Long rant... school budget cuts.

[brainman1000]

On the flip side, sports build teamwork, leadership, discipline, hard work, can give a school a sense of pride (don't underestimate that one), and other skills that are necessary for a functional society. But I still think that too much $$$ is thrown at sports and too little at the arts and other programs.

That is very true. Sports do have their educational qualities, but whenever budget cuts are mentioned it is always the arts programs that are targeted first and not the sports programs. It's all about priorities.

All I can think is; hey America, how's that TRILLION dollar a year Military budget treating you.

If educating children in your own country was as important as being able to blow up children in other countries, you'd all be so educated that... uh... well it would be much harder to make fun of Americans.

No offence meant, of course .

I actually have to agree with you. Again, it is all about priorities.

[BPelizabeth]

Really so this isn't offensive to anyone.....and I should go ....oh yea my hubby he does that.

Quote - "If educating children in your own country was as important as being able to blow up children in other countries"
No that should not be offensive at all.

I suppose the military should tell all of the companies that make this over inflated priced stuff that assists in trying to keep our soldiers safe to give them a discount???? Really ....so now the government should step in and mandate prices of other companies. Listen...raytheon and the other companies are not in it for the good of the US. They are in this to make money....and yes..they have competitors. You have NO IDEA what goes into making some of the equipment that the military buys and the endless testing that it has to go through. And just how much that testing costs. Why does the tests cost so much....because it takes so many analysts...and test engineers and etc. to make sure that the millions that the government is going to put into this piece of equipment will actually be worth it.

Are you suggesting they cut corners on testing and spending money that can diffuse an IED that will potentially save a soldiers life. Or better yet...maybe they should just scrap a system that will funnel all of the intel into one place so that it is shared by all agencies instead of having to go to 18 different places to get it. Better yet lets not come up with anything that will stop a nuclear warhead from hitting us when the crazies like Korea shoot them off.

UGh!!

Does the military spend allot...yes they do...but unless you want someone on our shores...we better remain cutting edge. Not to mention many enlisted are still severly underpaid. Would you go to Iraq and risk your life and leave your family for 15 months for 30K? Yea...I probably know the answer to that. So unless you really know what you are talking about and you have experience with what this money is really spent on ....and not just pulling something out of your butt.....I suggest you do your research.

[Skiploder]

Apples to oranges.

All of you who are complaining about how much we spend on the military versus how much we are spending on education are comparing apples to oranges.

The federal government funds the military - states fund education. Even if the federal government stopped funding the military, that money would not make it into the education system so quit your whining about military spending. Not all of us live in your special fantasy world where China, Russia, Iran and North Korea will stop hating us if we get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Do some of us a favor before you go making bold statements about defense spending and education spending - figure out which is a federal and which is a state responsibility. It makes for a much more informed argument.

We've covered this ground before. While funding education should be a priority it should be a LOCAL and STATE priority according to the constitution. Some of you knuckleheads think that the only way out of our education and health care messes is at the teat of Uncle Sugar......

Oh and as old WingedWolf and I have established before, total government (State and Federal) spending on education is greater than defense - fact. Live with it and stop propagating bull crap for the sake of making a pointless point. Yes -several socialist and communist websites skew this data by presenting only the Federal spending - but as we have now established - that is an intellectually dishonest argument.

We need to fix the education system as badly as we need to fix the health care system - both are dysfunctional and both are, in large part, propagating their own problems. The problem is that the education system has not gotten better no matter how much money we've spent on it. The problem is waste and making sure the money spent on education makes it to the class room and not the administrative offices.

Example: I readily give at school fundraisers when I am guaranteed that this money goes directly to maintaining programs (like the library or the computer lab) or makes it directly to the classroom. I refuse to give another freaking penny to the California State education system until the schools are in better shape than the District offices.

Yes, our local schools have dilapidated equipment, shoddy facilities and are understaffed. On the other hand, the local District offices are nice, new and shiny - with new computers, copy machines and self-flushing toilets.

In California we have a problem. Entitlements are so high that infrastructure and education are going to take a massive hit. Until the citizens of the Republik of Kalifornia wake up to the fact that people like Lolo76 may lose their job at the expense of social experiments and administrative waste, things will get a lot worse before they get better.

Next year my kids will be going to private school. For a tad more than my tax dollars are currently being outlaid for public education - they will got to a school with a staffed library, sports curricula, a science and computer lab and each kid gets a laptop. Ask yourselves this: how can a private school, for almost the same amount of money per student, achieve this?

Laura - I hope everything turns out the best for you. We have met and I think that the kids in your District are going to miss out on having some one as intelligent, passionate and literary (for lack of a better word) helping to fuel their passion for literature. I really hope that their loss will be someone else's gain.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Well, that was a dig, yes--those things happen when you invade another country, no matter how good your reasons seem to be. Country gets invaded, kids get blown up. It's inevitable. Doesn't matter who, or what country. I do generally think the US should either poo or get off the pot--if we're going over to some other country to smack someone down, it should be without the kid gloves--full force with everything we've got, and over in a week. (If we went full force, it WOULD be over in a week). We'd get a terrible reputation, but our rep's not that great anyhow. This piddling around with a few dozen troops here and there is a waste of time, money, and lives.

As for the fancy equipment--the vast bulk of it's NOT EVEN BEING USED. It's in development for 10 years, and many a handful of guys ever get to use it, and it never winds up in the field. And most of it's geared toward putting people in places that people don't even have to go anymore.
And yes, the government does need to say "I'm sorry, that's too expensive, we're going to look for a contract with someone else if you don't lower your prices to something less than the cost of the Hubble Space Telescope".

The point is, EDUCATION IS JUST AS VALUABLE AS DEFENSE. It should have equal funding. If it did, the military could buy much fancier weapons for less money, because there would be plenty of people competing to build fancy weapons. Education does that.
Equal FEDERAL funding. The States clearly cannot afford it. Good education IS expensive. Yes, the system needs to be overhauled as well. All government-run systems appear to be increasingly corrupt.

Our founding fathers predicted that it would happen, so why is everyone so surprised?

[BPelizabeth]

Well, that was a dig, yes--those things happen when you invade another country, no matter how good your reasons seem to be. Country gets invaded, kids get blown up. It's inevitable. Doesn't matter who, or what country. I do generally think the US should either poo or get off the pot--if we're going over to some other country to smack someone down, it should be without the kid gloves--full force with everything we've got, and over in a week. (If we went full force, it WOULD be over in a week). We'd get a terrible reputation, but our rep's not that great anyhow. This piddling around with a few dozen troops here and there is a waste of time, money, and lives.

I totally agree with you on this. But we keep trying to fight a politically correct war with ppl that don't play like that.

As for the fancy equipment--the vast bulk of it's NOT EVEN BEING USED. It's in development for 10 years, and many a handful of guys ever get to use it, and it never winds up in the field. And most of it's geared toward putting people in places that people don't even have to go anymore.
And yes, the government does need to say "I'm sorry, that's too expensive, we're going to look for a contract with someone else if you don't lower your prices to something less than the cost of the Hubble Space Telescope".

I don't agree that this is totally true. Typically in the military things have to go through a five year testing plan. Unless it is for theater and then it is put through much more quickly. And that is great to say that is too expensive...but in reality...it is not cheaper anywhere else. Look the overhead alone that these companies have is crazy. Just for some of the clearances for employees is over 100K. That is why allot of the time they are looking for ppl with existing clearances. That isn't saying anything about employing high level engineers that can design and create these systems. Its not free and there is always another company that will pay more.

The point is, EDUCATION IS JUST AS VALUABLE AS DEFENSE. It should have equal funding. If it did, the military could buy much fancier weapons for less money, because there would be plenty of people competing to build fancy weapons. Education does that.
Equal FEDERAL funding. The States clearly cannot afford it. Good education IS expensive. Yes, the system needs to be overhauled as well. All government-run systems appear to be increasingly corrupt.


Again to agree with skiploader....you can throw all the money in the world at the education system....doesn't mean it is going to get better. I agree.....go down and take a look at your local district school offices.....they are usually very nice compared to the schools.

Our founding fathers predicted that it would happen, so why is everyone so surprised?

[MustBeSatan]

Okay, I wrote a response but I deleted all but the following... I don't think me arguing with you guys about your military is productive lol.

I don't have all the facts and I won't claim to. My point was simple: The United States is the wealthiest country in the world. The money is there; there is just no excuse for a dismal school system. I know you guys and your army is like us and hockey; it's part of the culture and we're darn proud of it. But to me, allowing something as fundamental as an education system to decay while something like the military flourishes... It seems like priorities have gotten confused.

If anyone wants to flame me for my views on American military spending I'd be glad to go toe to toe on it, but lets do it in a thread about that, rather than in Lolo's thread. I apoligize for derailing the thread with my comment, the implications of which I did not consider.

[Blue Apple Herps]

I suppose the military should tell all of the companies that make this over inflated priced stuff that assists in trying to keep our soldiers safe to give them a discount???? Really ....so now the government should step in and mandate prices of other companies. Listen...raytheon and the other companies are not in it for the good of the US. They are in this to make money....and yes..they have competitors. You have NO IDEA what goes into making some of the equipment that the military buys and the endless testing that it has to go through. And just how much that testing costs. Why does the tests cost so much....because it takes so many analysts...and test engineers and etc. to make sure that the millions that the government is going to put into this piece of equipment will actually be worth it.

Are you suggesting they cut corners on testing and spending money that can diffuse an IED that will potentially save a soldiers life. Or better yet...maybe they should just scrap a system that will funnel all of the intel into one place so that it is shared by all agencies instead of having to go to 18 different places to get it. Better yet lets not come up with anything that will stop a nuclear warhead from hitting us when the crazies like Korea shoot them off.

I don't think anyone is suggesting sacrificing the safety of our soldiers or not doing research and testing. But the Military Industrial Complex lobby is huge and powerful. I think there's a real problem when they're pushing projects and spending that even the military doesn't want! Not to mention we spend more on our military than the rest of the world combined. If you want to be honest about it, there is a lot of money wasted on the military that could be better spent.

Does the military spend allot...yes they do...but unless you want someone on our shores...we better remain cutting edge.

Sorry, but this is just plain silly hyperbole! Who is threatening to invade America? Do you think if we cut our military budget 15% that all of a sudden we'd be invaded? Nonsense! The military is no different than the rest of our government, there's a lot of pork being spent on silly projects.