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When riots happen in Wilmington, which i’m sure they will, I hope they will learn from Ferguson Missouri’s mistake.
That mistake is to riot in your own neighborhood… That is just plain silly. Did we attack ourselves when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor? Or did we wage war with Japan?
Why people would loot and burn in their own neighborhood, is beyond me. I write this now, so when the opportunity to riot does occur, those with above average intelligence will have a plan to move the crowd out of their impoverished neighborhood, and instead riot in neighborhoods where the a) the loot is much better, and b) those responsible for the policy that has kept you down since Clinton left office, are directly affected. If you are going to riot, you should do in on the enemies home turf. Republican Country.
A riot has a purpose. It is to change things. To make things better by creating a situation that is worse than doing nothing, therefore something has to be done. Blacks didn’t protest on the back seat of the bus. They sat in the white section. Black students didn’t do their sit-in at the black counter. They did it at the white. Black students didn’t march into Tuskegee Institute with the National Guard. They marched into the all white University of Alabama. Martin Luther King didn’t do his marches within all black neighborhoods. He marched across the bridge into downtown white Selma….
So battling police in your own neighborhood, looting your own corner store, burning out yours and your neighbor’s houses, kind of double hurts you. Not only are you being oppressed by Republican Policies, but you are also setting those who support you, back even more….
So I’m writing this to tell you where to protest so it will do you some good.
It is called Westover Hills. There aren’t many people living there, but those that do are rich and very old and feeble. They couldn’t stop a crowd breaking into their house if they tried. Plus, when you loot, you could actually get something you could sell. Whose going to buy all the banana flavored Laffy Taffy you stole from the corner market? But you could easily swipe a Bose Stereo, or maybe find a safe with a couple of hundred thousand in it.
And instead of hurting mom and pop, or Uncle Joe and Aunt Alice, you would be hurting those whose money is directly responsible for you not having a good job, a good house, a good future. Those in Westover Hills vote Republican and it is Republicans who have allowed all the money to go to the top 1%… and none to you…
If you remember the Clinton Democratic years, it was different. You, or your mom and dad, did get richer every year and if that had only continued, you would have been doing rather well by now. But you got lazy and enough of you didn’t vote for Democrats in 2000 and now, we are stuck with the rich getting richer, and you and your neighbors, getting poorer…
So take the number 20 bus from 10th and Market side of Rodney Square and in 8 minutes and 15 stops later, you will be just north of the riot zone. Do your peaceful protests there, in the middle of the streets, and shout how Republicans have ruined everyone’s lives but those of themselves… When the riot police arrive with their single tank and tear gas, make them fire it at you so all those rich billionaires have to breath it too. Then when all hell breaks loose, break into the houses and rob yourselves silly. Don’t even worry. Unlike those corner stores, everything you take here is fully insured… Destroying their property, will in days, put all Delaware’s construction workers back to work. These guys are rich. They don’t dilly-dally around.
The main point is this? When you riot in your own neighborhoods which these Republicans never venture into, it only serves to reinforce their notion of you as a sub-human race. “Look at those pathetic people”, they will say over their Maker’s Mark and Hennessey, “they’re tearing up their own neighborhood. Maybe we should keep them doing it so they move and haul their sorry asses elsewhere.”
They will not be in any hurry to lift one finger… “make them suffer more” will be their outcry. But … if you do it in THEIR neighborhood, they will at least wonder why? In their asking around, what’s the real cause of these people rioting, they will come to the conclusion that they, with all the money, need to invest more, need to hire more, need to pay more, and that if they had previously invested more in our people, this riot would never have happened. That is your key… Getting them to call their out-of-pocket legislators and say, “raise my taxes; we can’t afford any more riots like these, even if we are insured. It’s the third time this year. I’m too tired for another round of tax free shopping!”…
You can even walk there. So forget the bus. Just send the coordinates out on social media, and anyone with a phone app can get there…. It is pointless for you to have to bear the cost and trauma of what THEY caused. It makes such great sense for them to bear that cost, and after doing so, quickly create the changes you need to pull yourselves out of poverty…
So pastors and neighborhood watch leaders. Start talking your kids to riot in Westover Hills, instead of your own street. Isn’t it about time, the real criminals get to feel the heat?
They are the ones who put you there…. Make THEM pay, not those who are poor like you. And pick up something nice for me while you are there… A nice oriental carpet would be cool… blue and white if you find one.
We hail our fallen heroes. Hopefully many of you stirred some dull roots with spring rain today:… memories, both a blessing and a curse.
But for whom did they die?
Did they die for….
Top 5 Contributors, 2009 – 2014, Campaign Cmte and Leadership PAC Contributor Total Indivs PACs
AstraZeneca PLC $71,550 $36,550 $35,000
JPMorgan Chase & Co $58,200 $33,200 $25,000
Ashland Inc $55,420 $25,700 $29,720
Blue Cross/Blue Shield $46,000 $6,000 $40,000
Bank of America $40,440 $3,940 $36,500
Those were Tom Carper’s top 5 contibutors……
Or did they die for….
Top 5 Contributors, 2009 – 2014, Campaign Cmte and Leadership PAC Contributor Total Indivs PACs
Young, Conaway et al $121,300 $121,300 $0
Skadden, Arps et al $92,600 $87,600 $5,000
Grant & Eisenhofer $70,049 $70,049 $0
Comcast Corp $69,200 $44,200 $25,000
Morris, Nichols et al $57,550 $57,550 $0
Those were Chris Coons’ top 5 contributors……
Or did they die for…....
Top 5 Contributors, 2013 – 2014, Campaign Cmte and Leadership PAC Contributor Total Indivs PACs
Investment Co Institute $12,500 $8,140 $2,500
Skadden, Arps et al $10,640 $8,140 $2,500
National Multi Housing Council $10,500 $0 $10,500
Bank of America $10,250 $750 $9,500
AstraZeneca PLC $10,198 $250 $9,948
These are John Carney’s top contributors……
Our state relative to nationally, is actually on the good end of campaign contribution spectrum. Nothing here, is really out of line. You should see some in other states…
But let us isolate by industry…..
For John Carney….
Top 5 Industries, 2013 – 2014, Campaign Cmte and Leadership PAC Industry Total Indivs PACs
Insurance $96,520 $2,820 $93,700
Securities & Investment $93,000 $1,500 $91,500
Lawyers/Law Firms $59,110 $45,610 $13,500
Commercial Banks $49,000 $1,250 $47,750
Finance/Credit Companies $43,250 $5,250 $38,000
For Chris Coons…….
Top 5 Industries, 2009 – 2014, Campaign Cmt Industry Total Indivs PACs
Lawyers/Law Firms $1,495,387 $1,341,519 $153,868
Leadership PACs $512,900 $0 $512,900
Lobbyists $345,302 $325,472 $19,830
Securities & Investment $296,800 $235,300 $61,500
TV/Movies/Music $228,157 $163,800 $64,357
For Tom Carper……..
Top 5 Industries, 2009 – 2014, Campaign Cmte Industry Total Indivs PACs
Insurance $371,710 $94,470 $277,240
Securities & Investment $320,340 $125,840 $194,500
Lawyers/Law Firms $294,382 $170,761 $123,621
Lobbyists $214,262 $207,042 $7,220
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $207,710 $50,300 $157,410
And now, in what I believe is the first time ever…. here is the combination giving you an idea of who influences our 3 man delegation… Compiled by adding together all three’s industry totals listed above and then ranking them top down…..
Lawyers/Law Firms …………….. $1,848,879
Securities & Investment ……………. $710,140
Insurance…..,,,,,,,,,……………. , …… $668,257
Leadership PACs ………………………. $675,400
Lobbyists ………………………………,…$568,779
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $486,108
Commercial Banks …………………….$435,240
TV/Movies/Music……………………….$292,067
Finance/Credit Companies………….$208,865
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And that is who owns our delegation…. Just seeing the visual makes it clear why some of the anti-people votes cast by this delegation, … are ever cast at all…. No, contrary to how we exclaim… They are not insane. They are practical….
It will get worse with McCutcheon passed…
Already the amount of dark money as shown by tallies done by the Center for Responsive Politics show that nondisclosing groups have already reported spending more than three times as much as they had at this point in the 2012 elections — a presidential cycle when higher spending would be expected.”
Did you get that? The unprecedented spending done in 2012, a contested presidential year, as of now been tripled over the same point of time back in 2012…….. . And it is both sides. In the past dark money was 80% Conservative, 20% Liberal. Today (2014), it is 60% Conservative; 40% Liberal… Spending by liberal nondisclosing groups is more than four times higher than it was at this point in 2012, while their conservative counterparts have tripled their previous spending level……
Which means, no tv watching this summer… and social media will become a real turn-off…. Both mean that most of America will tune out this election… Thank you, Supreme Court….. What were you smoking?
And if most of America tunes out this election, it again begs the moral and serious question…. for whom did they die? Certainly not us.
Cons
Raises tax on gasoline by 10 cents per gallon. If gas costs $3.33 today, with tax it will cost $3.43.
Does not tax the wealth as much a percent of their income, as it would tax those on the lower levels.
Takes consumer’s money away from discretionary spending on other items.
Could cause truckers to fuel up in other states.
At a drive rate of 25,000 miles per year, at an mpg of 20 miles per gallon, the number of gallons used would be 1,250. A ten cent tax on each of those gallons amounts to $125 per year… Per month that would be .. $10.41… Per day…$ 0.32… If one drives less, or has higher mpg, one pays less.
Gasoline tax has lost its value over the past decade. Changes in fuel-saving automotive technology and driving habits are resulting in less revenue to repair crumbling bridges, repave highways or upgrade buses and trains.
Pros
Jobs, jobs, jobs, with funding highway construction can get into gear.
Solidifies the Transportation Trust Fund, which has been robbed to simply run government. That’s been squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, and specifically what has been squeezed out of it is the ability to build more capacity to deal with congestion. All that’s left, pretty much, in the capital budget at the state level (for roads), is maintenance and repair.
DelDOT’s capital budget would increase from $128 million this year up to $192 million next year.
Opens door of super high tax rate on the super high wealthy in this state. Those who should be paying 15%.
Encourages people to use less petroleum. Smaller cars, higher MPG’s, more public transit, less pollution, get bumps when gas rises higher.
Allows state to tap in on all those people using 95 who pull into the best service center on the East Coast, perhaps the nation.
County and local roads which have also have suffered, may now finally receive repair.
The current poor condition of roads costs drivers in Delaware cost $2,500 per person per year in extra fuel, wear-and-tear and lost time. This cost must be balanced against the cost of an additional 10 cents per gallon. (Compared to the $125 per year cost of the tax.)
We paid more in the past. Driving the same 25,000 miles back when cars ran on 10 mpg, the same mileage would have generated. $250 dollars… Fuel efficiency has cost state transportation funds half of what they once used to receive….
The tax was last raised in 1995… Since then, what we could once buy for $250.00, we would now need $382.00. The money we collect does not go half as far….
States with lower gas taxes actually pay more for the gas in the pumps because the market will bear it. Sam’s Gas (Walmart) in Athens, Georgia, where there is a 7.5 cents Georgia state tax on gasoline…. sells gas for $2.99…. Putting the price of the cheapest Athens, Georgia gas today is $2.915… In Delaware, Wawa has $3.23 up on their sign, (as of a couple of hours ago.) Today Delaware’s tax is 23 cents per gallon… The cost of the gas minus taxes is $2.99…. some may say… aha! Georgia is cheaper. But that would be comparing Sam’s Club to Wawa. One would expect Sam’s Club to be cheaper… It is a “club”… is it not? The lowest priced national brand in Athens, Georgia is the Shell Station on Atlanta Ave. near Trade Street. It’s pump cost is $3.19… Deduct the 7.5 cent gasoline tax, and Georgians are paying $3.115 per gallon for gas; the comparative Delawarean price with Delaware’s tax tacked on, would be… $3.35…. Today that is 8 cents higher than most stations sell in Delaware today….. Point is… consumers don’t absorb the gas cost… The $4 billion dollar gas companies do!
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The benefits outweigh the cost.
——
With so many great benefits, it seems senseless to halt them all for a price jump that can occur on it’s own at a moment’s notice… No more difference from driving past a gas station in night checking the price, and doing it again in the morning and cursing you didn’t fill up the night before…
Thus, are the pros and cons of raising a gas tax…. if the poor and middle class are being asked to sacrifice, come later, THE WEALTHY HAD BETTER BE FORCED TO DO THE SAME…. IT’S AN ELECTION YEAR YOU KNOW…… Pass this minor tax on the poor, then raise state income rates where they should be… As a reminder I’ve included them below…….
Recommendations for 2014:
Go to multiple tiered tax rates:
15% on $1 billion or more
10% on $100 million to $1 billion
9% on $10 million to $100 million
8% on $1 million to $10 million
7% on $500,000 to $1 million
6.75% on $60,000 up to $1 million
Come a listen to a story about a old man named Phil..
Lucky he was born before his mama found the Pill.
Then one day he was shoot’in’ off the Mouth.
Next thing you know, he’s embarrassed the ‘effin’ South….
Hillbillies that is… Southern Folk, Black haters and KKK….
Well the first thing you know he’s got more trouble than facial hair.
The kin folk said,… Phil move away from there!!!
Said… Somalia is the place you oughta be…
So they packed up the trucks and moved to ……
Mogadishu…..
Open firearm laws….
and Muslim beards…..
(Announcer) The Phil S Stein Hillbillies! Brought to you by…. A & E Networks…. where bein’ anti-gay… don’t pay…..
Courtesy of The Atlantic
This is a good illustration of how compromise works… After the Tea Party’s humiliating defeat, it appears all those left, have thrown their mesh skeletons into the trash can, and to each of their entreaties for redemption…. have given them a collective……
“Forget about it…”
It should hit you hard right now, of just how far back we are from where we’d be if 2010 Tea Party Revolt had never happened………
Rand Paul made some rather bizarre statements that at first do not seen true… This is an attempt to tackle them logically and see how in what context, they could possibly be true…
His subject was the extension of unemployment benefits.
First… Take his statement: “I do support unemployment benefits for the first 26 weeks…” He is talking about state money, not federal. Federal money starts on the 27th week. So at issue is who will pay for it. From the point of the Treasury, since employers pay unemployment insurance into the state, and the state pays the unemployed, essentially employers are paying the unemployment, and not the government… Of course sometimes the cost may outweigh the income and shifts have to occur. However it is in no way nearly as costly as using all Federal money, all of which comes from taxes, to pay for those people who cannot find work….
So from the Federal Governments role, not extending benefits initially looks good on its balance sheet…
Now let us look at it through economics… You have someone maybe or maybe not trying very hard to earn a job…. In any regards he doesn’t have one… So from the 26th week to the 27th week, this happens. His income goes from $330 (Delaware’s maximum) down to zero…. He files for SNAP (food stamps), Medicare, TANF (cash assistence) and utility payments. Most likely, with zero income he will be eligible. There will probably be a two to three week delay before the payments go into effect, and they will be paid with all the back pay up to when the request was processed.
Now, to keep TANF, this person must undergo a forced regime. They must show up at a service such as the Salvation Army or Career Team, and go through seminar training for roughly the equivalent of a work week. They get times for interviews and resumes, and have coaches helping them find employment…They undergo internships. This impedes their time looking for additional work… If one is required to spend the day in class, it makes going to an interview rather difficult… It sort of makes it harder to get a job for the same money that just getting unemployment would allow….
So the idea that cutting unemployment is economical for society is bogus. It completely forgets to factor in the cost of assistance that would be required. Essentially from an economics standpoint, it would not fund the supplicant from one fund, but would be doing so from another…. The one fund would need to be funded by additional revenue. The existing fund, would have to figure how to pay for the extra demand off of their limited resources…
In review, this idea does not work well on either the deficit’s or economic level. It simply moves the cost to another department, and that is actually more costly by the time one factors TANF, Medicaid, SNAP, and subsidized utility payments.
The only way cutting unemployment could work, is A) it forced someone to get a job, and B) the person disappeared off the grid and cost no one anything….
I cannot but help think, that the premise for Rand Paul’s argument, is based on the assumption that people are free-loading on unemployment. He is calling them out by implying sure they are going through the motions of looking, but they are acting like they are on vacation….
For it can only if that premise is taken, then the removal of benefits miraculously causes everyone to walk up and get a job and live happily ever after… Further more, I sense morality making a play here… The idea that getting money while not producing is unhealthy for our country, seems to be the driving force here…
If you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to these workers,” he said… “When you allow people to be on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks, you’re causing them to become part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy,”
The idea clearly stated, is that the perpetual unemployed group in our economy, exists because people are on unemployment. Other factors are irrelevant… such as no new jobs, such as old people suck; let’s hire new ones, such as the jobs we have are in Missouri; you’re in Delaware. All of these factors are simply dismissed.
If you want a job, Rand Paul’s stated assumption goes, you just have to go ask and they will give it to you, no questions asked. Only because you are unemployment, have you not only not gotten a job, but neither have you sufficiently looked…..
Are the jobs really there?
Let’s look at numbers…. Four days ago it was released that 230,000 new jobs grew in November. it surprised everyone. Unemployment dropped 3 tenths. The total number of unemployed dropped down to 10.9 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 4.1 million in November. These individuals accounted for 37.3 percent of the unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed has declined by 718,000 over the past 12 months.
So, 4.1 million of the 10.9 million are either at or over 27 weeks of being unemployed… if Rand Paul gets his way and benefits suddenly stop, 4.1 million shuffle onto on assistance instead of getting unemployment…. Rand Paul was expecting them to get work…
Let is demonstrate how long that would take….
4.1 million unemployed – 230,000 monthly new jobs = 3.87 million unemployed left without benefits in January 2014
3.87 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 3.64 million…. February 2014
3.64 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 3.41 million….. March 2014
3.41 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 3.18 million….. April 2014
3.18 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 2.93 million….. May 2014
2.93 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 2.70 million….. June 2014
2.70 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 2.47 million….. July 2014
2.47 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 2.21 million….. August 2014
2.21 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 1.91 million….. Sept. 2014
1.91 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 1. 68 million…. Oct. 2014
1.68 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 1.45 million… Nov. 2014
1.45 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 1.22 million… Dec. 2014
1.22 million -230,000 monthly new jobs = 920,000…… Jan. 2015
920,000 -230,000 monthly new jobs = 690,000 ….. Feb. 2015
690,000 -230,000 monthly new jobs = 460,000 March 2015
460,000 -230,000 monthly new jobs = 230,000 April 2015
230,000 -230, 000 monthly new jobs = full employment…. May 2015……
Of course this is only theoretical. If real, it would take much longer because one would have to factor in all the new perspective job seekers entering the job market each month, as well as factor the ratio of which the new get hired versus old, etc. and obviously it would take much longer than just this scenario implies…..
But the fastest we could ever hire all of those long termed unemployed is a year and a half….
A year and a half with no income. Even if looking for work regularly, and someone took a slot before you, it could be a year and a half until another slot opens up where you could finally be employed….
Those who say, one can get a job delivering papers, in the meantime, are forgetting that there already are 7.7 million part-time workers due to the economy, already working those jobs, and looking for full time employment as well…
So it appears that simple math proves Mr. Rand Paul wrong. Keeping unemployed workers on unemployment benefits is not providing a disservice to workers, it is doing the opposite; but cutting them off and leaving them with no money while they try to find work across a full year and a half is what would truly provide perhaps the greatest disservice to workers….
Rand Paul erred in his math.
Now this may be esoteric for most, but for me, this was the most intriguing aspect… (So instead of ending with a bang-up finish, this post will fade away ethereally..). Remember that unemployment benefits are taxable income… So if unemployment is extended past 27 weeks, the net cost over a year will be less because some of that comes back as taxes… So if one takes that calculation into effect, and at a 10% rate which is low… $33 dollars of every $330 Federal Unemployment check comes back, meaning the economy is being boosted by $330 dollars, at only a cost to the Fed’s over time, of $297….
The average benefit per person on SNAP is $133 dollars. Medicaid costs and average of $166 among low income people. Rand Paul’s plan would increase these two items to $299 per person, to save in another category, $297 per person…..
It appears the only thing Rand Paul has going forward in his favor, is the cultivation of anger against people terminated by the past Recession who cannot get rehired and must wait for the economy to grow…..”How dare they take our money!” The math behind his assertion, agoes completely against him….
But to his defense, he did say something of merit: “You get out of a recession by encouraging employment, not encouraging unemployment.”
Increasing the size of government would do far more to get people off of long term unemployment benefits, than cutting them off cold turkey. Adding 100,000 new Federal government career jobs each month, would do wonders all across the economy. Don’t think Rand will have any of that, which is why the economy will only putt along until Congress allows the Federal Government to again start hiring …..
Breaking. and this is an ongoing story that reminds me so much of the Russian coup against Gorbachev that looked so frightening at first, then the coup leaders were all found locked in a room, half naked, drunk off their asses. What bumblers…
We had three scandals in three days…
- Benghazi.
- AP Reporters getting wiretapped.
- IRS searching up Tea Partiers…
Turns out none are scandals.
A) Obama and Hillary are absolved from the Benghazi episode. The ABC email that started it all, was doctored. The whole thing was built off a piece of misinformation.
B) The AP Reporters? A very serious leak compromising considerable resources needed to be tracked down. The House Bill which would have made listening to journalist illegal was voted against by none other than Darral Issa.. Only 20 others were extremely discombobulated enough to do so. Though is passed overwhelmingly over Issa’s objection, a Republican filibuster killed it in the Senate. Obama then a Senator, had committed to voting for it. “Republicans killed it” quoted Patrick Leahy, forever known for his episode in Dark Knight.
C) IRS searching up Tea Partiers. The IRS is a non partisan machine and is in a complete disconnect with any administration. The head of the IRS during this time-frame was a Bush appointee. The head of the division what oversees these tax exempt organizations, was appointed by Bush and approved by the Republican Senate in 2005… Why either of these would target the Tea Party for political means is unfathomable. But to do so because these organizations being investigated were formed to promote the NOT PAYING OF TAXES….. well, wouldn’t you do the same?
All three cases were complete duds. There was no “there”, there. All the prophecies of you had better watch out, …were premature.
The big question is… why are we even talking about this? Can you say poll results?
- December 12, 2012: Kentucky: Hillary Clinton would beat Paul, Rubio in 2016
- January 10, 2013: Clinton could be unstoppable if she runs in 2016
- January 17, 2013: Clinton could beat Bush and Rubio in Florida in 2016
- January 31, 2013: Clinton could win Texas in 2016
- February 8, 2013: Clinton potentially competitive in Alaska
- February 14, 2013: Clinton tied or ahead against GOP candidates in Louisiana
- February 28, 2013: Clinton would beat Walker, Ryan in Wisconsin in 2016
- March 21, 2013: Clinton’s popularity soars in Florida while Rubio stumbles
- April 11, 2013: Clinton and Paul are neck and neck in Kentucky
- April 25, 2013: Clinton would be dominant in New Hampshire in 2016
- May 8, 2013: Republicans decide it’s time to find out just how responsible Hillary Clinton is for the deaths of four Americans in Benghazi
Can you say …. “getting trounced in Red States”?
Jeff Christopher followers stage a show of force to give Sussex County an idea what will happen once a sheriff gets full power to make arrests base on his arbitrary judgment.
All three of his followers think this is what America needs more of.
Pictures speak 1000 words.
Right click for full view.
In isolated argument the idea of school vouchers has appeal. If you can’t get the education you need, you go somewhere else to get it. The idea is that this forces those losing students to change in order to attract them back.
Everyone gets a better education.
There is a huge problem with that argument. I will use Hurricane Sandy to point it out.
Before Hurricane Sandy struck, everyone went shopping the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before. By Sunday night, there was no bread in New Castle County. In every store, the shelves were empty.
At first it was the cheap bread that went. The dollar loaves which are the first pick of most bread eaters. As those were gone, then the basic bread of private bakers went, the brand names. Soon all the white bread was gone, and the wheat began disappearing. After the wheat was gone, the gourmet breads began disappearing, the 5 grains, the 7 grains, the 12 grains, the hearty grains… Then went the ryes, the Jewish ryes, the pumpernickels. Many people who came for white bread, who’d never paid $4 dollars a short loaf before, were snapping it up. When all the bread was sold out, hamburger buns went, hot dog buns went, dinner rolls went, starting from cheap all the way up to Arnold’s and Pepperidge Farms… The last person coming in to pick up a loaf of bread, got gourmet pumpernickel hot dog buns with oatmeal sprinkled on top…
You walked in Sunday night, October 28th, 2012… the shelves were bare…. from one end to the other….
How does this correspond to vouchers?
If everyone has the option of taking a voucher to improve their child’s education, you’ve created a crises and a lack of supply.
The best schools are snapped up first, then the 2nd best, then the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th, and at last the inner city schools being the last to go… So those shopping first get the good deal. Those say out of town, arriving late and picking out a school before the deadline, are stuck… And some, because of a shortage of schools, go without.
There was bread on the shelves the next day. But a school system that mis-allocates a student deals with that problem for a full year, seriously setting back the development of that child and possibly the room he is in….
The problem with school vouchers, is as a system, it doesn’t work. Oh it works for one individual. But it only helps the first in line. After that, it is all downhill.
For if you gave every bread shopper a number based on whether their purchase matched their expectation, those getting the store brand for a dollar would rate a +1, then if one settled for their second choice they’d get -1. Third choice would equal -2. Fourth choice a -3 and so on down the line. The total of the negative numbers would quickly balance the positive ones, making the total value of all zero, and then continue bringing the entire total further into the negative with every new purchase…. In the same way, school vouchers after the good schools were full, would increase the negatives to a point so big, they would soon swallow up any positive advantage the voucher program had every given…..
So as we approach the teaching crises. we must ask ourselves how we wish to be judged. Do we want to mandate that we will always have bread on our shelves, with plenty of choices for all? Or do we want to let anarchy or random chance decided who gets ahead, and who gets left behind?
So, why has no one looked at voucher’s impact on an entire school system before?
kavips 