Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Monday, March 28, 2005
Where are the economists? The outsourcing of American jobs to low wage countries is a hot topic. The related trade deficit is a crisis, according to the media. Workers are pessimistic about the future. Many feel leveling the playing field in trade means Americans will be “leveled “(by reduced wages and benefits). But there is a puzzle here as well. The economists, the experts who have made a career out of studying such things as free trade, say outsourcing is a good thing. These days you have to read this in their books because they are not saying it in public. Lou Dobbs, the CNN news guy, talks gloom and doom about outsourcing on every broadcast but never has economists on to defend outsourcing. The President’s economic advisors apparently like outsourcing and now want to dramatically expand trade with South America. There is a disconnect here…the media and the public are distrustful and afraid while the economists press for fewer restrictions and more trade. Here in Bloomington there must be many economic experts. I invite them to defend their profession by explaining, in layman’s terms please, why outsourcing is good thing and why we should not worry about being “leveled”.
Op-ed ltr sent today.
Op-ed ltr sent today.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
The GAO did a study looking at five cases where the court ordered restitution be paid totaling $568Million. They found that after eight years only 7% had been paid.
ref: www.gao.gov, report GAO-05-80
ref: www.gao.gov, report GAO-05-80
School funding: (my letter published in my local paper op-ed page)
I think good teachers deserve good pay but is more money really the answer for education? If that were the case the schools with the highest funding should be the best. In 2001 the average annual expenditure in the U.S. for grades K thru 12 was $7284 per student. The average for Indiana was $7287. The most costly school system in Indiana was Gary at $9349 per student. The top three states in spending averaged close to $11,000 per student. These were NY, NJ and Washington DC which have some of the worst performing schools in the country. Western European nations such as England, France and Germany spend much less on education than the United States and apparently get better results. It seems that, on average, school success has little to do with funding. The excellent education series printed recently in the H-T indicated that a child’s parents and peers are the main factors that determine success in school. I think most people already know this. It is praiseworthy that our country spends more to help bad schools but the figures show more funding will not overcome shortcomings in the home and the neighborhood.
References:
(1) http://ftp2.census.gov/govs/school/01fullreport.pdf
(2) http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/200101.pdf
I think good teachers deserve good pay but is more money really the answer for education? If that were the case the schools with the highest funding should be the best. In 2001 the average annual expenditure in the U.S. for grades K thru 12 was $7284 per student. The average for Indiana was $7287. The most costly school system in Indiana was Gary at $9349 per student. The top three states in spending averaged close to $11,000 per student. These were NY, NJ and Washington DC which have some of the worst performing schools in the country. Western European nations such as England, France and Germany spend much less on education than the United States and apparently get better results. It seems that, on average, school success has little to do with funding. The excellent education series printed recently in the H-T indicated that a child’s parents and peers are the main factors that determine success in school. I think most people already know this. It is praiseworthy that our country spends more to help bad schools but the figures show more funding will not overcome shortcomings in the home and the neighborhood.
References:
(1) http://ftp2.census.gov/govs/school/01fullreport.pdf
(2) http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/200101.pdf
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Education, Work and Crime
Young people hear so much about the value of education and “stay in school” admonitions that they surely get bored by it. And those most in need are most likely to ignore or defy such advice. If I were advising young people I would use a different approach.
I would ask my young audience (I am thinking Junior High to young adult) “what can you do?” What knowledge or skill do you have that anyone would pay wages for? This is a tough question and is perhaps unfair for the youngest but nonetheless it gets at the heart of the matter. University is not the answer for everyone. For many, a skilled trade learned through training or on the job would be better. Good mechanics with documented training credit can make good momey. There is always demand for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)technicians who are certified.
I would also ask “can you show up?”. A frequent complaint of employers is that workers cannot get out of bed and get to work on time or at all. It seems a basic enough ability but this is a widespread problem especially in low pay and part time work. A person who is reliable and has a work ethic is a valued employee and is worth training.
Related to this subject is your desired standard of living. Today in the USA basic needs are met for most people even if they do not work. The issue becomes wants...nice car, nice house, nice clothes, vacations, entertainment, etc. So I would say to young people that if you can forgo “wants” then you will not need training, education or a work ethic. But, quoting Shakespeare , “Aye, there’s the rub.” If you want, want ,want then prepare to work, work, work.
There is an alternative to work and it is called Crime. For people who can’t show up, refuse to be trained or educated, have no work ethic and still have “wants” there is this path. From earliest times when it was perceived that one can steal a crop rather than grow it, crime has been part of humanity. When the number of criminals becomes large relative to the number of workers society collapses into chaos and ruin. This includes the purse snatcher and the CEO who is stealing the company assets. A study was published back in the 1970’s that showed that if the number of dishonest workers and businesses approached 20% of the total our country could not function.
I would ask my young audience (I am thinking Junior High to young adult) “what can you do?” What knowledge or skill do you have that anyone would pay wages for? This is a tough question and is perhaps unfair for the youngest but nonetheless it gets at the heart of the matter. University is not the answer for everyone. For many, a skilled trade learned through training or on the job would be better. Good mechanics with documented training credit can make good momey. There is always demand for HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)technicians who are certified.
I would also ask “can you show up?”. A frequent complaint of employers is that workers cannot get out of bed and get to work on time or at all. It seems a basic enough ability but this is a widespread problem especially in low pay and part time work. A person who is reliable and has a work ethic is a valued employee and is worth training.
Related to this subject is your desired standard of living. Today in the USA basic needs are met for most people even if they do not work. The issue becomes wants...nice car, nice house, nice clothes, vacations, entertainment, etc. So I would say to young people that if you can forgo “wants” then you will not need training, education or a work ethic. But, quoting Shakespeare , “Aye, there’s the rub.” If you want, want ,want then prepare to work, work, work.
There is an alternative to work and it is called Crime. For people who can’t show up, refuse to be trained or educated, have no work ethic and still have “wants” there is this path. From earliest times when it was perceived that one can steal a crop rather than grow it, crime has been part of humanity. When the number of criminals becomes large relative to the number of workers society collapses into chaos and ruin. This includes the purse snatcher and the CEO who is stealing the company assets. A study was published back in the 1970’s that showed that if the number of dishonest workers and businesses approached 20% of the total our country could not function.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Sci-fi movie analagous to war in Afghanistan:
The 1950’s movie “War of the Worlds” is one of my all time favorites. In one scene the scientist (Gene Barry) and a Marine colonel are in a bunker observing a pit where the Martian fighting machines are gathering and making preparations. The colonel tells Barry he has the Martians surrounded with our best weapons and we are ready to blast them off the earth if they make a move. A General from Washington who is there as an observer tells Barry that what happens here will be a pattern for the war.
The Martian machines start moving and appear to be floating above the ground. A local citizen points this out and says to Barry “Hey look, they’re flyin’ with no wings or anything. That ain‘t possible is it?” Barry replies “If they are doing it, it is.”
After a disastrous battle the Martians remain untouched while their mysterious heat rays completely destroy the Marines. During the rout, the bunker is in chaos and Barry grabs the General and shouts “General! You’ve got to get the word to Washington that this kind of defense is useless against that kind of power!” I wonder if a similar scene may have occurred in Afghanistan when high tech weapons were used by the U.S. against primitive opponents.
The 1950’s movie “War of the Worlds” is one of my all time favorites. In one scene the scientist (Gene Barry) and a Marine colonel are in a bunker observing a pit where the Martian fighting machines are gathering and making preparations. The colonel tells Barry he has the Martians surrounded with our best weapons and we are ready to blast them off the earth if they make a move. A General from Washington who is there as an observer tells Barry that what happens here will be a pattern for the war.
The Martian machines start moving and appear to be floating above the ground. A local citizen points this out and says to Barry “Hey look, they’re flyin’ with no wings or anything. That ain‘t possible is it?” Barry replies “If they are doing it, it is.”
After a disastrous battle the Martians remain untouched while their mysterious heat rays completely destroy the Marines. During the rout, the bunker is in chaos and Barry grabs the General and shouts “General! You’ve got to get the word to Washington that this kind of defense is useless against that kind of power!” I wonder if a similar scene may have occurred in Afghanistan when high tech weapons were used by the U.S. against primitive opponents.
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