How do we define government responsibility? We all pay taxes and contribute to the coffers of our government. Because we live in a democratic nation under a president, and not under a King, those funds should be used solely on the basic needs of the people. Not a single penny should be offered to support free enterprise or for-profit business. I do not support tax money used to research the buying habits of consumers, to study the crispy texture of pickles, or to build a bigger better widget. The idea that many for-profit industries and groups can petition the government for funding for these types of projects is insane, especially when government run projects find themselves having to beg and plead for money, like public schools.
Why do we even have an Education Department if we refuse to properly fund the program in order to make it successful? You cannot start a project, under-fund it and when it fails exclaim, “See I knew this wouldn’t work”. The failures of our education system are not because of the people or children involved or the times we live in, it is simply a lack of ear-marked funding for books, supplies, teacher/student ratios, school lunch programs, physical education classes, music and art in schools, among a host of other eliminated programs that make for well rounded kids.
Childhood obesity has increased at the same time as physical education programs have been eliminated and left to be addressed as an extracurricular activity. Academic performance and grades have dropped as school lunch programs have been eliminated. The connection to nutrition and brain power in children is profound, we should be proactive!
Increased violence and other serious issues are a culmination of the lack of nutrition, physical stimulus, artistic outlets and teacher/student ratios. They do not stem from video games and Marilyn Manson songs, gangs, cliques or bad parenting. If we refuse to recognize our education systems financial requirements, we will never become the society we can become.
The increased privatization of education for our children will not solve this issue. It will only serve to divide the rich from the poor or the religious from the secular, creating a system that will run rough shod over those who need education the most. I do not support government credits for private schools. Taking already limited dollars from public schools to fund private schools is inappropriate.
It is important that governments get back to the work of providing free quality educations for its people. Our future depends on it!
thoughts on modern life 