I've often wondered if our failing education system is one way of maintaining control over our own people. I can see a political advantage to having an ignorant population to work with. Give "Al Bundy" a six pack and put him in front of the "game" on TV and he is a happy man. Life is good.
I definitely see the causality in that, just not sure if it is by design or randomness. Sure, a poor populace is good for maintaining control over your people, but at the same time, you want your people to be gainfully employed so you can tax the f*uck out of them. See many of the tyrannical governments around the world, if they need money, they just take it from you. They don't need to tax their people. In this country, the government does have a vested interested in creating and expanding wealth so they can get their cut. The education system is in shambles because in a competitive economy, they don't have to compete. There is no pressure except by concerned parents at PTA meetings to make the schools better. Obviously we need to overhaul this system. But that change will create volatility and as you you, most people don't react well to volatility.
Aren't you a Republican Mav? This ignorance pretty much explains them to a tee, "F em all as long as we prosper". What do you think NAFTA and CAFTA are about. Other nations are making more money because they are feeding our debt bloated economy. How is this good? Maybe time for a refresher in econ 101. But this a tangential to the larger discussions on this board. Much of us are saying this economy isn't in the great shape you describe and the numbers today show this. Yet the administration will be out trumpeting these numbers ad nauseam.
Yes, you are correct. Another problem I see is that we are teaching to the lowest common denominator..."No child left behind". In her book, "The Case Against Lawyers", author Catherine Crier talks about the legal perversion of education. You might find the entire book very interesting. I hope I haven't taken us too far up a side street...
Just before a major election I am very very very suspicious of government data throw in the fact that the ruling party is out of favor. And well you have the backdrop for manipulation.
There is not a word that would describe my political beliefs. Sorry, you can't put me in a neat little box. And the "f*uck them all as long as we prosper" is not a republican or democrat theme, but an American theme. While 800k people were being slaughtered in Rwanda we were busy watching Seinfeld and Friends, buying computers, getting wasted at the local watering hole, or trying to lose some weight at the gym. Take off the blinders and wake up. What is happening now is a good thing, not a bad thing. If we continue to keep a monopoly of all the jobs, all the money, all the labor in the world, at some point, the world is going to come knocking, and when they do, they won't be alone and they won't be unarmed. You can tell yourself the economy sucks all you want, but you obviously don't go out. You obviously don't see the packed restaurants, bars, theaters, malls, etc. Not only in this country, but all over the world. I know, I know, your puppet response is going to be we are nothing but debt creators and it's all going to come crashing down. But that is assuming that our economy exists in a vacuum. But it doesn't. Our economy is simply a sub-component of the world economy. If you really want to see the world as doom and gloom, load up on the thorazine and have at it. The rest of us are going to enjoy our lives and for once in our lifetimes, actually see the rest of the world catch up, and heaven forbid, actually enjoy some prosperity on their own.
You must be joking Mav. The objective of the economy is not to be "global" and is not to practice free trade, the objective of the economy of a country, the objective of the government of a country, the objective of financial institutions of a country is to raise the standard of living of the population of that country. If free trade, globalization or any other economic theory or idea helps to achieve this goal - great, if they don't as you seem to agree, they should be buried. Whether you're right or wrong that the globalization is inevitable do you seriously expect american middle class to celebrate its own demise? Get real, it is not going to happen and it is not necessary either, there are better ways to handle the US economy than letting the rest of the world destroy it. With all that republican hoopla about patriotism your post is quite revealing, you are a republican first and american distant second.
Maverick74 wrote: Do you really think Capitalism allows for this? Everyone catches up -- to what -- speaking of blinders on...