How to Fix Education in America

We constantly hear about how the education system has deteriorated in America, especially for those of us in California. Our government, of course, thinks that the cure to the problem (as it thinks is the cure to any problem) is to through more money and bureaucracy at education efforts. Isn’t it funny how our governments do the same thing time after time, and yet expect a different result?
Here are some simple solutions to the education problem, which will also have a dramatic impact on other trouble areas.
1. Everyone becomes an adult at the age of 18 for everything. That means we reduce the drinking age to 18, and raise the driving age to 18! One other provision, however, will be that you cannot obtain a driver’s license until one has received a high school diploma.

The impact will be that a) we will not need parking lots at the high schools for anyone except teachers, b) high school aged people won’t be driving around for fun, and can spend more time studying, c) there will be fewer deaths caused by reckless driving by teenagers, and d) there will be an incentive to stay in school to get their diploma, rather than drop out.

If they do not get their diploma, they cannot obtain a driver’s license until age 21, which means they cannot consume alcohol until that age, or upon obtaining a high school diploma, whichever is earlier.

2. There should be a uniform dress policy in every school until college. Too much emphasis is placed on image and popularity, and not enough on results. If the children want to dress differently after school, and their parents do not have the backbone to maintain some form of discipline in how their children dress, they can do so outside of school hours.

3. Eliminate “Standardized” testing. Our schools are like automobile assembly plants … crank them out as fast as possible. Teachers, many times at the insistence of school administrators, pass kids on to the next level, even though they have not earned that promotion. Teachers make exams simple, so the kids can pass them and not be held back (or damage their fragile self confidence).

The writer and publisher of the textbooks should include exams that are to be used in conjunction with the textbook so that all students are being tested in the same manner, and so the exams actually test to see if the students have absorbed the material that is being presented. If they do not pass, then they repeat the class. Remember … no diploma, no driving.


4. Allow teacher to teach and administrators to administrate the day to day workings of the school. Parents may not interfere with these people as long as they are following all of the rules that are created for all schools. Instead, hold the parents responsible for the conduct of their children, and give the schools more authority to discipline those who require it.

5. Finally, let’s move to a year round school calendar. Coordinate all of the local schools to the same calendar so families can plan vacations, but keep the school year moving with no more than 4 weeks off in any one stretch.

These three simple suggestions will resolve numerous problems in addition to those already mentioned. There will be less truancy, meaning less crime committed by teens. This will ultimately lead to a reduction in other crimes and help reduce the long term prison population. Furthermore, our children will actually become educated and be able to obtain better jobs, and be more productive to our society, which will result in more American initiative and ultimately more tax revenue. We will no longer need to import educated people from India and China to fill the highly skilled jobs.

Our children will rise to the level of expectation that we set for them. Let's raise our level of expectations now!

Jerry Brown Rides Away Again

Once again, the illustrious Jerry Brown has grandstanded on behalf of the little people in order to get some headlines, and then turns his back on them while running for governor.

More than a year ago, as attorney general for the state of California, Mr. Brown filed a lawsuit against Countrywide Home Loans and its subsidiaries for its unlawful predatory lending practices, which was shown in great specificity in the complaint that was filed. Countrywide and Bank of America agreed to settle the lawsuit by agreeing to spend $8 billion dollars to modify those predatory loans.

Once that agreement was put into place, Mr. Brown pounded his chest and told everyone who was listening that he brought Countrywide to its knees, and that thousands of people would have their homes saved and the crash in real estate values would end. Countrywide/Bank of America announced their home retention program through which they would address all of these loans.
Fast forward one year, and we discover that foreclosures still take place, the value of property had continued to plummet, and realistic mortgage modifications are few and far between.

I have worked with many victims of these predatory loans, and my experience has been that they either say “You don’t qualify,” or they come up with a “modification” that is meaningless and unworkable. That allows the lenders to say, “Most of the modifications that are made are defaulted on again.”

Furthermore, Countrywide is a small percentage of the problem. Why didn’t Brown sue the others, such as World Savings (now, Wachovia and Wells Fargo) and Washington Mutual (now Chase)? There are dozens of others that continue to use government bailouts, while allowing the victims of these predatory loans to wallow in despair, destitution and continued unemployment.

Oh, I forgot. He needs to concentrate on another run for governor.

As Rome Burned

What is happenening in the United States?

The national debt has almost doubled since 2000 from $5.3 trillion to almost $10 trillion, and climbing daily. What does that mean? That means that every man, woman and child living in the United States today would need to write a check in the amount of almost $80,000 to bring us to zero?

Why and how has this happened?

The number one reason is that we have become lazy, and those "in charge" promote and encourage that laziness. Our standard of living has rapidly increase, while our production has plummeted. We are a nation of consumers rather than a nation of producers. Then, when all of the jobs go to Japan, then Korea, then China and Mexico, everyone complains and screams "Buy American Made Products!"

Of course, when they go to buy American Made products they learn that the price is much higher, and in some cases, the quality is less. Then, instead of trying to work together, labor wants higher wages so they can afford the American Made products, while business tries to get the government to reduce its tariffs against products that it has manufactured overseas.

The legislators (local, state and federal) have much more important things to consider ... like re-election. While the signs of imminent disaster regarding the collapse of the housing market, and therefore, the banking industry, the government officials went merrily along throwing mud at their opponents and getting donations in order to win election or re-election. In the mean time, Rome started burning while they played their fiddles.

There are some difficult decisions and actions that need to be taken in the years to come, and it is going to hurt. The world is smaller because of the Internet and the time for travel and shipping.

And we cannot depend on "The Government" to make it all better. They are the ones who helped screw it up in the first place. It has to come from each of us. It starts with education. Turning off the television, dumping the X-Box and making ourselves more valuable to the world economy as producers, rather than consumers.

Watch for my upcoming book: GREED: The American Dream becomes The Global Nightmare.