Education Fraud

A MINORITY VIEW

BY WALTER WILLIAMS

RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009

 

Education

 

            Instead of President Obama addressing school students across the nation, he might have accomplished more by focusing his attention on the educational rot in schools in the nation's capital. The American Legislative Exchange Council recently came out with their 15th edition of "Report Card on American Education: A State-by-State Analysis." Academic achievement in no state is much to write home about but in Washington, D.C., by any measure, it approaches criminal fraud. Let's look at the numbers.

            Only 14 percent of Washington's fourth-graders score at or above proficiency in the reading and math portions of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test. Their national rank of 51 makes them the nation's worst. Eighth-graders are even further behind with only 12 percent scoring at or above proficiency in reading and 8 percent in math and again the worst performance in the nation. One shouldn't be surprised by Washington student performance on college admissions tests. They have an average composite SAT score of 925 and ACT score of 19.1, compared to the national average respectively of 1017 and 21.1. In terms of national ranking, their SAT and ACT rankings are identical to their fourth- and eighth-grade rankings -- dead last.

            Washington's political and education establishment might excuse these outcomes by arguing that because most students are black, the schools are underfunded and overcrowded. Let's look at such a claim. During the 2006-07 academic year, expenditures per pupil averaged $13,848 compared to a national average of $9,389. That made Washington's per pupil expenditures the third highest in the nation coming in behind New Jersey ($14,998) and New York ($14,747). Washington's teacher-student ratio is 13.9 compared with the national average of 15.3 students per teacher, ranking 18th in the nation. What about teacher salaries? Washington's teachers are the highest paid in the nation, having an average annual salary of $61,195 compared with the nation's average $46,593. Despite the academic performance of Washington's students, they have a graduation rate of 61 percent compared to the national average of 70 percent. That suggests the issuance of fraudulent high school diplomas.

            Currently, Washington, D.C. has an Opportunity Scholarship Program, which allows qualified low-income families to claim up to $7,500 per student toward a private education of their choice. Obama's Democratic Congress, acting on the behalf of the education establishment, has killed the program and there's the possibility that the 1,700 students currently enrolled will have to return to D.C. public schools.

            The staunchest opponents of school choice are hypocrites. They want, demand and can afford school choice for themselves but for others not so affluent school choice it is a different matter. President and Mrs. Barack Obama enrolled their two daughters in Washington's most prestigious Sidwell Friends School, forking over $28,000 a year for each girl. Whilst senator from Illinois, the Obama's enrolled their girls in the University of Chicago's Laboratory School, a private school in Chicago charging almost $20,000 for each girl. A Heritage Foundation survey found that 37 percent of the members of the House of Representatives and 45 percent of senators in the 110th Congress sent their children to private schools. Public school teachers enroll their own children in nonpublic schools to a much greater extent than the general public, in some cases four and five times greater. In Cincinnati, about 41 percent of public school teachers send their children to nonpublic schools. In Chicago it is 38 percent, Los Angeles 24 percent, New York 32 percent, and Philadelphia 44 percent. The behavior of public school teachers is quite suggestive. It's like my offering to take you to a restaurant and you find out that neither the chef nor the waiters eat there. That suggests they have some inside information from which you might benefit.

            For people in power to tolerate the Washington, D.C. school system is despicable. For a black president to do so might qualify as betrayal.

            Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM

http://economics.gmu.edu/wew/articles/09/Education.htm

Obama ≠ Marxist

Hey! Did you hear what President Barack Obama is doing now?

 

You didn’t hear this from me, but President Obama is negotiating another big giveaway of taxpayer dollars, this time to the health care and pharmaceutical industries as part of his health care bill. I shit you not!

 

Evidently, these new dollars are following after a lot of old dollars which the President already gave away to some banks, and then to some companies that make insurance, and then to some other companies that make cars. 

 

I have to admit, I get a little bit mad when I hear this stuff, because I’m a taxpayer, and I was planning to use some of those dollars to buy beer.

 

So I watched my television. I listened to my radio. The people there, they knew just what to call President Barack Obama.

 

 

Wait… what? Marxist?

 

As the great Inigo Montoya once said: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

 

As much as I hate to do this, I think it might be time for a little review. Try and follow along with me:

 

 

“Marxism” is a word that comes from the name “Karl Marx.”

 

Karl was a very hairy European dude who lived a long, long time ago. Karl saw the world in black and white. He divided everybody up into two (2) groups:

 

 

The people on the left, in the chains? That’s the Proletariat. These are the good guys. People like you and like me. Karl said we’re the ones who do all the real work.

 

The people on the right, with the bags of money, are the Bourgeoisie. They are the bad guys. People like your boss’ boss’ boss. There’s only a few of them, but they make the Proletariat do all the work, and then they take all the money.

 

Karl says this is what happens in an industrial capitalist society. He meant us.

 

Karl said this. Not me. But a Marxist would still believe that today.

 

So get this: Karl wanted to take money from the Bourgeoisie and give it to the Proletariat (now with money, on left).  

 

 

See the arrows?

 

Then he would send the Bourgeoisie (in flames, on right) to Hell. (I’m paraphrasing.)

 

Now that is Marxism! Marxists want this stuff.

 

Recently, our industrial capitalist society was popping along as usual when – suddenly and without warning – the Bourgeoisie lost all their money. It just disappeared one day. No one was quite sure where it had gone.

 

 

But then Barack Obama came along. He took money from the Proletariat (on left) and gave it to the corporate Bourgeoisie (still on right, with money) to make up for the money they’d misplaced.

 

 

As you can see, this is not Marxism. Look at the arrows, Barack! They’re going the wrong way, stupid!

 

This is bass-ackwards from Marxism.

 

A real Marxist would HATE this!

 

I know what you’re thinking: But if Barack Obama is not a Marxist, then what the hell is he?

 

 

What do you call a system where most of the common folk work their fingers to the bone all day long and then have to hand over the fruit of their labors to a bunch of rich corporate dudes sitting around in castles?

 

Well?

 

There’s gotta be a name for it: