The spreading GOP destruction of public education

Many conservatives today would have been Democrats 30 years ago, and many conservatives 30 years ago would be considered right wing extremists today. The right in America moves to the left at a slower rate than the left does. Both sides of the political spectrum have shifted to the left over time. So, all of these issues are the result of the left pushing the envelope and advocating for things that have never been done before. And this is what has provoked the response from the right.

 

Gerrymandering isn’t anything new. There have been AAs who benefitted from it also.

When I lived in Alachua county in a place called Town of Tioga I had no chance electing a rep from my area without interference from the east side and the city of Gainesville. I was stuck with Mike Beyerly who lived in my district. He is/was very left of what the people in the district voted for every damn election. How could that happen you ask? Alachua county doesn’t allow districts to elect their own reps because everyone decides who gets elected. The east side and City of Gainesville decided the west sides politics. The only way to make it fair in my opinion is to have a single district rep then 1 or 2 at large members who everyone has a say in electing.

It’s no different that gerrymandering.

 

So, private school parents do pay school/local property taxes, then. Right?

 

That is an over simplified analysis, though. Would you put your kid in a public school with a 1600s educational philosophy? I think not.

 

That was before woke BS started the war between left and right.


There’s a saying about let sleeping dogs lie.

 

“All these things the left is now advocating for that has never been done before”.

Such as?

Seems to be most conservatives were giddy about pushing back abortion rights that stood for 50 years. But also that 70% of the population are less extreme on.

So what are these “other things” the left pushes? Acceptance of gay marriage? Protecting Equal Rights and equal access for all without discrimination? Wow, those leftists are soooooo radical.

Most conservatives claim to be for gay marriage and according to polls, are less extreme than the “abortion bans” some states are pushing through. There is a disconnect.

Of course a shocking chunk of the population believes JFK JR is resurrected and Trump is still President. So this might explain some of the disconnect between what people say they want and how they vote.

 

I just got back online - sorry. I will find and signal agreement now.

BTW, the history on this goes back to Friedman in the 60s, who didn't believe in public education and first came up with the voucher idea, to my knowledge. He may have been inspired by someone else, as often happens. It was pretty evident that time that this was a strategy to ultimately destroy public education, and that the desire to give more opportunity for poor kids was just a way to make it more palatable politically.

 

Exactly - an educated populace is considered a national asset.

Education, traditionally, was not considered a purely private benefit. In fact, compulsory education and a strong system of public schools were considered a way to distinguish the "new world" (American society) from European society, which was more aristocratic and class bound.

At the postsecondary level, the G.I. Bill undermined all that. We've been fighting ever since to come up with a way to clearly delineate the elite upper class now that a college degree is common and and also job training.

 

I simply cannot understand how educating children about systemic discrimination is considered BS. Nor do I understand how acknowledging gender identity issues and homosexuality is BS. I am and have been completely flabbergasted by this 'war'.

 

You’re right about Friedman but I do believe he came up with the idea in the 50’s, but that’s irrelevant. The point was that on paper Friedman’s plan worked great, but just like communism and trickle-down economics it fails in practical use.

 

US spends more on public education than other countries and students perform worse.

US spends more on health than other countries and is less healthy.

US spends more on defense and can’t win a war.

It’s almost like it’s not a money problem.

 

You can't model power or original sin

 

Well hey there Tilly! I was wondering what happened to you because you haven’t yelled at me in days. I missed you!

 

It all turns a profit for bad people. That's the problem.

 

Property/school taxes are what people pay for the public benefit, whether they have kids in school or not. If parents who have kids in school choose to pay more out of pocket to send their kids to a private school, they can - and many do. Or they can home school. I'm sure most parents unhappy with their kids' public schools can't afford to send their kids to private school or they'd already be doing it. I suspect even if you eliminated their property taxes for those years, it wouldn't make up the difference. That's particularly true for the lower middle class and poor kids everyone talks about. Education is going to be subsidized in one form or another because no one is suggesting we condition kids receipt of an education based upon parental ability to pay. We even mandate attendance because we believe education is that socially important.

 

This is absolutely ridiculous. Slippery slope? Like current teachers are indoctrinating kids? Is that what you are implying? This is a dishonest post. Slippery slope. I am trying to wrap my head around your outrageous claims. This is conspiracy twilight zone stuff.

 

It was the litter boxes.