Illuminating Bad Priorities

This morning the Kansas City School District announced it would close half of it's schools. In California they are proposing 4 day school weeks. Across the nation our school systems are being crushed by the weight if this recession. Why in every economic downturn to we punish the future so the few can thrive. As we Bailout Wall Street we punish Main Street. The Banking industry has received 13.5 Trillion Dollars to stabilize that industry. Is the education of American youth at least as important as bailing out Fat Cat Bankers on Wall Steet? How will we compete in an ever competitive World labor market if instead of increasing education funding we decrease it? The President allocated a 100 billion is Stimulus money to help fill the gap but the short fall for our nations schools is so great that it barely made a dent in the problem. More resources are needed and fast!

The problem is that we continue to fund our schools in the main from property taxes. As we all know what has happened to property taxes over the past few year. Others methods of funding must be found. I propose that Secretary of Education Duncan convene a high level meeting of the minds from all areas of American endeavor and find a way to avert this crisis. We all complain about out jobs going to countries like India. Well the reason for that is India has made this investment in education that enables it's citizens to gain the skills needed to attract industry and investment. In the 80's India doubled down on education and as a result today they have the technical brain trust needed to excel. While in America our High School dropout rate increases!

I am not sure how we turn this trend around but it must be done. With disregard toward political outcomes a new solution must be found. We are punishing those to whom we will be handing the stewardship of this country to. It is my belief that our nations youth are more valuable than anything that currently presides on Wall Street.

Illuminating the U.S. Deficit: The United States has always ran a deficit, beginning from the birth of the nation to the present. Over two hundred years! There have only been two U.S. Presidents to leave a zero deficit or budget surplus. Andrew Jackson achieved a zero deficit in 1835. Bill Clinton averaged a 1.7 billion dollar yearly surplus, leaving office with a 200 billion dollar budget surplus. Notably both men are Democrats. The first President to exceed a billion dollar deficit was Warren G. Harding a Republican. It is important to note that after World War II and the Great Depression President Truman through President Carter dealt effectively with the deficit. In 1980 the U.S. Deficit was 980 Billion Dollars. When President Reagan and Bush left office twelve years later the U.S. Deficit was 5 Trillion Dollars. In addition to exploding the Deficit these gave is the largest Tax increases in U. S. History. As previously indicated Bill Clinton was a Deficit Hawk. When "W" take office he explodes the debt with unpaid for tax cut in 01' and 03' and 1. 8 Trillion Dollar to the Deficit. Two unfunded Wars, the Iraq War 3 Trillion to the Deficit and still counting. Afghanistan in the Trillions. National debt when "W" leaves office, 10 Trillion Dollars. Under "W"'s leadership and Republican rule the Deficit exploded 77%, the largest increase in the nations history. The next time a politician talk about deficit listen to who' s talking and remember there is a history to look at.

Sources. The U.S. Tresury, Wikkapedia

Haiku to the odd morality of Rep. Stupak:

Rep. Stupak Holds Us Hostage For A Narrow Anti-Abortion view...

With 122 Americans Dying A Day This Morality Is Askew...

If Your Going To Take A Moral Stance Take One Constant And True!

Monty Python's Every Sperm is Sacred

Haiku To The Thieves on Wall Street:

One Percent Takes All The Money...

Life's A Party, Sweet As Honey...

Coldly They Say To The Rest Of Us..."I got Mine! Piss Off Sonny!"

Footlights: Did anyone watch the Oscars? Was that lame or what? What was up with that whole dance thing? Interpretive Dance? WTF? Ben Stiller in Avatar make up? I was embarrassed for him! Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were pretty good however. Having seen both top nominated films I must say I was disappointed. The "Hurt Locker" while very good did not have the entertainment impact that "Avatar" did. My other favorite movie of the year "Sherlock Holmes" received hardly a mention. I will need to see"Crazy Heart" however as I missed that one. Understand the show received high ratings but I thought one of the worst Oscar presentations I have seen. What are your thoughts?

Shining Light on the Myth of "Tickle Down" Economics:

Since 1980 our country has been following one constant philosophy: Give all the breaks to the supply side and they will create a economic tide that will lift all boats. After this thirty year experiment looking at the surface one would have to say no, this is a myth. But are the numbers able to prove this? Well you could look at the gap between rich and poor.

If we go back and examine the period from 1979 to 2005, a period of time where national output more than doubled, did wages increase for the working as a proportion to the productivity increase? The answer is a resounding NO! After tax income inched up just 6% for the bottom fifth of American workers after inflation. While it rose 21% for the middle fifth and 80% for the top fifth. The top 1% received a massive 228% increase. To quote economist Paul Krugman "It's a great economy if you're a high level corporate executive or someone who owns stock. For most others Americans, economic growth is a spectator sport."

If we look at 2005 median income levels for non-elderly households incomes failed to raise adjusted for inflation fro five years in a row. Even as corporate profits doubled over the same year. Sine 1979 hourly earnings for 80% of American private sector non-supervisory jobs has risen just 1%. For the American Male worker his hourly wage dropped 5%! If wages had kept pace with productivity the average American worker would be earning $56,000 a year instead of the current average of $36,000. The Nations economic pie with out a doubt increased over this time but the American worker did not get a bigger piece for their efforts. In fact they got a thinner slice and the investor took the lion's share.

For those of you that favor the philosophy is this what you signed up for? An ever increasing gap between rich and poor. At some point the masses will not be able to afford the products that Wall Street may wish to sell them. I think that is referred to as "Killing the Golden Goose". Economic studies show that income inequality in America is so vast that it resembles more that of a third world country than the richest economy in the world. In America 50 million poor working class folks live at or below the poverty line. Twenty percent of families with children under six live below the poverty line. These are everyday working Americans on the bottom of the rung. Still think all boast are being lifted? In 1937 as FDR took his second oath of office he stated; "The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is wether we provide enough to those who have to little." The working American is being "Trickled Down" on but it is not prosperity that he is feeling it smells funny and is unpleasant! Can we end this experiment now! I think we can safely say it is a nightmare for most Americans.

One World is enough for all of us... it may seem a million miles away... but it gets a little closer everyday. From the song "One World (Not Three)" The Police

"This One Goes To You & Yours Worldwide... Hey Im' Gone Today But I'll Be Back Around The Way... Seems Like Everywhere I Go The More I See The Less I Know... But I Know One Thing That I Love You." From the song "Say Hey (I Love You) Michael Franti & Spearhead. Expresses my feelings exactly, have a great day everyone!