[quote]Natural Nate wrote:
Did you ever think that social issues like bad public education CAN’T be solved by throwing money at them?
If you take a public school with 1,000 kids that don’t feel like being there and don’t a shit about learning what’s taught, then all throwing money at it will do is give them a bunch of brand new computers to look up pictures of “tubgirl” on.[/quote]
I’m not suggesting that money should be thrown at anything.
However, at the same time, it’s probably an unfair characterization to assume that everything is peachy in every school district and that there are no problems with existing facilities.
Perhaps we should figure out why 1000 kids don’t value school. Is it because they live in an overcrowded community with rampant drugs, crime and physical violence? Is it because they have crappy teachers, perhaps because nobody wants to work there? Is it because society doesn’t understand the value of education anymore?
What’s the value, to the nation, in terms of economic payback, to change the nature of a community such that it’s children become educated, get good jobs, and contribute to the wealth of the nation with productivity and ideas – when the alternative is drugs, crime and imprisonment for untold following generations? Add it up.
Perhaps there is no way to define cost effective policies or strategies… and I’ll certainly agree that “throwing money at it” is not a good plan.
Maybe a long term solution might be not to create “projects” that collect the poor into huge groups so that their communities can be shunned and devolve into crowded ineffectively policed warrens for drugs, crime, youth pregnancy and so forth.
Given that we already have vast areas that contain groups of people who are not economically contributing to the well being of the country, perhaps some effort should be put into helping to alleviate the situation.
There are many things that could be done that don’t involve spending a lot of money – in particular, zoning regulations and other related initiatives can greatly impact overcrowding and local availability of meaningful jobs.
If the Dems are really all about throwing money at problems, instead of coming up with ways to use wise policies and strategies with a bit of money when absolutely necessary, then that is too bad.
However, what I would really like to see is that Dems come up with initiatives that have the ability to increase the public good while Republicans keep them from growing the government or wasting even a single dime in the process.
Both parties have valid viewpoints and ideas – and they are both prone to excesses that the other can curb. If we could stop practicing purely divisive and destructive politics, it might be possible to have a smoother functioning government and a less expensive government (per capita).
Instead, the mistakes of the past are used as excuses not to try to fix anything, when instead we should learn and adjust.
Anyway, castigate me if you will, but realize that I’m not coming at this from a bleeding heart liberal angle, but from one of creating a richer and more powerful nation with less of an economic burden due to unproductive segments of society.
