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Burden Shift


© Matt Davies

What is the worst thing we can do to our future generations? Saddle them with a huge national debt, or give them a substandard education so they can’t compete in the world job market. Right now, it seems like we are doing both.

I know this is considered blasphemy in some circles, but there are things for which I don’t mind paying taxes.

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6 Comments

  1. Ruth Shaver wrote:

    AMEN! We are so incredibly short-sighted when we short-change our children for the sake of saving a little money. I try to remind people whenever the subject of school taxes comes up that the children we AREN’T educating now may very well become our doctors, lawyers, judges, and politicians in our old age. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that we gave them an excellent start toward a first-class college education? Amazing how often people will say, “I don’t have kids in the school system,” or, “My kids are already through and done, so why should I pay now?”

    Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 4:32 pm | Permalink
  2. Iron Knee wrote:

    Not to mention that Head Start programs have been shown to save money in the long run. It costs far more to keep someone in prison than it does to give them a decent education.

    Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 4:41 pm | Permalink
  3. Mad Hatter wrote:

    Is it just me or do we already have under-educated people in positions of power and influence in our governments, businesses and media? It even seems to me that a lot of them actually celebrate their ignorance to appear more populist.

    I’ve often pondered the question of what can be done to keep people from believing the trash put out by Limbaugh, Beck, Fox News, et al. The only thing I can come up with (excluding violence) is a good education but I worry that it is too late.

    Monday, April 12, 2010 at 7:49 am | Permalink
  4. Jonah wrote:

    Education will be overrated in Texas

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html

    Monday, April 12, 2010 at 11:55 am | Permalink
  5. Fred Wickham wrote:

    Thank you. There are actually positions for nurses here in the bay area, but San Francisco City College, which has had very good nurse training program has had to cut back. No classes this summer — for the first time.

    Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 4:01 pm | Permalink
  6. Troy wrote:

    but it’s figures like these that disprove this thinking…
    http://tinyurl.com/332dsfo

    Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 3:09 pm | Permalink