Why do you think Bush is cutting the budget for public schools by a plan of $2.77 trillon? Do you agree? Why?
141887
I worked teaching vocational  special ed for five years.  1/2 of thge money spent there or more is on deadheads in the central office. 1/4  went to fancy crap to look good for visitors.  Much of the fedral money  sent to schools is wasted
350245
"Superficially, school vouchers might seem a relatively benign way to increase the options poor parents have for educating their children. In fact, vouchers pose a serious threat to values that are vital to the health of American democracy. These programs subvert the constitutional principle of separation of church and state and threaten to undermine our system of public education."\n\nDetails here:\nhttp://www.adl.org/vouchers/vouchers_main.asp\n\nBasically, vouchers are expensive and do nothing if the same type of schooling is obtained with the vouchers, which is most often the case.  If the public schools are broken, you fix them, you don't trash them and create a whole new industry.
1121913
Thank goodness this proposition didn't pass.  Taxing the wealthy (an individual earning $400,000 anually or $800,000 for a couple) to fund preschool is a lame idea.  Why would you penalize those people with money for the benefit of society?  If everyone were to actually benefit from this proposition, then everyone should pitch in -- especially the parents of those pre-school kids!
566309
The voucher program is a LIBERAL plan- not a CONSERVATIVE plan.  If it were up to us conservatives, the entire government school systems would be wiped out and started over from scratch.  I feel that all schools should be private and a school should have to EARN government dollars by enrollment numbers.  For each child you "recruit" you get a certain dollar amount... the more students you recruit, the more money you get to that school.  This would MAKE schools compete to be the BEST school... more children and parents would want to enroll there child there, and therefore more money to that school.  So anyone who thinks public schools are conservative's idea has it ALLLL wrong.  LESS GOVERNMENT THE BETTER!
206101
YES...\n\n\nThat's Right!!! All Highschool Latinos Are Being Asked To Miss School Monday!! Why? To Prove U.S. Aint Shyt Without Latinos!!!! Yes We Are Trying To Stop The Prop. HR4437 From Passing On March 27, 2006 . Do ANY Of You Know How Much Money Our Schools Make For Each Student That Attends Everyday? Around $50 [[EACH STUDENT]] Imagine How Much Money They Would Lose If We Didnt Go... We're Trying To Get Our Point Across That It Is Not Fair What They Are Trying To Do To Immigrants! Please Join And Tell Every Friend Of The Hispanic Race! Let Your Parents Know What We Are Trying To Do!!! The Statement We're Trying To Make!!! Please Repost This If You're A Proud Latino! And Let Out The Word! CALL Your Friends! Let Everyone Know! PLEASE REPOST! -THE DISTRICT ACTUALLY LOOSES ABOUT $7,000 EACH STUDENT.\n\nPass diz on everywhere!thanx!!!
474551
Representatives passed and President Bush praised (and vowed to sign) a budget package that will reduce Medicaid spending by $4.7 billion over five years, largely through increased co-payments and premiums and reduced benefits. A report this week from Georgetown's Health Policy Institute found that the Medicaid provisions in the budget would (1) undo the guarantee that children in Medicaid will be provided medically necessary services, (2) permit states to charge families substantial new costs that many would not be able to afford, and (3) require states to impose new and unnecessary paperwork on eligible children.So, if you have very high prescription drug needs, then you will pay $3,600 a year, plus 5% more on the drugs after that, plus your premiums, which will be over $600. So it will be over $4,200 for prescription drugs only, if you have coverage and use many drugs.\n\nAdd that amount to the other premiums and co-pays of regular Medicare and it will take most of the Social Security check. Some estimate $200,000 for medical costs after retirement each and for a couple, I suppose, that could be double. Unless a couple get a discount. Most elderly Americans are proud, hardworking people and they shouldn't have to be put into poverty to pay their medical bills.  The drug companies get a lot of their research done at colleges and it is paid for with taxpayer money. The elderly should get a better deal. We should all get a better deal.
522812
Sounds like a plan. People here do need to get involved in this. The country is in total chaos right now, over so many things: Irag, immigration, oil, deficits, educations, etc. \n\n6 years, hundreds of biliion dollars, millions of illegal immigrants, $3:50/ gallon later, Bush is still an idiot. Selling the country out!
843706
I agree with you, not only has G. Bush made a mess out of Iraq but by doing so has made a mess out of our own country by cutting all social services and entitlements has ruined the quality of life for the average American especially in areas of education, environment, health care, security, transportation and withholding or cutting federal money for our fire fighters so that they do not have the finest and best equipment.  His incompetence is endless.
1155220
You raise some VERY valid points. My daughters kdg went on NO field trips this year because of lack of funding. But prisons and the juvy system still got their funding. It is so frusterating. How cool it would be for our schools to offer even some of the amenities you mentioned..but we would have to put our children first.\nCan I get a dig into about the money being spend to finance this invasion of Iraq also..what that could have done for the public schools of the USA!
639047
Sadly, we are already losing it, if we haven't lost it completely.  The present American political leadership is not willing to spend any serious money on education, preferring to squander it on prisons, wars, and the futile pursuit of the War On (some) Drugs.  Local governments without rich tax bases cannot make up the shortfalls, even if they don't have spending caps imposed by ignorant legislators.
1082931
... the public should throw out all the ones that brought this to a vote... it clearly wasn't going to pass and was a huge waste of taxpayer dollars... \n\nThis is just one reason the debt is so high... irresponsible spending like this...
581448
Absolutely. Conservatives have been trying to abolish the Department of Education ever since it was created in the 1970s.\n\nThe standards NCLB sets are so ridiculous that most districts will be hard pressed to pass them, and are therefore labeled "failed" schools. If you school fails, your funding is cut off, making it ever more difficult to raise standards because you have ever fewer resources.\n\nIt's a well-designed plan to make it look like Bush cares about education, while in reality shafting the public education system.\n\nHouse Democrats have done some good work on this:\nhttp://www.house.gov/budget_democrats/analyses/spending/education_nov1303.pdf\n\nhttp://www.house.gov/budget_democrats/analyses/education_bush_history.pdf
946910
No Child Left Behind is a joke.  The perception is that more money is the solution.  Offer private school vouchers and watch the cost become a fraction of what it does now.
58439
As a teacher, I don't think it's so much that costs rise as it is education budgets get cut.  I know our district was in the hole about $15 million.  In order to get out of debt, anything that wasn't "necessary" was potentially on the chopping block (after school activities, etc.).  Teachers also took a paycut in order to prevent a high number of layoffs.  \n\nIt simply depends on how money the state gives your department of education to give to the school district and how the school district distributes the money.
1183005
Because the current administration has other ideas.  Bush is taking care of the people who he call his base...the have-mores!  You are right, we are becoming poorer and we are becoming less educated.   This is by plan.  Soon the only people who will be able to afford a college education will be the wealthy.  At the rate of 11% a year for the last 5 years college tuition has risen.  What middle income family will be able to educate their children beyond high school if that trend continues?  The fact that we are in this position is to the delight of Russia, China and North Korea.  China owns our debt and when they decide to cash in, we are all up a creek.
694020
Bush insisted on this bill to protect Eli Lily for one of his best buds Mitch Daniels, who is now the governor of Indiana. Daniels is a sell out. Mitch, decided to save Eli Lily millions by cutting pensions for those who earned those funds fair and square. \nSince taking office in 2004, Daniels passed the Major Moves agenda. He got his buddies in the State House to pass the time change. Now some of us are on Eastern Time, and some of us are on Central Time. Stupid. The whole state ought to be on one or the other not both. Stupid.\nThe Stupidity didn't stop there, no, Mitchie boy, decided he wanted to sell the Toll Road to foriegners. \nBush probably promised that he would help Eli Lily cut their losses, by phasing out their responsibility for their oversight, neglegence. The Bush administration has done the same thing for asbestos claims as well, and hard telling how many others that we haven't heard about. \nThe only reason, and it's totally amoral, is that it's going to cost those companies a lot of money! It all boils down to the cost. \nRepublicans generallu aren't honest at all, let alone enough to admit wrongdoing.\nDitch Mitch!\nDitch Bush and all his cronies!\n\nBTW. What does Homeland Security Act have to do with all these companies being protected from litigation, responsibility anyway?Seems big corporations have more protection, power than the citizens of the United States. This is all sick and twisted.
1186277
"Hate" is a powerful word...\n\nAnd...\n\nBush cut budgets from programs such as medicaid, food stamps, farm subsidies, agency budgets (such as from the Pentagon), and student loan programs.\n\nHe also raised premiums to employers for government insurance of their employees' and retirees' pension benefits and fees on students who default on loans or consolidate them and higher fees on parents who borrow on behalf of their college-age children.\n\nCalifornia Rep. George Miller (news, bio, voting record), the senior Democrat on the panel, called the package a "raid on student aid."\n\nBush also cut budgets from child support enforcement.\n\nBush tightened eligibility standards for foster care assistance in nine states and delay some lump-sum payments to very poor and elderly beneficiaries of Social Security's Supplemental Security Income program.\n\nBush also eliminated payments to industries harmed by unfair foreign trade practices.\n\n"They are targeting programs for poor people to pay for tax cuts for rich people," said Rep. David Obey (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis. Once those tax cuts are passed, Obey added, deficits will be increasing again.\n\nOn the student loan information sheet, the maximum amount a first-year college student could receive as a loan from the government is $2625 or somewhere in that proximity. That amount will cover less than 1/5 of college expenses for a university with annual expenses (everything including books, tuition, room & board, etc.) of $14,000.00. I know because I will be a first-year college student and I already feel the pressure.\n\nSo...\n\nDo I like Bush? Not really; I hate him; I hate him; I hate him; I hate him; I hate him; I hate him; I hate him. "Hate" is, indeed, a powerful word, much more powerful than "dislike," but it is so often used it is sometimes meaningless. I hate every f%^#*@$ thing Bush has done in office. Add one more word to "hate" and it has a whole new meaning. And I do hate every f%^#*@$ thing Bush has done in office.