Thursday, March 31, 2011

GE’s Motto – “Imagination At Work”: Not Eligible for Congress

The public ire over GE’s non-tax bill illustrates a much too prevalent example of the American public’s understanding of reality. They get their hackles up about some issue and go charging off half-cocked to battle the injustice or situation that they believe is just down-right un-American. Fortunately, the public is encouraged by the news media which reports on events by providing just the facts (well, in many cases the facts) and not worrying about any assessment or explanation of the event and what brought it about. So we have the outrage and demands for action without any comprehension of what produced the flammable conditions that a simple fact ignited into a media-relations firestorm for GE.

Now what exactly is a large portion of the public foaming about? These hyper-active attention deficit disordered individuals are incensed that a large international American corporation will not pay any taxes in 2011 on their 2010 $14.2 billion of profit. Some of them may feel abused because they have to pay taxes on a lot less money than GE made; assuming that they are not in the approximately 40% of US tax-payers who do not pay federal income taxes. [The term tax-payer here clearly is a grouping that only indicates a possibility not an actual fact.]

Based on this non-payment by GE, there are public calls for investigations and for the removal of GE’s CEO from the chairmanship of the President’s Jobs Creation advisory panel. But what has GE or it’s CEO done that is wrong or illegal? Unless some new facts, not presently in evidence, are brought to light neither GE nor its management has done anything illegal nor acted in any way that is not in accordance with the law. In fact, GE was operating just as Congress had intended. It was not GE who wrote the tax code. It was not GE who determined what was a fair and balanced approach to applying the tax code to corporations. It was Congress.

Congress creates the federal laws and rules for taxing everyone and everything in America. They develop the policies and programs that help adjust and tune the tax code so that we encourage investments that will benefit the pubic, the economy and the nation; that will encourage job creation; and that will insure that the tax-burden is fairly borne by all.

So shouldn’t we be irate and ‘mad as hell’ at Congress? Isn’t this just another example of how Congress will take any task and achieve a complete state of snafu? But not to fear, Congress is diligently at work to cut the budget and have their flash-light like intensity semi-focused on that endeavor. We can all rest in comfort that Congress will provide us with a national budget that will meet all the standard criteria to reach fubar status.

We have Senators and Representatives who are absolutely sure that the only problem is that the maximum corporate tax rate is too high, and if we just lower it that all will be well with the world. What a shame that Congress nor the public hasn’t connected the tax code to Congress encouraging corporations to move jobs overseas, to Congress promoting corporations stashing profits in other nations, and to Congress undermining the overall US economy. Great job Congress! Keep up the good work at the budget cutting; I wouldn’t want you to spend any time or effort on fixing your errors that have brought the nation to its sorry state.

I guess the adage about fools is not only applicable to their rhetoric but also to their ability to serve the public. Not only is it better to remain silent and be thought a fool then to speak and confirm it; but it is better to pass no laws and be considered incompetent then to pass laws and prove it.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What Does It Profit a Congress to Make Law, If It Loses Our Economy?

Congress, it appears, has struggled to solve a problem. Alright I know, when has Congress ever solved a problem, as opposed to just causing them? But the real question is: how is it possible that a body comprised of individuals that include a mix of backgrounds with roughly 40% in law and 40% in business and they cannot come to grips with a legislative approach that will incent businesses to create jobs in America and that incents them to avoid overtly stashing corporate profits overseas. Now I know it would be odd to expect experienced lawyers and business-persons to have any expertise for such problems. Who would expect Congress to be able to apply any talent to crafting such legislation, nor to understanding the ramifications of allowing our tax code to either promote the out-sourcing of jobs internationally or to enable corporations to squirrel profits in overseas accounts, or both? So here we are as usual left the lame, inept and ill-conceived efforts we have come to depend upon from our Congressional representatives.

I presume someone in the Department of Treasury, maybe even someone from the IRS, has attempted to explain to Congress that efforts to make it more attractive to create jobs in the US and to have corporations treat profits originating from American as taxable under the US code rather than to foreign nations have spectacularly failed. It’s even possible that some members of Congress could have figured out that campaign funds received from their corporate contributors along with said contributors’ sage advice and counsel regarding tax law might have consequences that it would be important even essential to understand. But even if they did understand the consequences, why would they care? Their vision has a horizon that only goes as far as the contribution check which either blocks everything else from view or which demands their total intellectual capacity.

Consider the recent news item concerning GE’s 2010 corporate tax responsibility, all $0.00 of it. While GE may have made $14.2B in profits, not income, PROFITS; they don’t owe any income tax to the federal coffers. Just like you and I, GE can use the tax code to contribute a fair and reasonable share of their profits to support our nation. And Congress has been the instrument that created the means by which GE and other corporations (and you and I, of course) have been able to achieve this burden relieving accounting. How wonderful and helpful of Congress, to enact the laws that so obviously benefit our economy and nation.

And we don’t have to only look at Congress’ tax-relief gift to corporations to see the far-reaching efforts that Congress undertakes in America’s best interests. In addition, Congress has encouraged these same corporations to create jobs, not of course in the US, but in foreign countries and economies. Not intentionally I would suspect, but isn’t that a rather pitiful excuse for Congress to fall back on when they also managed the out-sourcing of American jobs and did so when it was a perfectly predictable and expectable outcome? But not to worry, Congress is on the job! In these times of economic chaos and disaster, Congress is focusing on cutting the federal budget because the country is living beyond its means. If they apply their standard skills and competencies in this endeavor, and they will, we can all rest uncomfortable in the knowledge that Congress will succeed yet again in wrecking havoc upon us.

Not only will not addressing the tax code problems that endanger our freedom and existence, but failing to act will continue to erode America’s business climate. You have to wonder how it is possible that Congress cannot see how to use this opportunity to reduce our deficit and debt, expand our economy, grow domestic jobs, and revitalize American industry. Well, wonder no longer; they’re Congress.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Representative Congress: Elected According to Their Constituents’ Intelligence?

Perhaps the poor state of America education can be understood in the context of a “cause and effect” relationship. Most things in the world and in life can be understood in such a context. The actual difficult is finding the factor or factors that are actually involved in those relationships, not in understanding how the process plays out once the factors are recognized. And it is not surprising that after the process is identified and explained that everyone will tell you that they always knew the relationships and that it is obvious to the most casual observer. So how do we link the cause and effect between elected politicians and the American education system? Nothing could be so simple!

Our own assessment and the assessment of other leading industrial nations, is that Americans are falling behind in educational achievements. The scientific, technical, industrial and economic consequences from the ever increasing drop of our ranked position amongst our peers is talked about by persons of every ilk; and is pitched in terms of America falling behind competitively. Our leaders tell us that we must improve our educational system or we will lose our America dream, our future and our freedom.

And we talk about who to blame, because it cannot be ourselves. We all want the best education for our children, not the worst. So we blame the teachers, school systems, school boards, school administrators, the Department of Education (state or federal), and some even blame Congress. There are sides that say we spend too little, some say too much. We blame the poor, the rich, the children, and the parents. But all the blaming doesn’t explain anything. There is no cause-effect that makes this understandable. The forces at the core of our failing are not categories of people. Rather the causes are those elusive factors that push or pull the educational process in one direction or another, the actions that move the pea from one cup to another, and the rewards and punishments that induce one type of behavior over another.

What then does this have to do with Congress? Let’s consider the following ‘cause’ and consider its ‘effect’. If the public that elects each and every congressional representative is, well let’s say: not overly informed and knowledgeable, then the politician doesn’t have to worry about an informed constituency. Politicians don’t have to even be marginally smart. They just need to be able to understand what pushes the buttons of their constituents. Not what is a meaningful or important issue that impinges upon the lives and well-being of the voters; but only what will grab their attention and stimulate their reaction of going with the flow. It’s easier for the politician if they don’t have to know facts, to be able to talk knowledgeably about a topic, or to be able to comprehend or assess information required to understand a problem.

If the general public is unable to recognize that the politician is an idiot, a buffoon, or a self-serving con-artist then the politician can avoid having any substance or any gravitas when it comes to being a qualified representative leader.

So political success would motivate politicians to seek and undertake actions that prevent quality and efficiency in our educational process. The larger portion of the population that is competent to choose qualified leaders the worse it is for them. Continue to apply the principle of degrading education from year to year and politician to politician and you get an electorate that is well suited for selecting the type of Congressional representatives we seem to persistently wind up with.

Now I don’t say that this is the only factor influencing the quality of education in the US, but can you deny that it is an important factor? I guess that would depend upon the effectiveness of the education that you received from the system, now wouldn’t it?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Unchecked and Unbalanced: Cutting Congress

America has often been referred to as an experiment in democracy; sometimes as the great experiment. While we tend to think of this experiment and ourselves as starting the experiment with the birth of the nation, it started earlier when various immigrant/pilgrim groups sought out the new lands to find their way to freedom and opportunity. Yes and in some cases to seek the possibility of becoming rich from the bounty of the new world. And it worked. America became great and powerful, its people became free and prosperous, and some found riches beyond all expectations.

America and Americans did this by taking risks, by stepping up to challenges, and tackling whatever problems confronted our path forward. Sometimes we did this reluctantly, sometimes we leapt before we looked, and sometimes we brought the problems upon ourselves. And in almost no instance was America without its constituencies that opposed one another on either the issue or the solution.

Today we face a tsunami of problems threatening to inundate our freedoms, our economy and even our very sense of America. Most of the problems are neither obscure incomprehensible threats to our way of life, nor are the America people disinterested in how we as a nation will choose to face the onslaught of these problems.

One of the largest seismic threats to America is the wave of debt our country has naively and blithely not only allowed to grow, but also for which Americans have rejected any recognition of responsibility for and where we hold no one to be accountable. Even as Congress has belatedly begun to take up the task of addressing the economic wave about to wash over America, they do so with the self-interest driven political perspectives and without any informed comprehension of the consequences of their feeble and inept approaches for addressing the problem.

Those in Congress who do not see the necessity of major reductions in spending because it conflicts with their political support; and are willing to sacrifice the promise of America rather than make the effort or seek the council of those who could find and offer meaningful changes to our profligate ways. There are also those members of Congress, the rabid hatchet wielders, who want to radically cut the budget; but only in those areas that they deem unacceptable with their political views. And then there are those in Congress who talk a good story and advocate that we need to cut significantly and everything has to be on the table; but then they run out of specifics. They don’t of course run out of talk! You’ve heard the rhetoric: We’re here to lead the nation out of this disaster. And then we hear: We are waiting for the administration to make its proposal on how to reduce the budget in an acceptable manner. Certainly the type of strong and focused leadership that the country needs before the raising wave crests over their (and our) heads.

The concept of budget cutting is clearly not a difficult approach for Congress to discover. In fact, much like our democratic truth, it is a self-evident solution. Unfortunately, much like that democratic ideal, that self-evidence is not sufficient. Cutting may be the act required, but just cutting does not save the patient. Congress, unlike medical students, don’t seem to know that you have to understand what you’re cutting, why you’re cutting it and how this will help cure the patient.

I don’t actually expect our representatives to be capable of this task. Most have achieved successful political careers not because they are wise, intelligent or capable individuals. They don’t possess a vision for how to create governmental programs and policies that relate to fiscal responsibility; and they couldn’t conceive of developing new approaches to government that go beyond the immediate need for personal control that they believe is the answer to all things political and all things in general.

Cutting the budget may be a first step, but if taken alone just to take the first step doesn’t mean Congress is on the right path. A cutting Congress is just another blind step into the future without any leadership and without any achievement. This is not taking the risk that our forefathers took, and this is not the promise of America.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Congress Can’t: Solving the NPR CPB government funding dilemma

Congressional conservatives, particularly Republicans, are eager to cut government funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and some would want to include the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Whether they are after this cut because it will contribute to solving America’s budget crisis or whether they are seizing the opportunity to hopefully eliminate a media source that is indifferent to their personal views and perspectives is not the real issue. The real issue on the table is whether Congress is applying its great and vast intellect to the budget crisis in a constructive and responsible manner. And we all know how dependable it is to rely upon Congress to do anything right. So the House passed a bill to cut $50M for NPR funding from the CPB’s budget. The Senate just cut CPB’s budget $50M which evidently leaves it up to them to figure out how to apply the reduction. And thank God these moves will substantially solve our budget problems. Well, I can’t blame them for cutting something from every entities budget, but I doubt that was the motivating factor here. So perhaps Congress should receive a message broadcast from the public.
What we have here is a moment in history when any numbers of forces are conspiring to bring change to the world as we know it. And in this particular instance, to place the value of a public funded media channel into the direct hands of the public at large, rather than relying upon the pernicious machinations of Congress. This action would cause some disruption in the pubic broadcast arena, but it need not be a negative nor fatal prognosis; it could be a vast opportunity to increase the viability of public broadcasting by changing the dynamics at play.

Today Congress takes our taxes and in their infinite wisdom identifies how to spend it. At some past point Congress decided that America would benefit in any number of ways by supporting public broadcasting in a minimal way. And in looking back over what those public funds delivered, there have been benefits to the public. But times change, and Congress believes that NPR is not beneficial because many of them are not shown in the light and grandeur to which they believe they are due. Hiding behind the need to cut the budget is the typically cowardly way of using their power to punish anyone of whom they don’t approve. After all, cutting the budget is a reasonable and rational position and policy, although we are talking about an amount that is less than $0.000015 from every $1.00 of the federal budget; hardly a noteworthy amount to be spending the time they probably have spent on it already. The cut is not very honorable when we understand that the House’s bill is specifically identifying and targeting a particular entity that this part of the funding. I guess it is not surprising to see such crass behavior from these representatives of our society, and well isn’t it exactly what the public expects of “politicians”.

Have the politicians won, have they achieved their goal? Not yet, but they will get there. So what to do if you support or believe in public broadcasting? The answer is simple. Remove Congress from the equation. And if you are really interested in sending Congress a message then consider the following:

If just 50 million Americans set aside less than 1 penny a day or 6 cents a week, they would fund NPR (or CPB) with $150M; thrice what Congress is cutting. And here is the beauty, that contribution is tax deductible. So the public could cut Congress’ funding by about $50M at the same time. Now perhaps 50 million Americans is a lofty goal, and we may have to strive for only 10 million. That’s just 29 cents a week or 4 cents a day. These are not the kind of contributions that are even noticeable in most peoples’ personal budgets.

The solution to such abusive exercises of power on the part of Congress is to apply good old Yankee ingenuity. These folks are not even close enough to smart, to be able to prevent the public from getting what they choose to be in their interest. And CPB an NPR have access to a wide range of individuals, the public, that can show them how to create the processes that will free them from the bonds Congress will always want to impose.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

A Supreme Strategy for Protecting America

One of the most vital elements of America’s democracy emerges from the interaction and interplay of two fundamental principles crafted into our Constitution: “Separation of Powers” and “Checks and Balances”. Under these principles, the Founding Fathers promoted a contention and struggle for power and control between and among the various branches of government. Under this system, the branches have chiseled and sculpted their powers in accordance with the strictures of the Constitution itself and in response to the evolving needs and challenges of the changing nation and its changing needs.

Politics has always been a factor in each branch, but in many ways the Supreme Court was established on a foundation that implicitly strove to limit and even deter the other branches from being able to force political agendas onto and into the court. By granting appointed justices with tenure for life, the justices are not vulnerable to the urges of the day or to the powers who appointed them for preserving their position and status. They can adhere to their principles and understanding of the Constitution and the laws of the land without fear that an unfavorable view of their decision is not a political or career death sentence.

Unfortunately, politics is an ever prowling predator seeking to render its prey no matter how well defended. With each appointment of a new justice, the beast politic roams ever closer to the process; and perhaps has downed a victim or two that could not evade the pride’s attacks. It is not surprising then that natural selection has evolved the candidate pool to possess those traits that help promote their survival of the back-ground checks and the ‘advise and consent’ gladiatorial trial by fire. The breed now knows not to have an opinion on various topics, and to not talk about abstract issues but to insist that the merits of the particular case and the applicable Constitutional articles that apply.

But if the beast is allowed to win, then two of the founding principles are compromised and the protection of our democracy is weakened. So how do we survive the intrusion of politics into the Supreme Court? The justices themselves must defend their branch’s integrity and authority. Once appointed each justice needs to accept that the Congressional gauntlet that they passed is meaningless and has no substance or importance to them. Their obligations are to applying their own best understanding of the Constitution and our laws to the issues and cases that they review. The Constitution is not intended to be Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, states’ rights or federal powers, nor should it be constrained by some litmus test standard that appeals to some members of Congress and/or the public.

The challenge of preserving the independence of the Court rests with its members placing their duty, their intellect and their passion to serving the nation above a political orientation that is meant to be a competing force that focuses the issues of the day driving the legislative and executive branches efforts to meet public needs. A Supreme Court justice should be completely willing to render their decision in accordance with their best understanding of the Constitution and law with full knowledge that it will shock and anger their most ardent supports who expected adherence to some view of their own.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Educating Congress: Our Government Can Mismanage Even a For-Profit

If ever there was an opportunity where the Government couldn’t possibly mess up, wouldn’t you expect it to be in the for-profit education industry? After all, we have an American capitalist group of entrepreneurs and corporations in the business of providing educational programs to interested consumers; and these businesses are strictly driven by the good old for-profit motive. Since the Government get to tax the profits of these for-profits, I mean, how could you go wrong? Surely this is a win-win-win. Education consumers get to pursue their dreams of a first or new career, the Education businesses get to sell their product to these clients, and the Government receives the taxes on profits and the taxes on the incomes produced by the graduates of these for-profit schools. The funds should just keep rolling in.
And to help prime the pump, grease the skids and stoke the fire; Congress provides funding for student loans that can be used to pay for these educational opportunities for securing a financially productive career. The Department of Education (and for all I know, other Government agencies/departments) delivers any number of programs that assist students/consumers/clients with obtaining Government backed loans. And to help the Government out, these programs are often set-up so that the for-profit institutions can help in processing the loan applications so that their clients don’t have to do more than agree to the loan, and the Government doesn’t have to do much other than okie-dokie the funds. What could be easier or more efficient?

So how is it that things are not working out so wonderfully? Lots of loans are being granted, that’s good: right? Lots of students are graduating, so again that’s great: right? The for-profit education industry is making lots of profits, so the best of the best: right? And of course, the students are getting their desired and well-paying jobs: right? Uhh! No. Opps!

What the industry is producing are a lot of people who cannot make a living that enables them to pay back their loan and have a chance at actually, you know, living. Congress as usual set up a funding trough intended to create a program that would be beneficial to the country, the economy and the society. But they don’t do anything to create a management process that insures a sound and prudent investment mechanism that prevents the public funds from being squandered. The Government’s administrative agency approaches the program with the same principles that have worked so well in other Government endeavors. Set up the paper work process to distribute the money, don’t monitor much of anything, and repeat.

If Congress wants to do something to save the public’s money and promote job-creation then they should look to re-engineering the system to be focused on actually achieving a beneficial result or that will self-report its failure to deliver. If Congress wants to over-see how funds are spent then they should become more attentive to bringing people into the creation of the legislation and the execution of the program that can show them how to make it self-sustaining and less vulnerable to predatory businesses that can game the system. Congress should consider including the most effective force that America has leveraged in our democratic system: self-interest.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Wisconsin Gov. Claiming a Bush-ish Mission Accomplished?

Has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker declared victory when in fact he has only done what most politicians do, think they have solved the problem because they passed a bill? What actually has he done? He has eliminated the scope of collective bargaining over which the state government will negotiate with Wisconsin’s public/civil service employees. And thus all is well in the state of Wisconsin.
Now I don’t want to trickle-down on the man’s triumphant parade; but didn’t he recognize the big gaping hole that he left open? Yes, he can dictate conditions to the public employees that they can no longer impede, delay or usurp with union restrictions negotiated between the union(s) and the state government. But his bill doesn’t prevent the union from putting making him pay for his success, perhaps at a greater cost than he thinks he saved the state.

Of course, I don’t know if the unions or the middle class have recognized the doughnut hole yet. Maybe he’ll be lucky and they won’t see the fragility of his success. Someone will figure it out eventually though, and by then the great victory will have faded and the Governor be off doing some other wondrous thing for the whole nation. Something with equal claim and unfortunately equal substance.

After all, when you claim victory the game has to be over and the score has to be final and in your favor. The game isn’t over. It never is in the real world, only in politics. The score isn’t final, and the resulting sweet taste of success could turn into a sour and bitter dose of medicine yet.

Fortunately, I can securely and confidently rely upon reality to provide the Governor, the state, and the public with exactly what they have ‘elected’ to receive (and deserve). If they are rational, intelligent and prudent then they will prosper; and if they are the foolish bumbling addle pates typical of the political process then I wouldn’t recommend Wisconsin as your destination for a secure future.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Congress: Lost in A-Maze-ment of Their Own Making

Republican or Democrat, Tea-Party or Independent, House or Senate, crusty 50 plus year tenured old farts or bright shiny brand spanking new first-timers, conservative or liberal; our elected surrogates are wandering hither and yon in their quest to find an answer to the national budget, deficit and debt. Some know how to solve the problem, they campaigned on its promise, they tell everyone who has a microphone that ‘we must cut deeper to be successful’, and they refuse to support bills that don’t cut deep enough to do the job. But they don’t actually know what to do! It’s easy to say: “Cut spending”. But they find themselves lost in a labyrinth of special interest, sacred cows, powerful constituencies, political ideologies, and party allegiances that confound them at every turn. As they wander about in their corridors of power seeking to cut their way (and our way) back to an economic nirvana that never actually existed, they persist in twisting and turning their way from dead-end to dead-end.
Grasping at any opportunity to slice some budget item that doesn’t fits their clear-eyed, far-seeing, albeit obstructed view of the world. And wonder of wonders, our stalwart adventurers stumble forward with their budget fighting toolkit. Unfortunately, their tools are rather crude and simple implements that are based on the same methods and techniques used previously by their ancient colleagues and long-gone predecessors. Cut this, hack that, use an axe on that over there, and prune something back to the stub. The simplicity of the implements is somewhat required as our heroes don’t possess the skills or knowledge to use more powerful and effective tools. Besides would we really want to put powerful tools in the hands of the ill-prepared, ill-informed and ill-suited to address a problem which they don’t fundamentally comprehend? Oops! We seem to have found ourselves on the horns of the proverbial dilemma. Our congressional elite many not have access to or knowledge about superior methods for handling our fiscal problems, but we have placed the inmates in-charge of the asylum and armed them with weapons of mass disruption.

Well, here are some hints for our maze-bound legislatures. Recognize that your own favorite entitlement program (for those legislatures who are easily confused [all of them]; that’s the one you support, not the one you hate) is a major source of the problem. So Social Security and Medicare need to be reduced, but if you restructure rather than just reduce you can improve the program rather than impair it. And for our die-hard patriotic congress-persons who ever eager to defend America, the entitlement program for the Defense department needs to be re-vamped not just to save money but to revitalize the military-industrial complex’s focus on delivering the best equipped, trained, and capable military without undermining the very economic system that it depends upon. For those who want to reduce burdens of Government regulations, replace regulatory-based enforcement approaches with financial reward/penalty-based incentives to achieving public policy.

In short, we live in the 21st century. We haven’t lived here before, and wanting to go back is not the path to our future. America has always benefited when we have chosen to move forward, to strive for better way than those of the past; and to now and again remember that you must sacrifice when necessary and accept responsibility when required, if you wish to have a claim on freedom and democracy.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

American Intelligence Test #10: An Object Lesson About Teachers

Nothing could be more relevant and ironic as the subject of an American Intelligence Test than teachers and their compensation. But as humorous as this idea may seem, it has the potential to be more illuminating than the copious and era-spanning public and political debates about performance/merit-based teachers’ compensation. The performance issue has risen to a top spot in our politicians’ cesspool of ideas, spurred especially by the budget cutting battles occurring between teachers’ unions (and other public sector jobs) and state governors/legislators. So let’s get a sense of what you know about the cost of public education and how to get the best education for American children.


After you complete the questions you will find my answers listed; these are of course are implicitly correct. Your own score, I suspect, you will hold to be correct; and it’s your responsibility to assess that logical assertion. Remember: a willingness to deceive yourself, as to the correctness of your answers or beliefs, is just another measure of the actual intelligence level being measured. To paraphrase Lincoln:

Some of us can fool ourselves all of the time, and all of us can fool ourselves some of the time, but all of us can not fool ourselves all of the time.

Gird yourself for the test; the opportunity to fail awaits you.

Question 1: Classroom performance in national tests have stayed more or less the same or shown some slight declines over the last 40 years.

True   False

Question 2: Over the last 40 years, teachers’ pay has more than doubled.

True   False

Question 3: If the answers to Q-1 and Q-2 were both to be true, then increasing pay has not caused any increase in teachers’ performance?

True   False   Both   Neither

Question 4: Improving the education system in the US is hampered the most by:

A. Politicians
B. Teachers’ unions
C. Political Parties
D. Voters (the public)
E. All of the Above

Question 5: Teacher Pay for Performance would increase the educational value provided to the nation’s children.

True   False   Both   Neither

The Critical Question ‘X’: Who has presented a viable plan for solving our educational systems’ problems that would equip America’s youth with a competitive education?

A. Politicians
B. Teachers’ unions
C. Federal Department of Education
D. States’ Departments of Education
E. Special Interest groups/lobbyist
F. No one

Pencils down! Test over. So how did you do, or which part of Lincoln’s observation did you place yourself in?

Oh yes, here are my answers.

Q1: True All things being equal, we seem to be where we have been for a while.

Q2: True And benefits costs have risen too.

Q3: Neither You’ve probably heard this in Math class somewhere along the line: “you can’t compare apples and oranges”. You have to ask yourself: is this an inflation adjusted statement, and if everything else is unimportant.

Q4: D Our failure results from our collective expectation that ‘wanting it’ is the same thing as ‘getting it’. All the other players, while major contributors to the failure, are simply extremely incompetent at confronting this task.

Q5: Neither It may be one possible outcome, but it is not the only outcome that could result from being implemented. And what if the performance we want/need costs more not less; will you support that?

QX: F The public debate focuses on protester sign issues and answers; not on what America wants its educational goals to be, and what America is required to be responsible for to achieve them.

So let’s all keep running down the road with sharp scissors and our eyes closed because that always works out well for everyone.