Just playing with you, I'm supposed to be working but I'm bored.

I'm only concerned with the cost of extending unemployment benefits, we are digging a pretty deep hole at the moment.

Your post sounded like somebody did you wrong. And you were lashing out at the OP.

If you are now making "$15,000 a year," and you used to make "$50,000 a year" in income - who's fault is it? Certainly not the OP's.

This is a great case for vouchers.

The government run schools - for the most part - are inherently run inefficiently. We don't hear about the private schools "laying-off." Not to say that they aren't experiencing difficulties - but I have no love lost for governemnt run schools anywhere. Only because of their inefficiency -as they are an arm of the government. And it's now abundantly clear that government is a black hole of red ink.

I was fortunate enough to attend District 66 schools in Omaha, NE as a lad for many years. District 66 was and is still the creme de la creme of government run public schools in Omaha. If I had kids and lived in Omaha - I would be certain that they attended them.


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I skipped most of the thread, my apologies if this has already been covered; Or me making an ass of myself for no reason...


I don't think you get how rough it is in some places. Around here, there's nothing. I'm 22, have 6 years experience as a Machinist/Tool maker and I still can't seem to find anything.

-I'm certainly not moving, as I still live with the rents and help them with the bills and house work.

-Due to me working a lot of overtime in the months the state used to determine how much my benefit pay would be, I end up making what a 40hr. check would come out to, even after taxes. This is FAR more then the minimum wages I would be making flipping burgers.

-Since I'm living at home and can afford to, I'm buying up all the used equipment there is around here in an effort to start my own business. A Dream that's been held back before due to time constraints.



I've been a hard worker since I was 14 can could legally work. I'm still looking for places, but it's a longshot. I'm still hoping I get hired back at one of my two previous places of employment.

Before we had public schools only rich people were educated. I guess if you favor that system we have a fundamental disagreement about opportunity for all.

I think the public schools are the backbone of our egelatarian society. Are they perfect? No. But the private schools for the most part attract the creme de la creme of the students so their scores look good by comparison.

In Lafayette we are blessed with three excellent public school systems. For those who can afford it we also have a couple of very good religeous schools available.

the op is not grasping reality, that's all. the economy is dead. attacking the unemployed (or underemployed) is not going to improve the situation. i was just pointing out the ridiculous nature of his argument. (i guess i should have been pulling myself up by my bootstraps instead? :D)

Government run schools are somewhat like unions - their time of relevance and domination in America has come and gone. However, as I can attest to - many government run schools have the best product going in many regions. Of course, I do believe we need government run schools. But we also need vouchers for the parents.

That said, I am four-square skeptical of the discipline and product offered by religious run schools. I had a terrible run in one from 1st grade through the 6th grade. The totalitarian way the school was run that I attended was sickening. As a kid - your vote doesn't usually count with your parents. The education this religious school was putting out was not one iota better than the Distirict 66 schools in Omaha, that my parents thankfully enrolled me in in 7th grade. My older Brother attended religious education K through 12, and today is a staff PH D with the Veterans Affairs hospital system - for 30+ years. He stated the same as I about the school he and I attended - many years later when we were grown adults.

That will go against the church and state separation, will it not?

Like unions most people are no longer aware of what it was like before they existed and so do not appreciate what they have done for all of us.

Perhaps they will remian largely unappreciated until they are gone.

well said. sadly, most people are quite ignorant when it comes to history.

IMO, all those issues have been since been addressed by labor laws; unions seem to outlived their usefulness at this point.

Labor laws came into effect as a result of the power of unions. Labor laws will decline with the decline of union labor. Look at the example of the recent coal mine disaster. That management had done everything possible to undermine unions and mine safety laws.

The whole 'government run schools' business is just nonsense from the far right. It sounds like some kind of totalitarian fascist monster controlling the minds of citizens. In fact, most schools are run by local school boards and funded by local taxes. If there's anything a free society requires its education for as many citizens as possible.
It's worth noting that Diane Ravitch, the great proponent of Bush's No Child Left Behind and school voucher programs has recently recanted her privatization views on the grounds that there is no evidence that private schools do a better job of educating children than public ones.

I hope that is not the case, since the continued decline of labor unions is inevitable. This mining disaster is an oportunity for the regulators to show they can do their jobs. There is no reason that unions should be required to enforce existing regulations. I also have to point out that the union did not prevent this disaster from occuring.

That was my point. The decline in the power of union mines results in decline in the enforcement of regulation. Blankenship was known for his opposition to regulation of mines. Laws are created by the powerful. If labor is not organized in it's power, the organized power of corporations will trump it every time.