems failing. A nation that hasn't exactly been happy with the actions of the past few presidents. Tons of corruption in very high places. There are quite a few parallels between this nation and the conditions of the great civilizations of Rome and Greece at the time of their slip from democracy. I'm a little worried. And I'm not legally an adult yet (If that matters to you). I'd like to hear the opinions of others on these topics. Please don't turn this into some form of a Nationalistic cockfight. Are similar things happening in your area? What is your opinion on the economic downturn? And do you agree or disagree with my opinion on the possibility of critical governmental failure in the U.S.?
I'm probably about 10 years older then you and I'm completely apathetic about politics. What you're seeing is the halfway point down the spiral of sixty years of mismanagement and blind adherence to "free market" capitalism that have worked hand in hand to get us where we are. I don't know why it's so lost on people that capitalism exists for the sole purpose of making money and will do so at any cost if you let it. Case in point, the agricultural subsidies that the government pays for farmers to grow more corn caused them to grow more corn then we could ever eat. Now everything in the US has corn syrup in it, a product created for the purpose of fatting up farm livestock. We've been hauling ass down that slippery slope to idiocracy for decades so enjoy the mess the past three generations has left you.
I realize that this problem has been going on for a long time; a country doesn't amass such a huge amount of debt within a couple of years or even a couple of decades. And I realize that Capitalism is doing nothing good and everything bad for the future of our country. An election system that has essentially turned into a popularity contest is a huge sign of how corrupt the government has become as a result of it. Companies having the ability to endorse a person running for a seat in Congress doesn't help the image much, either. I've known that we've been on the descent for a long time. The troubles with my school district, however, have made all this stuff real to me. I'm looking on it firsthand, which is something that most people my age probably haven't experienced yet. So, sorry I'm late to the "knowledge of our stupidity" party. And thanks for the mess.
Solution: Drop out of high school when you turn 16, get GED. Enroll in a community college (or other cheap school) for 2 years. Get a good GPA, and enroll in a really good 4 year school (and keep going after that, if you need to). I guarantee you, all employers will care about is the school where you got your highest level of education. After the Sophomore year of high school, you have probably learned everything you really need from it, and the first two years of college are usually spent completing 100 and 200 level courses, which aren't much harder than what you would be doing in your Junior and Senior years in high school. You might as well get full college credit from them. Once you finish those, and manage to get a good GPA (which really isn't hard, so long as you give a ****), pretty much any 4 year school will take you, and you can probably get a bunch of good scholarships to help you pay for school. Then you finally get to work on the 300 and 400 level courses, and actually get to the interesting stuff.
Great thread and I definitely agree with you. The education system of America isn't getting the job done. By high school, everything I learn is no longer practical. After I take a test I mine as well just forget all the stuff I just learned since I'm never going to use it. I think high school ought to be more streamlined, like college. You choose what classes you want to take based on what job you want in the future. And the job doesn't have to be set in stone, you can change classes just like you can change majors in college. I just think that would be a much more effective education system then the one we have now. The government needs to realize education should be their top priority, not the first thing that gets budget cuts; it's the hope of our future. But the problem is we're nearing the end of the government's life cycle. Republics can only stay republics for so long. The lack of leadership in this country and the greedy corruption of politicians will be the demise of this country unless something big changes. I love this country, but the people running it need their minds to be erased and politics needs to start off clean again.
Hmm. That's an interesting course of action you propose. I might have to look into it. My high-school experience is a little more like college than yours is, it sounds. I have a variety of class options to choose from, anything from medicine to graphic design to music. However, this will likely change as those 250 teachers leave the district. I agree that the government needs to recognize the educational system as a more important aspect of our lives. Teachers in other countries, such as Germany and Japan, are seen as the uber-elite. Here, government employees such as teachers, officers, and firemen are seen as the bottom of the cesspool. It's really quite astonishing when you think about how the people who fight to keep us safe are the ones earning less-than-stellar wages. I wish that some people who actually cared about changing our nation for the better would get elected into office rather than the money-hogging capitalist nut-jobs we seem to have an endless supply of.
Eh...I look at the farm subsidies as an example of misplaced socialism or, more aptly considered, cronyism, than any sort of example of capitalism, let alone "free market" capitalism. After all, the government is paying farmers subsidies to produce more corn than the market desires. That directly contradicts "free market" principles.
I fully endorse this solution. I wish I had thought of it when I was that age instead of spiraling down with disinterest in the NYC "educational" system during the '90s because I felt unchallenged and attempts at transferring elsewhere were futile. Screwed up my life for a while there, that did. But I'd alter the plan a bit if your a bit more ambitious. GED. Enroll in community college. Prior to that last bit, get a job. At 16 all you have to do is get work papers signed by your legal guardian(s). No one can force you not to work at that age, especially after you get your GED, because we live in a "right to work" nation. Why get as full time a job as possible after the GED? It'll help you pay for school, for one, and you can save up money to get the fudge outta your folks' home, even if only temporarily. Plus, money for dates. Important thing, that. Keep your sanity. Also, the work history will look good after you enroll in community college for your associates degree and start looking for internships. If the HR rep for internships has the choice between an 18 year old (which you would be in your first or second year of CC under this plan) with NO work experience vs. one with 2 years of actual work experience, they'll go with the latter 10 times outta 10. Do the internships, get letters of recommendation, and you can then use those to get into a really good 4 year senior college/university, and maybe even one with an accelerated degree program (where in those 4 years you not only earn a Bachelor's degree, but a Master's as well). In your early 20's, then, you'll have earned a Masters, have had a few years of real world work experience under your belt, and a slew of internships and therefore connections with possible future employers or even partners.
As opposed to what? Communism, socialism, governments run by monarchy? What exactly is your alternative? The example you use undermines your very arguement. Government subsidies are not the free market. To the OP: this is a Republic, there is a difference. You school system is not an example of free markets. Far from it. What you are seeing, though painful, is quite needed. Clearly we can't continue to spend money we don't have. The crisis that triggered the transition of Rome, from Republic to Imperial power, was an economic one. They made commitments they could not pay for.
Your story is exactly what my school district has gone through and it isn't pleasent. Instead of cutting back on teachers and staff why not just cut back on school days? Increase the ammount of time in school in the form of minutes and cut back the school year, that would make sense to me. This may hurt educational standards, but the sad fact is a lot of public schools nowadays don't do very well in school because they usually put money as the top priority it feels like. Uncle Sam can only do so much for our school systems and I haven't seen any improvments to my school system since this "stimiulus package" was put in motion as of last year.
Opposed to nothing, what I meant was that capitalism is nether good nor evil it simply exists to make money and will do so at any cost if ethics aren't imposed on it. The example I was making had to do with farmers growing more corn then people could possibly eat because the government was willing to pay them for it then turning around and using that excess corn to produce a unnecessary product and forcing it on the public without examining the long term heath consequences. The economic criticism here has to do with what they did because of the program not the program itself.
Even me, that goes to a pretty expensive private school, has experienced somewhat of a downgrade. Nowhere nearly as bad as you, we just lost maybe 5-7 teachers, dropped a couple elective classes, but that's about it. Still, it shows how widespread the effect.
weird....my school expanded. instead of 4 86 minute classes, we have 6 57minute classes....2 being electives each day. IT opened a whole new world of teachers and classses
That program is not consistant with free markets. It started as a form of protectionism and is one example of an ethic that was imposed on a market. As per your expanation, anything imposed on a market to force certain behaviors that in and of itself is not profitable, is not free market capitalism but an external ethic. Farmers who are subsidized by goverment are an example of an ethic that was imposed upon the free market. That is consistant with socialism. To each according to need.
Alright, I'm sorry for using the incorrect term... Democracy is still present in the government, though. I definitely agree that it is a needed change. This whole dilemma has spurred quite a bit of response in my area, and once the word has spread that it would only take 6 to 10 dollars a month to remedy this problem, many parents are outraged that the board has allowed things to drift this far. The construction of much-too-elaborate buildings has also been noticed, and is becoming a sore point for the board to deal with. Hopefully, we can construct enough attention to get the administration flushed and re-appointed. HB292 in Utah is planning to equally distribute the wealth among the students of the two districts. Right now, the district that split off has $2200 per student from the government, while mine has just $1200. This bill would distribute the wealth equally, $1600 per student, and would save many of our financial woes. And that's exactly what I'm talking about: this country's huge amount of debt parallels the problems Rome had during its Republic period. If we don't fix this soon, there will be hell to pay.
Something that I would really encourage is college work study. You can usually secure a job on campus, and get fairly good pay (I got $8.50 my first two semesters, and $9.00/hr on my last two semesters). The work hours are usually really flexible, and if you are getting other forms of financial aid (which I was during my first year, but not in subsequent years, because my father started making too much money. Actually kind of unfair, because he never gave me a single cent towards college ), it won't count against the amount you get, unlike a regular job would.
