| - DIHQ'S CELEBRITY BOXING POLL -> Massachusetts leads the way again | Start A New Topic | Reply |
| Post Info | TOPIC: Massachusetts leads the way again |
| Posted By: wiseguyly69 Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 293 | Massachusetts leads the way again Headline from the Boston Herald (our local 'tabloid' newspaper): Stir crazy: Bay State spends more on prisons than higher ed By Ellen J. Silberman Tuesday, November 25, 2003 For the first time in decades, Massachusetts is poised to spend more on convicts than colleges - pumping millions into prisons while cutting back on cash for public higher education classrooms. A report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation projects that the state will funnel some $816 million to higher education while pumping $830 million to run prisons and jails this fiscal year. The new statistics sparked immediate debate from City Hall to the State House over whether public colleges are being shortchanged - and whether corrections costs are out of control. ``Education is the hub of all success,'' mumbled Mayor Thomas Mumbles Menino, a UMass Boston graduate. ``If a person doesn't have any education, they have no choice at all.'' Now, I know lefty iDIOts will decry this as a tragedy. However, keep in mind that we are constitutionally to be safe, while no such provision is made for being educated. We are constantly releasing people who need to be locked up because there are not enough cells and guards. As with everything else in our fastfood paced nation, the educational system is too bloated and consistently churns out defective products. Education was once a privilege, and those who received it respected it and treated it as something sacred. Nowadays, people expect it as a right and it has been dumbed down. Some of these kids come out of college and carry on like they never got past 8th grade. There needs to be some reform in the types of prisoners are locked up. We need new creative forms of punishment. The war on drugs went too far in the area of locking up everyone carrying small amounts of drugs, and declaring far too many people as dealers. Rates of recidivism need to be strongly analyzed and those that are likely to re-crime should be locked up for good. Capital punishment needs to come back to knock off some of these welfare cases. If we look at the prison populations through the correct lenses, we should be able to do some switching and saving and then there would be no need to spend more money. On the other hand, we can't just keep throwing money at education and letting the quality be watered down. Education systems need to be competitive, both in its delivery and its student body. You want fries with that... Wiseguy |
| Posted By: alfonsothefan Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 286 | RE: Massachusetts, Mah-hass-a-choo-setts Yeah, ol' Mass - lovely place, as I recall - has, lessee, elected Teddy K and John K over & over; your top state pol has a murderous bro who may be overseas after being aided by his brudder...in '72 you voted for McGovern, you offered us Dukakakakaka in '88 (thanks but no thanks) Still, it's good to have Mass on that end like Cal on the other: Folks, this is NOT how you run a gubbermint! belee dat atf |
| Posted By: legion Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 279 | RE: Massachusetts leads the way again Education: Should all be free, all the time, all the way through. Why do you have to suddenly PAY when you get to college? What changed? What happened? What's different? Nothing. The simple fact that you have to PAY to go to the toilet, I mean, to college, automatically precludes MILLIONS of people who simply cannot afford it. So, it's the circular trap again. They want you to "get a good job" with "good pay" and be "productive" and pay lots of taxes, and be "fruitfull and multiply" but sadly, many cannot AFFORD the higher ed they now say is necessary in the changing economy. What would you suggest they do, mister wizard? Join the Army? Work at WalMart for minimum wage? It's like when you apply for a job that says "Experienced people ONLY" How are you supposed to get experience if no one will give you a chance? |
| Posted By: wiseguyly69 Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 274 | I don't have a lot of time to spell it all out so I'll write short little bursts for you to chew on Companies should go back to the reward and merit system, where they hire people and help them work their way through the system up the ladder. How sad is it when you've got a good solid company that suddenly hires some MBAs who go through the motions using all their strategies and then sink the company and get golden parachutes. We should bring back apprentice systems, where kids out of high school can learn a trade or a variety of trades so that when they finally get to own a house, they're not constantly hiring high priced carpenters, plumbers and electricians who fuhck the place up anyway. Kids need to learn how to manage money, know about income and expenditures and how to settle a cash statement. REal world skills, not comparative english literature or wymen's studies or basketweaving. Chew on that for a while, my canadian pal... |
| Posted By: wiseguyly69 Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 272 | what changed, what happened Oh, yeah, in response to your little gems: how about overpaid tenured professors? Ask Bear what it's like to bust his ass everyday with oversized classrooms compared to a professor who might teach a couple courses a week to a few kids. How about ridiculously paid administrators and the scam that is textbook pricing? Add to that the money that is brought in by college sports and donations (see Harvard U for total overabuse and riding on its name) and you'll see that there's plenty of money out there for all these colleges not to be charging so much (not just the state u's) |
| Posted By: legion Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 265 | RE: Massachusetts leads the way again No see, I believe in Education for its own sake. Not for the sake of jobs or to simply make money and pay lots of taxes for the gubbermint to squander. Im not arguing with your assertion that the current Ed system sucks, because it does. I just dont like the idea of Ed being tied to BUSINESS and the job market and all that. I think Education has a much higher, much more noble purpose than to simply churn out interchangable Human McNuggets for the Capitalist meat grinder. Dio is right about this. |
| Posted By: alfonsothefan Posted On: Nov 25, 2003 Views: 251 | RE: Massachusetts leads the way again On much of what you say, I agree, L-man. I believe that "education" is a lifetime thing; elitists tend to feel otherwise. I learn a lot when I go to Mexico: the language, the culture of the people, the history of the particular area I'm at - especially from the elderly - different ways to look at life and family, etc. Anyhow...Just remember that 'profit' isn't a bad word to all of us and 'research & development', 'polling', 'lab work' and so forth are all higher educations contribution to our society and our well being; those 'evil' corporations and their developmental collegues at universities have contributed to a better way of life for most of the free world, despite what you old-line Trotskyites attempt to say. atf |
| Posted By: Bear Posted On: Nov 26, 2003 Views: 235 | RE: Massachusetts leads the way again Well I guess I need to weigh in on this topic. First, Legion (or is it Sven?? LOL) education for its own sake is nothing more than entertainment. That's OK because it IS a benefit, but it doesn't serve the average person well. He thinks primarily with his glands and probably always will. Best to learn a few basics and move onto something productive. Second, that K-12 education is free and that college costs is a dying concept. Now, the better secondary educations are being had at private schools or at public schools that are located in wealthy areas. Nothing free about that. The public schools are becoming like everything else that's "public:" mired in political correctness, committed to mediocrity, poorly maintained, unsafe, etc. In other words, a full blown dumping ground. I mean, other than a prison, what other institution has to take EVERYONE that's sent to you? I truly believe that my school district's aim is to run out all of the top students and convert the district into an all remedial operation. That way there's no controversy regarding the use of its scarce human and monetary resources. It goes in one direction. There are several myths that are perpetrated by the educational establishment, and most people buy into them, largely because we've heard them for so long. One is that in order to be successful, a person needs a college education. That simply isn't true. Certainly a college education affords one opportunties and exposure to broader and deeper thought processes, but there's no guarantee that the reward is going to merit the investment. And we have completely screwed up secondary education with the philosophy that "all kids are going to college." A lot of kids don't want to go to college: they simply aren't interested. They'd rather work with their hands or get into a tech field where college isn't required. We have nothing to offer them, except implicit disdain and tacit failure. So we wonder why they act out. Frankly, I don't blame them. Second myth: Teachers are underpaid. I make a little less than my wife, who is also a professional, but I get 15 weeks a year off (including holidays). She gets a total of 5. Pro-rate my salary out another 10 weeks and I'm doing darn well. Also, my benefits blow hers away. No contest! Put me in charge and I could fix the whole damn system. Problem is: the politicos, the teachers' unions, the ACLU and the Moral Majority would have me fired in a heartbeat. |
| Posted By: alfonsothefan Posted On: Nov 26, 2003 Views: 232 | RE: Massachusetts leads the way again After reading what you say, Bear, is it any wonder my daughter is going to 'home school' my grand-daughter? Have a great week-end, my friend. Think of me if the Lions win. Think of me ruining my teevee when they don't - which is more than likely LOL... atf |
| Posted By: Bear Posted On: Nov 27, 2003 Views: 220 | RE: Massachusetts leads the way again Well, the Lions won. So your TV must still be in tact. I'm happy for Mooch and Tom Rathman. I thought Mariucci got screwed by the Niners, as did George Seifert, his predecessor. But, such is life in the NFL. I can't blame your daughter for home schooling the grand kid. The only issue I have with home schooling is the lack of contact with other kids. I mean, at some point one has to learn how to deal with other people. I honestly don't know what's best in the long run. Actually, any parent who is doing their job as a parent does a whole lot of home schooling regardless of where their kids attend. Happy Thanksgiving. |