Corporate Reform Has Failed; What Next?

We know what works.  Corporate Reform tried to sell us on it until they realized they would make less money at it, and begin cutting back….

• Establish an 11:1 student-teacher ratio in ALL schools k-5 where the poverty level is over 50%….
• Group those 11 students by their similar abilities… (use test scores)  Take the top 11, then second top 11, the third and go down through the entire grade…
• Group up to 3 groups in same classroom, each with their own teacher.  That could be 33 students in the same social setting.
• Make each teacher accountable for teaching basics to those 11 children… Some of the 11 will need more attention than the others.  But each child is ranked against his own potential, and not against fellow students.  Accept that some will learn more than others (obvious),  but our goal is to give EACH child their opportunity to excel to the best of their abilities.
• Make Charter School Funding  a line item in state budgets…  The sales line should go like this…. “We want to try this experiment on students involving our unique twist and want $10 million of state dollars to implement”.  This would force the questions that usually occur when one says “invest money in me” that prevent a lot of wasted investment. Currently granting charters only hurts those students in public schools and no one else.  The state eventually winds up being charged for the damage failed charters cost… So put the costs up front by saying “here is your money;  we’pull it in one year if no results.”

Finally we all need to accept that taxes need to be raised on the top one percent.  We are by a long shot the richest nation on earth; it is just that all those riches are now going to 1500 families who already own 50% of America’s wealth… Simply putting higher marginal rates on all income coming in at esoteric rates, would go a long way to bettering America as a whole,

It should go like this….

• After reaching $40 million in income the tax rates jump to 50%. (first championed by Ronald Reagan)
• After reaching $400 million they jump to 60%.
• After reaching $4 billion they jump to 70%….
• After reaching $40 billion they jump to 80%….
• And reaching $400 billion, they hit 90%….

It becomes every corporate executives’ duty not to make $400 billion each year…

(As a reminder this means only that they pay higher rates on income over that amount… Income under that amount they pay rates the same as they do now… Which would mean no change on the first $40 million.  Just that once that threshold got crossed, every new dollar earned they would allow them to keep 50 cents instead of  the 60+ cents they currently amass… No real loss if you are making over $40 million.)

These subtle changes would rectify and electrify education. These subtle changes would fulfill the dream of public education where every child has the same opportunity to learn. These subtle changes would give every American child an equal stake in the country into which they were born….

And they are all subtle changes.  Most of America would never feel their cost; only experience their benefit…..  and it is very easy to implement.  Just get rid of those politicians who favor corporations over real people…. Like Earl Jacques. Like Dave Sokola.  And Pete Schwartzkopf.