I've asked many people who are voting for Obama, why? Answer, "I want change." What specifically would you like to change? "We can't have another 8 years like we've had." Ok, what was the main thing Obama's done that makes you want to vote for him...specifically? "He's not the same as Bush...and since McCain is so old, look who's following him...Palin!"
And so on and so on. Some people may call Obama a mystery man but I see it a lot clearer than that. When electing the President of the United States we look at the person...then the issues. The person needs to encompass what all great leaders encompass- Confidence, judgement, knowledge, and honesty. The blunder in McCain's campaign came when he hesitated to drive who Obama the person is home. You better believe who you associate yourself with is a reflection of who you are. You'll never see me hanging out with a racist or a terrorist(Judgement). You can keep the "I was 8 years old" argument. Please. If I came and blew up your house, would you be friends with me 20 years later...let's not mention the fact I'm not sorry about it at all. Would you hang out with a person like this??? Bill Ayers bombed the Pentagon, a police station, someones house, etc....but that was 30 years ago. Obama first lied (Honesty) when saying Bill Ayers was simply a neighbor. This is the same neighbor Obama had a "Meet the Candidate" party in his living room. The same neighbor Obama served as co-chair with on a board giving money to schools in Chicago...not normal schools...not for reading, writing, and arithmetic. This is the same radical Bill Ayers that dedicated a book to the man that assassinated Robert Kennedy. Hey, at least Bill has money! Reverend Wright, while less violent is just as radical as Bill Ayers. Reverend Wright is a racist that rallies blacks to fight against the whites. "No God bless America, God damn America!" "This is the KKKSA!" I could go one with the belligerent teachings of Wright. Obama has said Wright has been his life teacher and mentor while sitting in his pews for 20+ years. During those 20+ years Obama never heard Reverend Wright say these racist things (Honesty). If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, what is it? I'm not saying Obama is a terrorist or racist...what he does have in common are the radical ideologies of the people he associates himself with. Forget about the bells and whistles...look at the man. Look at his judgement.
Let's now do what the media has done and write all of that off...those are just his associates...that's not Obama. Everyone has radical ties as he does. Let's look at Obama's socialistic tendencies. Is Socialism too strong of a word? Let's look at the definition of Socialism-
"A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole"
Many Barack Obama supporters laugh at the word without knowing the meaning. Control by the means of distribution. Obama's tax plan, by definition of Socialism, redistributes the wealth in this country. Take from one and give to another. "I will cut taxes for 95% of Americans." 40% of Americans don't pay taxes today...we call that fuzzy math. In truth, the bottom portion of the tax bracket will get a tax credit! This means they won't pay taxes but actually get a check from the government. Is that a cut in taxes or is that welfare Mr. Obama? That is redistributing the wealth which is the definition of Socialism! Is it the American way to take from the rich and give to the poor...or to make the poor richer? If someone doesn't own a car, should the government(you and me) pay for a car? Should EVERY American donate on their ability to give? I don't make $250,000 per year...and in no way have I ever felt entitled to someone else's money. Obama's tax plan, all straight from his and Biden's(who's Biden anyway?) mouth, started with the "rich" at $300,000. Then it went to $250,000...then to $200,000...then to $150,000. This tax policy is simply unamerican. This is beyond progressive taxes (another issue), this is welfare. Mark my words, if this man is elected we are all in trouble. Taxes will be raised on all of us. We won't get into his healthcare plan which is as Canadian(Socialist) as it comes.
Great quote from Ronald Reagan-
"One of the first rules of economics is if you tax something, you get less of it. High tax rates discourage work, risk-taking, initiative, and imagination. And they're really a tax on hope, optimism, and our faith in the future. And they penalize the very people that give the most -- the risk-takers, the entrepreneurs who create whole new businesses and industries, often out of no more than a dream and some hard work."
People forget, when Reagan took office in 1980, we had double digit unemployment, double digit inflation and interest rates were 21%. Reagan cut income taxes for all Americans and cut business taxes. Tax revenue to the government doubled! Obama is planning to raise business taxes since he somehow has to pay for the EXTRA $1 trillion of spending (cutting "middle class" taxes while spending this kind of money is not feasible). Do business's pay taxes? No sir Mr. Obama. The American consumers will pay for these taxes as they are passed down by the businesses. Reagan's point in lowering taxes on businesses was to give businesses more money in which they will expand services and products...meaning more jobs. Do high taxes make hard work less rewarding and increased leisure more attractive? Is the government here to feed, shelter, cuddle Americans?
Joe the Plumber, Tito the Builder, Shea the American don't want hand outs, we want hand ups. We have the right to the opportunity to succeed. Those who succeed rise to the top and those who don't fall to the bottom. Government is not the solution, government is the problem. We're not just talking about taxes and success...we're talking about liberty and freedoms. Look around at every item next to you, the government has their hand in all of it. I have faith the American people will be heard on November 4th and John McCain will be elected President.
To be continued...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mo Money, Mo Problems
Today, tax payers spend more than $6,000 a year per student, more than any other country. Yet science, reading, and math test scores have fallen behind other countries. Are we not spending enough money???
Let's look at the great state of California, the growing sentiment is that we're not spending enough money. Last year we spent $11,541 per student, up from $11,163 per student in 2006. You can never put a price tag on a good education...right? Where is this money going? Since 2004 there has been a decrease in attendance for public schools due to a steady decline of birth rates in the 1990's. In 2004 we spent $50 billion on education and today we're set to spend $60 billion for this year. We've seen a decrease of 34,000 students yet have seen an increase of $10 billion in spending.
From 2004 to 2008 we've seen Pupil Teacher Ratio decrease from 21.8 students per teacher to 20.81. We've also seen drop outs go from 60,052 to an alarming 109,011 during this time period. Spending has gone up, number students have gone down, and number of teachers has gone up.
As Americans we need to get our hands dirty. Let's work teachers up or work them out. Teachers need incentives. It's the carrot we all look for in life. Where's a teacher's incentive to improve? Sure there are the few teachers out there that can be great at self motivating and find success through the improvement of our kids. Let's be real, this is the minority. Teachers are judged mainly on the number of degrees they own. What's a "qualified" teacher? Does more education mean better qualified to teach? I would argue no.
In sales, if you paid everyone the same amount, what would our results look like? Would we see people coming in early to work? Would you see people reading sales books to help with techniques to help sell more? I applaud all the teachers and sale-persons that would do this but again this is the minority. Would you rather get an A or a C in class? Would you work harder to earn the A? If not, you shouldn't be teaching anyway.
"Money"...there's that word again. It comes down to how we spend the money. Who makes the decision to spend money on education? The government. Government has no place in our schools. Why let corruption from our government agencies leak into our schools? The government's poor spending record is evident in our education system. Since 2004, the state of California has added almost 2,000 administrative jobs while adding close to 2,000 new teaching jobs. One administrator to every teacher added over the past 4 years? The government has already thrown money at the problem and it hasn't worked! We need to eliminate the jobs that aren't helping teachers teach and students learn. Pay teachers what they're worth. If Teacher A is a better teacher than Teacher B then heck...pay Teacher A more! We would all like to think teachers are robots but the fact is they're like everyone else...human beings.
Let's look at the great state of California, the growing sentiment is that we're not spending enough money. Last year we spent $11,541 per student, up from $11,163 per student in 2006. You can never put a price tag on a good education...right? Where is this money going? Since 2004 there has been a decrease in attendance for public schools due to a steady decline of birth rates in the 1990's. In 2004 we spent $50 billion on education and today we're set to spend $60 billion for this year. We've seen a decrease of 34,000 students yet have seen an increase of $10 billion in spending.
From 2004 to 2008 we've seen Pupil Teacher Ratio decrease from 21.8 students per teacher to 20.81. We've also seen drop outs go from 60,052 to an alarming 109,011 during this time period. Spending has gone up, number students have gone down, and number of teachers has gone up.
As Americans we need to get our hands dirty. Let's work teachers up or work them out. Teachers need incentives. It's the carrot we all look for in life. Where's a teacher's incentive to improve? Sure there are the few teachers out there that can be great at self motivating and find success through the improvement of our kids. Let's be real, this is the minority. Teachers are judged mainly on the number of degrees they own. What's a "qualified" teacher? Does more education mean better qualified to teach? I would argue no.
In sales, if you paid everyone the same amount, what would our results look like? Would we see people coming in early to work? Would you see people reading sales books to help with techniques to help sell more? I applaud all the teachers and sale-persons that would do this but again this is the minority. Would you rather get an A or a C in class? Would you work harder to earn the A? If not, you shouldn't be teaching anyway.
"Money"...there's that word again. It comes down to how we spend the money. Who makes the decision to spend money on education? The government. Government has no place in our schools. Why let corruption from our government agencies leak into our schools? The government's poor spending record is evident in our education system. Since 2004, the state of California has added almost 2,000 administrative jobs while adding close to 2,000 new teaching jobs. One administrator to every teacher added over the past 4 years? The government has already thrown money at the problem and it hasn't worked! We need to eliminate the jobs that aren't helping teachers teach and students learn. Pay teachers what they're worth. If Teacher A is a better teacher than Teacher B then heck...pay Teacher A more! We would all like to think teachers are robots but the fact is they're like everyone else...human beings.
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