12 Comments
Apr 21, 2022Liked by Jeffrey Carter

Government is massive at almost every level. I think about what our Founding Fathers would say if they heard that people are being taxed at almost 50% of their income when looking at federal and state (and in some cases local) income taxes in the modern era. Then we have the privilege of paying an additional 10% or so in sales taxes for almost everything we buy. Then, throw in confiscatory property taxes in blue states like Illinois. It's insane, when you stand back and look at both what we pay and what we get in return.

Does anyone have any courage to cut costs these days? In the 80's and before, I remember government people getting the lowest cost items, along with severe restraints on budgets. It largely kept the government in line. Now, it feels like a free-for-all -- like there is no cost too high to bear, simply because we have this crazy Keynesian mindset that more spending is somehow an investment that returns even more.

In Illinois I notice that every "head" politician, from Mayor of Chicago to Secretary of State to the Cook County president has a security detail and several SUV's to chauffeur them around full time. I once watched Jesse White, the long-running Illinois Secretary of State (yes, we're talking about drivers licenses and business registrations) show up in an SUV train of 4 cars, filled with staff, security and himself. We pay for all of this and allow it.

This happens at every level of government. We need to take it away, but will anyone do it?

Does anyone else have stories like this where they've witnessed government largesse in action?

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There are a lot of things establishment Republicans don't understand. Much of our public sector has turned hostile to the people it exists to serve. So, much of it has to be fundamentally reformed or replaced. Nothing wrong with that. It is right there in the Declaration, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of the public good, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it. Government schools were always a mixed bag. They are now net negative. Major change is overdue. Americans used to be willing and able to make major changes in their institutions, their economy, their technology. We need to get our mojo back in this regard.

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Do you think the problem is public schools, or teachers’ unions? And how do we fix these things without being accused of destroying them in the process? Here is where the political left and right stand together in being resistant to most ideas that involve major structural change.

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Apr 21, 2022Liked by Jeffrey Carter

Teacher's unions and democrats. The introduction of true School Choice would fix much of what ails the system without destroying it. But these two entities will not under any circumstances abide competition. It is killing our kids, as a result.

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Agree. I had dinner with a friend who is like minded. How do we structure it so we have true School Choice and give people opportunity?

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Who cares about being accused of anything? ANY effort to change anything will be met with full scale attempts to destroy the reformers. The danger is of aiming for too little, not too much. The entire system should be, as Jeff said, cut down and tossed into the chipper. Anyone who is willing to take this on should have well conceived alternative proposals, and be bold.

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One has to be realistic about opposition in this age of corporate media and with all the distortion it creates. You could propose the most brilliant and cost-effective idea for revamping schools and education and all parents will hear from NPR and CNN is “evil conservatives want to disenfranchise children of color,” or whatever slander is best to kill the idea and make you a permanent pariah.

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That is what will happen to anyone who promotes any change at all. So the the best course is to go radical, go maximalist. Because the opposition will be maximum no matter what the reformers propose. As to being a permanent pariah, that only works if the other side stays in power permanently. Currently they rule by fear, and they are imposing bad and sick policies because they have intimidated most people. That may not last.

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True, just look at what is happening to Musk. The stereotypical tesla buyer is WOKE, green, dem and thinks every f150 driver is an ignorant hillbilly. Now that Musk is out of the closet and not toeing the WOKE line and, God forbid trying help twitter, he's being demonized. Wokies not happy.

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What did Winnie the Pooh say to Rabbit? "Both". We can't fix them. You can start to marginalize them by having money go to parents so they can choose schools rather than into the bureaucracy-->but without the actual structure and operations it's a band aid not a fix.

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1. JFK was wrong and FDR was right in regards to public government as opposed to private business unions - we are buried by the "unintended consequences" of same in education, local government and health care.

2. I was raised in the Big Chief table era, my children in the Apple PC and New Math Era, and now my grandchildren in the Zoom era. For the latter, the Khan Academy has been the saving grace - the boys like school for the athletics, the girl for her friends, but think the rest is slow and "dorky".

I did my MBA and my ongoing continuing medical education online, and find the idea of meetings for same redundant.

As to the rest - the 10 year old sees right through the issues - "equal is equal, and the rest is stupid".

3. Daughter is getting her MA in Educational Counseling, and is a counselor in an Elementary setting - she notes the issues she sees are either family directed (stability, finance) or conflict between behavior/rate of learning - failing to keep up or bored with slow pace. Mandates conflict with needs.

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I’ve been saying for a few years now that we need to defund all public education and raise the voting age to 25. I’m serious. But nobody takes me seriously.

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