DOGS THAT BARK said:
How many of these 34 people fall outside of the upper 2% of incomes in this country, that have benefitted tremendously from this administration, I wonder? Why would they want anyone else to speak for them?!?
The Liberal Media Bias
- Thread starter Palehose
- Start date
How many of these 34 people fall outside of the upper 2% of incomes in this country, that have benefitted tremendously from this administration, I wonder? Why would they want anyone else to speak for them?!?
Chadman,
Apparently you haven't heard about the always reliable 'PGA poll.' It's the one where they take 34 filthy rich golfers and ask them questions in order to put a finger on the pulse of America.
Apparently you haven't heard about the always reliable 'PGA poll.' It's the one where they take 34 filthy rich golfers and ask them questions in order to put a finger on the pulse of America.
"It is obvious that he represents there interests as he is both rich and greedy."
Evidently you overlooked those leading in charitable contributions and failed to read about greed of you 1-2 "legal" ticket of Kerry and Edwards.?????
Chadman doesn't make any diff which administration is in office--those that take initiative will prosper and those that make excuses won't.
Wasn't about pulse of america Matt was showing who most charitable people are affiliated--Kinda like comparing BUSH and Cheney's charitable contributions to Kerry and Edwards--
--as always you got those that talk the talk and those that walk the walk.Right Edward?
Evidently you overlooked those leading in charitable contributions and failed to read about greed of you 1-2 "legal" ticket of Kerry and Edwards.?????
Chadman doesn't make any diff which administration is in office--those that take initiative will prosper and those that make excuses won't.
Wasn't about pulse of america Matt was showing who most charitable people are affiliated--Kinda like comparing BUSH and Cheney's charitable contributions to Kerry and Edwards--
--as always you got those that talk the talk and those that walk the walk.Right Edward?
DOGS THAT BARK said:
There are no absolutes. There are plenty of people who take initiative and work hard that do not prosper. There are plenty of people that make excuses that do prosper. I love it when people either say or hint that conservatives work hard and are deserving of their success, and liberals don't work hard and only want a hand out.
What about the people that take initiative AND make excuses?
Chadman said:
In some peoples mind, there can be no distinction.
Poor people are poor because they are lazy-(example: Bill Clinton, who worked his way out of abject poverty to become Governor of Arkansas)
Rich people are rich because they work hard-(example: George W. Bush, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and failed at business)
Eddie Haskell said:
Ed do you care to answer any of my questions ???? how about this one ?????
Who do you think will win ALDS The White Sox or The Indians :mj07: :mj07: :mj07:
Chadman said:How many of these 34 people fall outside of the upper 2% of incomes in this country, that have benefitted tremendously from this administration, I wonder? Why would they want anyone else to speak for them?!?
This is very easy .....If you make more than $30,000 a year and voting Democrat your getting fooled out of your money and thats a fact.
Sure wish I would have bought some stock in that once poor mans company called Microsoft. Dam liberal anyway.
kosar said:
Just dont like to see money wasted ....please tell me of just one Government program that spends money effieciently ??????????? this should be good :mj07:
Gee I would like to see were I said that Chadman ???? hmmm guess your just full of crap and lying aye ? Or you dont understand what your taxes pay for which is entirely possible .
Okay, I mis-spoke a little bit, and for that you should call me on it. In the "Big Day for us Manson" thread, you mentioned:
"as far as I am concerened they can abolish all our social programs and put it all into the military ."
This is what I was referencing, which is not completely accurate, considering I said you said that ALL your tax money should go to the military. So, for that, I apologize.
I was jumping on the comment you were making, asking what Government program spent money efficiently, while at the same time in these threads espousing taking all of the social program money and giving it to the military. Do you honestly think that the money spent in our military is done in an efficient manner? Surely I don't have to dig up references to excesses and ridiculous spending done by this administration (and others) in our military expenditures over the past few years, do I? We could start with the manufactured war in Iraq, and what that costs each of us every single day, for crissakes. Let alone, the appropriations to questionable connections to this administration, which expands with each war or national disaster.
And, while we're at it...you are supporting this administration and putting more money towards EDUCATION?!? You cannot possibly be serious. Shall we look at the cuts in educational spending over the past six years under this President? Believe me...I am ALL FOR EDUCATIONAL SPENDING. So are most liberals, if not all. Do you really want to go down this road of discussion? Do you want to measure what this President REALLY has done for our educational system?
I'll pause, and wait for a response...
"as far as I am concerened they can abolish all our social programs and put it all into the military ."
This is what I was referencing, which is not completely accurate, considering I said you said that ALL your tax money should go to the military. So, for that, I apologize.
I was jumping on the comment you were making, asking what Government program spent money efficiently, while at the same time in these threads espousing taking all of the social program money and giving it to the military. Do you honestly think that the money spent in our military is done in an efficient manner? Surely I don't have to dig up references to excesses and ridiculous spending done by this administration (and others) in our military expenditures over the past few years, do I? We could start with the manufactured war in Iraq, and what that costs each of us every single day, for crissakes. Let alone, the appropriations to questionable connections to this administration, which expands with each war or national disaster.
And, while we're at it...you are supporting this administration and putting more money towards EDUCATION?!? You cannot possibly be serious. Shall we look at the cuts in educational spending over the past six years under this President? Believe me...I am ALL FOR EDUCATIONAL SPENDING. So are most liberals, if not all. Do you really want to go down this road of discussion? Do you want to measure what this President REALLY has done for our educational system?
I'll pause, and wait for a response...
Committee on Education and the Workforce
House Education & the Workforce Committee
John Boehner, Chairman
2181 Rayburn HOB ? (202) 225-4527
FACT SHEET
President Bush?s FY 2004 Education Budget: Spending More, and Spending It More Wisely
More Money Than Ever for Education; Increases Targeted to No Child Left Behind, Special Education, Higher Education
February 4, 2003
The twin challenges of war and economic uncertainty have not deterred President Bush in his commitment to improving America?s schools.
Despite the limited resources available, the President?s FY 2004 Budget provides a larger increase for the Education Department (5.6 percent) than for any other domestic Cabinet agency. Federal education spending has increased by 118 percent from FY 1996 (the first fiscal year under a Republican majority in Congress) to FY 2002. The President?s FY 2004 Budget builds on that increase.
The President?s budget not only spends more for education, but also spends it more wisely. Education spending is not only increased, but also targeted more than ever to priority programs that focus directly on academic achievement and make a difference for students, teachers, and families.
Funding for the key programs of the No Child Left Behind Act (Title I, Reading First, teacher programs) is dramatically increased ? on top of the dramatic increases already provided for elementary and secondary education when the No Child Left Behind Act became law one year ago.
Funding for special education is dramatically increased ? on top of the dramatic increase President Bush provided one year ago.
Funding for Pell Grants is dramatically increased ? enabling approximately 4.9 million students to realize the dream of a college education ? an increase of nearly 1 million since President Bush took office.
Democrats, by contrast, want to spend money for duplicative and ineffective programs that don?t get results ? money that could otherwise be spent on priorities like Title I, Reading First, teachers, special education, and Pell Grants. This unwillingness to prioritize could deny millions of dollars in aid to children and teachers who need help the most.
In a time of limited resources, Republicans would rather increase spending for accountability-based programs with measurable results than spend money for ineffective programs that produce little or no measurable results.
Research and national surveys consistently show Americans believe the most important factor in improving America?s schools is high standards and accountability for results ? not spending. Republicans in Congress, under the leadership of President Bush, continue to provide both the resources and the reforms Americans want for education.
When it comes to federal education funding, a lot is being spent ? and a lot is being expected.
NOTE: The figures used in this summary assume enactment of the President?s FY 2003 Budget request. Final appropriations levels for FY 2003 have not yet been agreed to between the House and Senate.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR ?NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? ? FOCUSED ON RESULTS
Every single dime promised for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is being delivered ? and President Bush?s FY 2004 Budget provides even more.
The President?s budget increases funding for Title I aid to disadvantaged students and schools, the central funding program in the No Child Left Behind Act, by $1 billion for FY 2004, on top of the $1 billion increase requested by the President for Title I for FY 2003. If enacted, the President?s FY 2004 Budget will result in a 41 percent increase ($3.9 billion) in Title I spending since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Major increases are also provided in the President?s FY 2004 Budget for Reading First, teachers, and other priorities under NCLB.
These dramatic increases for NCLB priorities are made possible by streamlining dozens of smaller, duplicative and/or ineffective programs, in favor of major increases for accountability-based, flexible programs that focus directly on America?s most urgent education needs ? improving student achievement, supporting teacher quality, and empowering parents.
The President?s budget increases overall spending for the No Child Left Behind Act by more than $500 million, continuing and building on the dramatic increases set in motion when the President signed NCLB.
The President?s budget continues NCLB?s effort to refocus the federal government on its original mission of closing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers ? the mission it has drifted away from since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was enacted.
Some highlights:
Title I aid to local school districts. Increased by $1 billion, from $11.35 billion proposed for FY 2003 to $12.35 billion for FY 2004. Title I provides federal aid to disadvantaged schools and students, with significant flexibility for local school officials to decide how funds are spent. When the President?s FY 2003 request for Title I is enacted, federal Title I funding will have received a larger increase during the first two years of President George W. Bush?s administration than during the previous seven years combined under President Bill Clinton. The President?s FY 2004 Budget adds $1 billion on top of that for Title I.
Reading First. Increased by $75 million, from $1.075 billion proposed for FY 2003 to $1.150 billion for FY 2004. President Bush?s Reading First initiative, created by the No Child Left Behind Act, tripled federal funding for reading programs and awards grants to states and school districts that use proven reading instruction methods rooted in scientifically-based research. In his original NCLB blueprint, the President committed to providing $5 billion for Reading First over a 5-year period. The President?s FY 2004 Budget keeps the federal government on track toward meeting that goal.
Early Reading First. Increased by $25 million, or 33 percent. Early Reading First is the preschool component of the Reading First initiative.
Transition to Teaching. Increased by $10 million, from $39.4 million proposed for FY 2003 to $49.4 million for FY 2004.
Troops to Teachers. Increased by $5 million, from $20 million proposed for FY 2003 to $25 million for FY 2004.
State Assessments. Increased by $3 million, from $387 million proposed for FY 2003 to $390 million for FY 2004. Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been provided to states annually to help them design and implement their annual statewide tests in reading and math in grades 3-8. The President?s FY 2004 Budget provides even more.
Charter School Grants. Increased by $20 million, from $200 million proposed for FY 2003 to $220 million for FY 2004. This program increases public school choice options by supporting the planning, development, and initial implementation of public charter schools across the nation.
Choice Incentive Fund. Increased by $25 million, from $50 million proposed for FY 2003 to $75 million for FY 2004. This proposed initiative would provide the parents of children who attend underachieving schools with expanded opportunities for transferring their children to a higher-performing public, charter, or private school
cont
House Education & the Workforce Committee
John Boehner, Chairman
2181 Rayburn HOB ? (202) 225-4527
FACT SHEET
President Bush?s FY 2004 Education Budget: Spending More, and Spending It More Wisely
More Money Than Ever for Education; Increases Targeted to No Child Left Behind, Special Education, Higher Education
February 4, 2003
The twin challenges of war and economic uncertainty have not deterred President Bush in his commitment to improving America?s schools.
Despite the limited resources available, the President?s FY 2004 Budget provides a larger increase for the Education Department (5.6 percent) than for any other domestic Cabinet agency. Federal education spending has increased by 118 percent from FY 1996 (the first fiscal year under a Republican majority in Congress) to FY 2002. The President?s FY 2004 Budget builds on that increase.
The President?s budget not only spends more for education, but also spends it more wisely. Education spending is not only increased, but also targeted more than ever to priority programs that focus directly on academic achievement and make a difference for students, teachers, and families.
Funding for the key programs of the No Child Left Behind Act (Title I, Reading First, teacher programs) is dramatically increased ? on top of the dramatic increases already provided for elementary and secondary education when the No Child Left Behind Act became law one year ago.
Funding for special education is dramatically increased ? on top of the dramatic increase President Bush provided one year ago.
Funding for Pell Grants is dramatically increased ? enabling approximately 4.9 million students to realize the dream of a college education ? an increase of nearly 1 million since President Bush took office.
Democrats, by contrast, want to spend money for duplicative and ineffective programs that don?t get results ? money that could otherwise be spent on priorities like Title I, Reading First, teachers, special education, and Pell Grants. This unwillingness to prioritize could deny millions of dollars in aid to children and teachers who need help the most.
In a time of limited resources, Republicans would rather increase spending for accountability-based programs with measurable results than spend money for ineffective programs that produce little or no measurable results.
Research and national surveys consistently show Americans believe the most important factor in improving America?s schools is high standards and accountability for results ? not spending. Republicans in Congress, under the leadership of President Bush, continue to provide both the resources and the reforms Americans want for education.
When it comes to federal education funding, a lot is being spent ? and a lot is being expected.
NOTE: The figures used in this summary assume enactment of the President?s FY 2003 Budget request. Final appropriations levels for FY 2003 have not yet been agreed to between the House and Senate.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR ?NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? ? FOCUSED ON RESULTS
Every single dime promised for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is being delivered ? and President Bush?s FY 2004 Budget provides even more.
The President?s budget increases funding for Title I aid to disadvantaged students and schools, the central funding program in the No Child Left Behind Act, by $1 billion for FY 2004, on top of the $1 billion increase requested by the President for Title I for FY 2003. If enacted, the President?s FY 2004 Budget will result in a 41 percent increase ($3.9 billion) in Title I spending since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.
Major increases are also provided in the President?s FY 2004 Budget for Reading First, teachers, and other priorities under NCLB.
These dramatic increases for NCLB priorities are made possible by streamlining dozens of smaller, duplicative and/or ineffective programs, in favor of major increases for accountability-based, flexible programs that focus directly on America?s most urgent education needs ? improving student achievement, supporting teacher quality, and empowering parents.
The President?s budget increases overall spending for the No Child Left Behind Act by more than $500 million, continuing and building on the dramatic increases set in motion when the President signed NCLB.
The President?s budget continues NCLB?s effort to refocus the federal government on its original mission of closing the achievement gap between disadvantaged students and their peers ? the mission it has drifted away from since 1965, when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was enacted.
Some highlights:
Title I aid to local school districts. Increased by $1 billion, from $11.35 billion proposed for FY 2003 to $12.35 billion for FY 2004. Title I provides federal aid to disadvantaged schools and students, with significant flexibility for local school officials to decide how funds are spent. When the President?s FY 2003 request for Title I is enacted, federal Title I funding will have received a larger increase during the first two years of President George W. Bush?s administration than during the previous seven years combined under President Bill Clinton. The President?s FY 2004 Budget adds $1 billion on top of that for Title I.
Reading First. Increased by $75 million, from $1.075 billion proposed for FY 2003 to $1.150 billion for FY 2004. President Bush?s Reading First initiative, created by the No Child Left Behind Act, tripled federal funding for reading programs and awards grants to states and school districts that use proven reading instruction methods rooted in scientifically-based research. In his original NCLB blueprint, the President committed to providing $5 billion for Reading First over a 5-year period. The President?s FY 2004 Budget keeps the federal government on track toward meeting that goal.
Early Reading First. Increased by $25 million, or 33 percent. Early Reading First is the preschool component of the Reading First initiative.
Transition to Teaching. Increased by $10 million, from $39.4 million proposed for FY 2003 to $49.4 million for FY 2004.
Troops to Teachers. Increased by $5 million, from $20 million proposed for FY 2003 to $25 million for FY 2004.
State Assessments. Increased by $3 million, from $387 million proposed for FY 2003 to $390 million for FY 2004. Hundreds of millions of federal dollars have been provided to states annually to help them design and implement their annual statewide tests in reading and math in grades 3-8. The President?s FY 2004 Budget provides even more.
Charter School Grants. Increased by $20 million, from $200 million proposed for FY 2003 to $220 million for FY 2004. This program increases public school choice options by supporting the planning, development, and initial implementation of public charter schools across the nation.
Choice Incentive Fund. Increased by $25 million, from $50 million proposed for FY 2003 to $75 million for FY 2004. This proposed initiative would provide the parents of children who attend underachieving schools with expanded opportunities for transferring their children to a higher-performing public, charter, or private school
cont
More facts about No Child Left Behind spending in the President?s FY 2004 Budget:
The President?s FY 2004 Budget increases overall spending for NCLB from the $22,002,418 requested for FY 2003 to $22,508,018 for FY 2004. This increase comes on top of the 24 percent increase in ESEA spending ($4.3 billion) provided during the first year of the No Child Left Behind Act. [The No Child Left Behind Act authorizes Congress to spend ?such sums as may be required? overall to implement the education reforms in FY 2003, FY 2004, and beyond. Democrat claims that $29.2 billion in funding was authorized or promised by NCLB for FY 2003, FY 2004, or any other year beyond FY 2002 are based on invalid assumptions that have no basis in the law.]
All programs streamlined, consolidated, and/or terminated in the President?s FY 2004 Budget are programs that (1) duplicate other programs, (2) can be funded through flexible state grants, or (3) are not effective. Streamlining these programs makes possible the major increases provided for Title I, Reading First, and other priority education programs.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION & CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
President Bush?s FY 2004 Budget streamlines dozens of duplicative and/or ineffective programs to make possible a dramatic increase in spending for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the primary federal aid program for children with special needs. The President?s budget increases federal IDEA Grants to States by $1 billion (a 9 percent increase over the previous year?s request) for FY 2004, on top of the $1 billion increase requested by the President for FY 2003. Federal spending for IDEA Grants to States is increased from the $8.5 billion requested by the President for FY 2003 to $9.5 billion for FY 2004.
At this unprecedented level of funding, the federal government will be paying approximately 19 percent of the overall cost of educating children with special needs. This is a share far greater than at any other time in history, and more than twice what it was during the last time Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House.
President Bush has requested the largest yearly increase in special education funding three years in a row. Immediately after signing into law a huge increase in IDEA funding for FY 2002 (a $1.2 billion increase, increasing the federal share to 16.5 percent), President Bush proposed another major increase in federal funding for IDEA (an additional $1 billion) through his FY 2003 budget, a hike that would increase the federal share to about 18 percent. The President?s FY 2004 budget adds yet another $1 billion, increasing the federal share to about 19 percent. If enacted, the President?s FY 2004 Budget will result in a 50 percent increase ($3.2 billion) in IDEA Grants to States under President Bush.
The unprecedented increases provided by President Bush for IDEA pave the way for important reforms to reduce paperwork for special education teachers, expand options for parents, and improve results for children with special needs. Republicans in Congress have made reauthorization and reform of IDEA a top priority for 2003.
Federal spending for IDEA grants to states has increased dramatically under President Bush and congressional Republicans, increasing at a significantly faster rate than under Democrat-controlled Congresses. Since the GOP took control of the House in 1995, federal funding for special education has increased by 224 percent.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget also includes significant funding to help schools recruit and retain high quality special education teachers. The President?s FY 2004 budget provides $199 million for a dramatic expansion of federal student loan forgiveness for Americans who teach math, science, or special education for five years in disadvantaged public schools ? increasing the maximum federal loan forgiveness amount for such teachers from the current $5,000 to $17,500. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) has introduced legislation, the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Act, to meet this important goal.
The President?s FY 2004 budget also increases funding for federal special education Grants to Infants and Families by $10 million, on top of the $20 million increase requested by the President for FY 2003. Spending for Grants to Infants and Families is increased from the $437 million requested by the President for FY 2003 to $447 million for FY 2004.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Funding for Head Start is increased by $148 million for FY 2004, to help pave the way for reforms to strengthen the academic focus of the program. Head Start reauthorization is a priority for Republicans in the 108th Congress.
Funding for the Early Reading First program is increased by $25 million (33 percent). Early Reading First is the preschool component of the Reading First initiative, created by the No Child Left Behind Act.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR PELL GRANTS, MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS, & HIGHER EDUCATION
The President?s FY 2004 Budget includes a $1.9 billion increase for the Pell Grant program, for an all-time high total of $12.7 billion.
Since taking office, President Bush has proposed nearly $4.9 billion in increased funds for the Pell Grant program. The Bush administration, working with Republicans in Congress, has made it a priority to address Pell Grant funding so that millions of students who depend on Pell Grants to help fund their dream of a higher education can count on them.
The President?s FY 2004 budget funds Pell Grants for approximately 4.9 million students ? nearly 1 million more than when President Bush took office.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget would expand overall student aid available for postsecondary education to more than $62 billion ? an increase of $3.1 billion, or 5 percent, over his FY 2003 Budget request.
Student loan forgiveness is dramatically increased from $5,000 to $17,500 for highly qualified math, science, and special education teachers serving low-income communities.
Funding for Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGIs) is increased by $11 million, in order to continue the President?s efforts to close achievement and attainment gaps between minority students and other students.
Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) is increased by $4.5 million to support efforts to increase academic achievement, high school graduation, postsecondary participation, and life-long learning among Hispanic Americans.
EVEN MORE MONEY & SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS
The President?s FY 2004 Budget increases overall spending for teachers and teacher quality programs by more than $400 million, from the $4.13 billion requested for FY 2003 to an estimated $4.55 billion for FY 2004.
This funding increase comes on top of the enormous increase in federal teacher quality funding provided with enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, which increased federal teacher quality aid to states and school districts by more than 35 percent over the last budget signed by President Clinton. As a result of NCLB, federal teacher quality funding increased by $787 million in just one year, to $2.85 billion.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget maintains this historic level of support while providing an additional increase of more than $400 million for programs and initiatives that further help states and schools in their efforts to meet NCLB?s call for a highly qualified teacher in every public classroom by the 2005-2006 school year.
Some highlights:
Transition to Teaching. Increased by $10 million, from $39.4 million proposed for FY 2003 to $49.4 million for FY 2004.
Troops to Teachers. Increased by $5 million, from $20 million proposed for FY 2003 to $25 million for FY 2004.
Loan Forgiveness for Teachers. The President?s FY 2004 Budget includes significant funding to help public schools in disadvantaged communities recruit and retain high quality teachers, particularly in math, science, and special education ? areas where the need is particularly great. The President?s FY 2004 budget provides $199 million for a dramatic expansion of federal student loan forgiveness for Americans who teach math, science, or special education for five years in disadvantaged public schools ? increasing the maximum federal loan forgiveness amount for such teachers from the current $5,000 to $17,500. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) has introduced legislation, the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Act, to meet this important goal.
Tax deductions for teachers? out-of-pocket classroom expenses. The President?s FY 2004 Budget includes an additional $97 million (for a total of $302 million) to expand the ?Crayola credit? from the current $250 a year to $400 a year. In 2002, President Bush and Republicans created an above-the-line tax deduction for schoolteachers to help relieve the cost of out-of-pocket classroom expenses. The deduction (unofficially referred to as the ?Crayola credit?) covers up to $250 of out-of-pocket expenses. These expenses include books, supplies, computer equipment, supplementary materials and other equipment used by the teacher in the classroom. Anyone who serves as a K-12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aide for at least 900 hours during a school year is eligible. Teachers at public, private, religious and home schools all qualify as long as the school meets the State?s definition of a school.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget increases overall spending for NCLB from the $22,002,418 requested for FY 2003 to $22,508,018 for FY 2004. This increase comes on top of the 24 percent increase in ESEA spending ($4.3 billion) provided during the first year of the No Child Left Behind Act. [The No Child Left Behind Act authorizes Congress to spend ?such sums as may be required? overall to implement the education reforms in FY 2003, FY 2004, and beyond. Democrat claims that $29.2 billion in funding was authorized or promised by NCLB for FY 2003, FY 2004, or any other year beyond FY 2002 are based on invalid assumptions that have no basis in the law.]
All programs streamlined, consolidated, and/or terminated in the President?s FY 2004 Budget are programs that (1) duplicate other programs, (2) can be funded through flexible state grants, or (3) are not effective. Streamlining these programs makes possible the major increases provided for Title I, Reading First, and other priority education programs.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION & CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
President Bush?s FY 2004 Budget streamlines dozens of duplicative and/or ineffective programs to make possible a dramatic increase in spending for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the primary federal aid program for children with special needs. The President?s budget increases federal IDEA Grants to States by $1 billion (a 9 percent increase over the previous year?s request) for FY 2004, on top of the $1 billion increase requested by the President for FY 2003. Federal spending for IDEA Grants to States is increased from the $8.5 billion requested by the President for FY 2003 to $9.5 billion for FY 2004.
At this unprecedented level of funding, the federal government will be paying approximately 19 percent of the overall cost of educating children with special needs. This is a share far greater than at any other time in history, and more than twice what it was during the last time Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House.
President Bush has requested the largest yearly increase in special education funding three years in a row. Immediately after signing into law a huge increase in IDEA funding for FY 2002 (a $1.2 billion increase, increasing the federal share to 16.5 percent), President Bush proposed another major increase in federal funding for IDEA (an additional $1 billion) through his FY 2003 budget, a hike that would increase the federal share to about 18 percent. The President?s FY 2004 budget adds yet another $1 billion, increasing the federal share to about 19 percent. If enacted, the President?s FY 2004 Budget will result in a 50 percent increase ($3.2 billion) in IDEA Grants to States under President Bush.
The unprecedented increases provided by President Bush for IDEA pave the way for important reforms to reduce paperwork for special education teachers, expand options for parents, and improve results for children with special needs. Republicans in Congress have made reauthorization and reform of IDEA a top priority for 2003.
Federal spending for IDEA grants to states has increased dramatically under President Bush and congressional Republicans, increasing at a significantly faster rate than under Democrat-controlled Congresses. Since the GOP took control of the House in 1995, federal funding for special education has increased by 224 percent.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget also includes significant funding to help schools recruit and retain high quality special education teachers. The President?s FY 2004 budget provides $199 million for a dramatic expansion of federal student loan forgiveness for Americans who teach math, science, or special education for five years in disadvantaged public schools ? increasing the maximum federal loan forgiveness amount for such teachers from the current $5,000 to $17,500. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) has introduced legislation, the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Act, to meet this important goal.
The President?s FY 2004 budget also increases funding for federal special education Grants to Infants and Families by $10 million, on top of the $20 million increase requested by the President for FY 2003. Spending for Grants to Infants and Families is increased from the $437 million requested by the President for FY 2003 to $447 million for FY 2004.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Funding for Head Start is increased by $148 million for FY 2004, to help pave the way for reforms to strengthen the academic focus of the program. Head Start reauthorization is a priority for Republicans in the 108th Congress.
Funding for the Early Reading First program is increased by $25 million (33 percent). Early Reading First is the preschool component of the Reading First initiative, created by the No Child Left Behind Act.
EVEN MORE MONEY FOR PELL GRANTS, MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS, & HIGHER EDUCATION
The President?s FY 2004 Budget includes a $1.9 billion increase for the Pell Grant program, for an all-time high total of $12.7 billion.
Since taking office, President Bush has proposed nearly $4.9 billion in increased funds for the Pell Grant program. The Bush administration, working with Republicans in Congress, has made it a priority to address Pell Grant funding so that millions of students who depend on Pell Grants to help fund their dream of a higher education can count on them.
The President?s FY 2004 budget funds Pell Grants for approximately 4.9 million students ? nearly 1 million more than when President Bush took office.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget would expand overall student aid available for postsecondary education to more than $62 billion ? an increase of $3.1 billion, or 5 percent, over his FY 2003 Budget request.
Student loan forgiveness is dramatically increased from $5,000 to $17,500 for highly qualified math, science, and special education teachers serving low-income communities.
Funding for Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGIs) is increased by $11 million, in order to continue the President?s efforts to close achievement and attainment gaps between minority students and other students.
Funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) is increased by $4.5 million to support efforts to increase academic achievement, high school graduation, postsecondary participation, and life-long learning among Hispanic Americans.
EVEN MORE MONEY & SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS
The President?s FY 2004 Budget increases overall spending for teachers and teacher quality programs by more than $400 million, from the $4.13 billion requested for FY 2003 to an estimated $4.55 billion for FY 2004.
This funding increase comes on top of the enormous increase in federal teacher quality funding provided with enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, which increased federal teacher quality aid to states and school districts by more than 35 percent over the last budget signed by President Clinton. As a result of NCLB, federal teacher quality funding increased by $787 million in just one year, to $2.85 billion.
The President?s FY 2004 Budget maintains this historic level of support while providing an additional increase of more than $400 million for programs and initiatives that further help states and schools in their efforts to meet NCLB?s call for a highly qualified teacher in every public classroom by the 2005-2006 school year.
Some highlights:
Transition to Teaching. Increased by $10 million, from $39.4 million proposed for FY 2003 to $49.4 million for FY 2004.
Troops to Teachers. Increased by $5 million, from $20 million proposed for FY 2003 to $25 million for FY 2004.
Loan Forgiveness for Teachers. The President?s FY 2004 Budget includes significant funding to help public schools in disadvantaged communities recruit and retain high quality teachers, particularly in math, science, and special education ? areas where the need is particularly great. The President?s FY 2004 budget provides $199 million for a dramatic expansion of federal student loan forgiveness for Americans who teach math, science, or special education for five years in disadvantaged public schools ? increasing the maximum federal loan forgiveness amount for such teachers from the current $5,000 to $17,500. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) has introduced legislation, the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Act, to meet this important goal.
Tax deductions for teachers? out-of-pocket classroom expenses. The President?s FY 2004 Budget includes an additional $97 million (for a total of $302 million) to expand the ?Crayola credit? from the current $250 a year to $400 a year. In 2002, President Bush and Republicans created an above-the-line tax deduction for schoolteachers to help relieve the cost of out-of-pocket classroom expenses. The deduction (unofficially referred to as the ?Crayola credit?) covers up to $250 of out-of-pocket expenses. These expenses include books, supplies, computer equipment, supplementary materials and other equipment used by the teacher in the classroom. Anyone who serves as a K-12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aide for at least 900 hours during a school year is eligible. Teachers at public, private, religious and home schools all qualify as long as the school meets the State?s definition of a school.
PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE
(Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education)
The problems in America?s schools are clearly not the result of a lack of spending.
Education continues to be the most heavily supported of all federal programs.
While federal spending overall has increased by 40 percent since 1997, education spending has increased by nearly 90 percent during that time.
Since Republicans became the majority in Congress, education has been the top funding priority. Since FY 1996, the first fiscal year with a Republican Congress, education spending has increased by 118 percent ? nearly two and a half times the increase for the Defense Department during the same time period.
At the federal, state, and local level combined, America spends more for K-12 education than it does for defense. And if you count spending on higher education, vocational training, special education, and other educational programs, the amount the nation spends is more than twice the entire defense budget.
Since 1965, the federal government has spent more than $321 billion on K-12 education. At every level of government combined, America has spent more than $10 trillion on K-12 education over the last century. Total spending at all levels of government for K-12 education is more than $470 billion this school year.
More than 35 years after Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), public school spending per pupil has more than doubled ? even when adjusted for inflation ? from $3,331 per student in 1965 to $8,194 per student in 2000-01.
(Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education)
The problems in America?s schools are clearly not the result of a lack of spending.
Education continues to be the most heavily supported of all federal programs.
While federal spending overall has increased by 40 percent since 1997, education spending has increased by nearly 90 percent during that time.
Since Republicans became the majority in Congress, education has been the top funding priority. Since FY 1996, the first fiscal year with a Republican Congress, education spending has increased by 118 percent ? nearly two and a half times the increase for the Defense Department during the same time period.
At the federal, state, and local level combined, America spends more for K-12 education than it does for defense. And if you count spending on higher education, vocational training, special education, and other educational programs, the amount the nation spends is more than twice the entire defense budget.
Since 1965, the federal government has spent more than $321 billion on K-12 education. At every level of government combined, America has spent more than $10 trillion on K-12 education over the last century. Total spending at all levels of government for K-12 education is more than $470 billion this school year.
More than 35 years after Congress passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), public school spending per pupil has more than doubled ? even when adjusted for inflation ? from $3,331 per student in 1965 to $8,194 per student in 2000-01.
A quick question, before I search for more info on Bush's "spending" on education...
Before the Republicans gained a majority, how much did education spending increase? I would assume that spending on education has increased about that much in every decade since we've had spending on education...I don't KNOW this, but I would assume it to be the case. Everything costs more, right? Just to keep pace with ongoing programs, you would be spending quite a bit more each year. Back with more on the Bush "education" programs...
Before the Republicans gained a majority, how much did education spending increase? I would assume that spending on education has increased about that much in every decade since we've had spending on education...I don't KNOW this, but I would assume it to be the case. Everything costs more, right? Just to keep pace with ongoing programs, you would be spending quite a bit more each year. Back with more on the Bush "education" programs...
$2.5 Trillion Budget Plan Cuts Many Programs
Domestic Spending Falls; Defense, Security Rise
By Mike Allen and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, February 7, 2005; Page A01
President Bush plans to unveil a $2.5 trillion budget today eliminating dozens of politically sensitive domestic programs, including funding for education, environmental protection and business development, while proposing significant increases for the military and international spending, according to White House documents.
Overall, discretionary spending other than defense and homeland security would fall by nearly 1 percent, the first time in many years that funding for the major part of the budget controlled by Congress would actually go down in real terms, according to officials with access to the budget. The cuts are scattered across a wide swath of the government, affecting a cross-section of constituents, from migrant workers to train passengers to local police departments, according to officials who read portions of the documents to The Washington Post.
About 150 programs in all would be shuttered or radically cut back to help meet Bush's goal of shaving the budget deficit in half by 2009. One out of every three of the targeted programs concerns education. Medicaid funding would be reduced significantly and even major military weapons programs would be scrapped to make more resources available for the war in Iraq.
The spending blueprint for fiscal 2006 and beyond promises to touch off a wrenching debate about national priorities in the months ahead.
Some congressional officials pronounced many of the proposed cuts dead on arrival. One lawmaker involved in the negotiations said that House and Senate leaders have told the White House that no more than two dozen of the 150 proposals are likely to be accepted, although Congress might agree to reductions in some programs targeted for elimination.
"We are being tight," Vice President Cheney said yesterday. "This is the tightest budget that has been submitted since we got here." But Cheney defended the cuts as measured. "I think you'll find, once people sit down and have a chance to look at the budget, that it is a fair, reasonable, responsible, serious piece of effort," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "It's not something we've done with a meat ax, nor are we suddenly turning our back on the most needy people in our society."
Some administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the budget has not been released, acknowledged that they faced an uphill struggle on the proposed cuts, some of which were rejected in the past. One official said the White House plans an elaborate marketing strategy to sell the cuts to voters and lawmakers as "centralizing government services and saving taxpayer money."
But nearly every program targeted for elimination has a patron on Capitol Hill, and the administration has assembled a list that may prove particularly dicey. "This is a long list of sensitive programs," said a congressional leadership aide. "A lot of these proposals we've been through before and the programs have survived. This is going to be a tough sell for the president."
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said in an interview that although many of the requests will be opposed, he believes that Congress will still cut "tens of millions of dollars and set the standard that the federal government can stop doing things that it shouldn't be doing, or is not doing well."
And some deficit hawks welcomed what they hoped would be a hard-nosed approach to spending at a time when the deficit is projected to reach a record $427 billion this year. "With the deficits that we're now running, I'm glad the president is coming over with a very austere budget," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on ABC's "This Week." "I hope we in Congress will have the courage to support it."
The spending plan does not include future expenses of the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, nor does it include upfront transition costs of restructuring Social Security as Bush has proposed. The administration will submit a separate supplemental request largely for Afghanistan and Iraq operations in the current fiscal year, which will be reflected in the budget charts, officials said, but war costs in 2006 and beyond will not be. Nor will be the cost of Bush's Social Security plan, which would begin in 2009 and result in $754 billion in additional debt over its first five years.
Those omissions provide ammunition to Democrats who dispute Bush's math. "The Administration's claim that it will cut the deficit in half by 2009 lacks credibility," said a report released last week by House Budget Committee Democrats. When the omitted items are included, along with the impact of making Bush's first-term tax cuts permanent, the report estimated that the government would rack up $6.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next decade.
Administration officials said they would outline a five-year spending plan that would cut deeply enough that it could still accommodate future Iraq and Social Security costs without sacrificing the president's deficit-cutting pledge. "We have acknowledged that there may be additional spending," said Chad Kolton, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget. "Our numbers will show that even with some additional spending from the war in Iraq, we'll still be half" of the deficit by 2009.
Another senior official said the deficit in the Bush plan would decrease from 3.5 percent of gross national product this year to 3 percent in fiscal 2006 and 1.5 percent by 2009, enough to meet Bush's pledge. In the budget for 2006, discretionary spending -- meaning other than entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare -- would rise just 2.1 percent, lower than the expected rate of inflation. Within that category, extra money would go to defense and homeland security, leaving most other discretionary programs frozen or falling.
Some top Bush priorities would still find more funding despite the belt-tightening. The president earmarked $3.2 billion for fighting AIDS around the world and increased foreign operations and development aid by 17 percent, officials said. Bush hopes to spend $304 million to build more community health centers, particularly in rural areas. And the Defense Department would receive an extra $19 billion to reach $419.3 billion, not including special appropriations for the war.
Still, the administration plans to cut costly weapons programs such as an Air Force advanced fighter plane, a stealthy Navy destroyer and the next generation of nuclear submarines. Bush's missile defense program would likewise lose billions of dollars in funding in coming years.
On the domestic side, according to documents, the budget would consolidate 18 community development block grant programs into one Commerce Department program for a savings of $1.8 billion. It would slice law enforcement grants to states from $2.8 billion to $1.5 billion. And it would cut 48 education programs totaling $4.3 billion, including $2.2 billion for high school programs, mostly state grants for vocational education.
The budget would cut $440 million in Safe and Drug-Free School grants, $500 million in education technology state grants, $225 million for the Even Start literacy program, $280 million for Upward Bound programs for inner-city youths and a $150 million talent research program, according to the documents.
The budget includes no subsidy for Amtrak and would eliminate $20 million for the next generation of high-speed rail and $250 million for railroad rehabilitation. Several Energy Department programs would be eliminated, as would $100 million in grants for land and water conservation. The budget proposal would cut $94 million in grants for the Healthy Communities Access Program and phase out rural health grants, the documents said. Bush touted his commitment to such programs during his reelection campaign. The president would terminate the Community Food and Nutrition Program, and cut a migrant and seasonal farm worker training program. He would renew his effort to cut a $143 million program for the removal of severely distressed housing.
Administration officials said that in some cases, programs identified for eradication would be replaced in part by increased spending elsewhere. Some cuts in specific programs would be replaced by block grants to states and localities, although critics contend that often leads to less money.
Domestic Spending Falls; Defense, Security Rise
By Mike Allen and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, February 7, 2005; Page A01
President Bush plans to unveil a $2.5 trillion budget today eliminating dozens of politically sensitive domestic programs, including funding for education, environmental protection and business development, while proposing significant increases for the military and international spending, according to White House documents.
Overall, discretionary spending other than defense and homeland security would fall by nearly 1 percent, the first time in many years that funding for the major part of the budget controlled by Congress would actually go down in real terms, according to officials with access to the budget. The cuts are scattered across a wide swath of the government, affecting a cross-section of constituents, from migrant workers to train passengers to local police departments, according to officials who read portions of the documents to The Washington Post.
About 150 programs in all would be shuttered or radically cut back to help meet Bush's goal of shaving the budget deficit in half by 2009. One out of every three of the targeted programs concerns education. Medicaid funding would be reduced significantly and even major military weapons programs would be scrapped to make more resources available for the war in Iraq.
The spending blueprint for fiscal 2006 and beyond promises to touch off a wrenching debate about national priorities in the months ahead.
Some congressional officials pronounced many of the proposed cuts dead on arrival. One lawmaker involved in the negotiations said that House and Senate leaders have told the White House that no more than two dozen of the 150 proposals are likely to be accepted, although Congress might agree to reductions in some programs targeted for elimination.
"We are being tight," Vice President Cheney said yesterday. "This is the tightest budget that has been submitted since we got here." But Cheney defended the cuts as measured. "I think you'll find, once people sit down and have a chance to look at the budget, that it is a fair, reasonable, responsible, serious piece of effort," he said on "Fox News Sunday." "It's not something we've done with a meat ax, nor are we suddenly turning our back on the most needy people in our society."
Some administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the budget has not been released, acknowledged that they faced an uphill struggle on the proposed cuts, some of which were rejected in the past. One official said the White House plans an elaborate marketing strategy to sell the cuts to voters and lawmakers as "centralizing government services and saving taxpayer money."
But nearly every program targeted for elimination has a patron on Capitol Hill, and the administration has assembled a list that may prove particularly dicey. "This is a long list of sensitive programs," said a congressional leadership aide. "A lot of these proposals we've been through before and the programs have survived. This is going to be a tough sell for the president."
House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said in an interview that although many of the requests will be opposed, he believes that Congress will still cut "tens of millions of dollars and set the standard that the federal government can stop doing things that it shouldn't be doing, or is not doing well."
And some deficit hawks welcomed what they hoped would be a hard-nosed approach to spending at a time when the deficit is projected to reach a record $427 billion this year. "With the deficits that we're now running, I'm glad the president is coming over with a very austere budget," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said on ABC's "This Week." "I hope we in Congress will have the courage to support it."
The spending plan does not include future expenses of the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, nor does it include upfront transition costs of restructuring Social Security as Bush has proposed. The administration will submit a separate supplemental request largely for Afghanistan and Iraq operations in the current fiscal year, which will be reflected in the budget charts, officials said, but war costs in 2006 and beyond will not be. Nor will be the cost of Bush's Social Security plan, which would begin in 2009 and result in $754 billion in additional debt over its first five years.
Those omissions provide ammunition to Democrats who dispute Bush's math. "The Administration's claim that it will cut the deficit in half by 2009 lacks credibility," said a report released last week by House Budget Committee Democrats. When the omitted items are included, along with the impact of making Bush's first-term tax cuts permanent, the report estimated that the government would rack up $6.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next decade.
Administration officials said they would outline a five-year spending plan that would cut deeply enough that it could still accommodate future Iraq and Social Security costs without sacrificing the president's deficit-cutting pledge. "We have acknowledged that there may be additional spending," said Chad Kolton, spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget. "Our numbers will show that even with some additional spending from the war in Iraq, we'll still be half" of the deficit by 2009.
Another senior official said the deficit in the Bush plan would decrease from 3.5 percent of gross national product this year to 3 percent in fiscal 2006 and 1.5 percent by 2009, enough to meet Bush's pledge. In the budget for 2006, discretionary spending -- meaning other than entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare -- would rise just 2.1 percent, lower than the expected rate of inflation. Within that category, extra money would go to defense and homeland security, leaving most other discretionary programs frozen or falling.
Some top Bush priorities would still find more funding despite the belt-tightening. The president earmarked $3.2 billion for fighting AIDS around the world and increased foreign operations and development aid by 17 percent, officials said. Bush hopes to spend $304 million to build more community health centers, particularly in rural areas. And the Defense Department would receive an extra $19 billion to reach $419.3 billion, not including special appropriations for the war.
Still, the administration plans to cut costly weapons programs such as an Air Force advanced fighter plane, a stealthy Navy destroyer and the next generation of nuclear submarines. Bush's missile defense program would likewise lose billions of dollars in funding in coming years.
On the domestic side, according to documents, the budget would consolidate 18 community development block grant programs into one Commerce Department program for a savings of $1.8 billion. It would slice law enforcement grants to states from $2.8 billion to $1.5 billion. And it would cut 48 education programs totaling $4.3 billion, including $2.2 billion for high school programs, mostly state grants for vocational education.
The budget would cut $440 million in Safe and Drug-Free School grants, $500 million in education technology state grants, $225 million for the Even Start literacy program, $280 million for Upward Bound programs for inner-city youths and a $150 million talent research program, according to the documents.
The budget includes no subsidy for Amtrak and would eliminate $20 million for the next generation of high-speed rail and $250 million for railroad rehabilitation. Several Energy Department programs would be eliminated, as would $100 million in grants for land and water conservation. The budget proposal would cut $94 million in grants for the Healthy Communities Access Program and phase out rural health grants, the documents said. Bush touted his commitment to such programs during his reelection campaign. The president would terminate the Community Food and Nutrition Program, and cut a migrant and seasonal farm worker training program. He would renew his effort to cut a $143 million program for the removal of severely distressed housing.
Administration officials said that in some cases, programs identified for eradication would be replaced in part by increased spending elsewhere. Some cuts in specific programs would be replaced by block grants to states and localities, although critics contend that often leads to less money.
No Child's Behind Left - The New Educational Eugenics in George Bush's State of the Union
by Greg Palast
*Go ahead, George, and lie to me. Lie to my dog. Lie to my sister. But don't you ever lie to my kids.
Deep into your State of the Siege lecture last night, long after sensible adults had turned off the tube or kicked in the screen, you came after our children. "By passing the No Child Left Behind Act," you said, "We are regularly testing every child ... and making sure they have better options when schools are not performing."
You said it ... and then that little tongue came out; that weird way you stick your tongue out between your lips like the little kid who knows he's fibbing. Like a snake licking a rat. I saw that snakey tongue dart out and I thought, "He knows."
And what you know, Mr. Bush, is this: you've ordered this testing to hunt down, identify and target for destruction the hopes of millions of children you find too expensive, too heavy a burden, to educate.
Here's how No Child Left Behind and your tests work in the classrooms of Houston and Chicago. Millions of 8 year olds are given lists of words and phrases. They try to read. Then they are graded, like USDA beef: some prime, some OK, many failed.
Once the kids are stamped and sorted, the parents of the marked children ask you to fulfill your tantalizing promise to "make sure they have better options when schools are not performing."
But there is no "better option," is there, Mr. Bush? Where's the money for the better schools to take in the kids getting crushed in cash-poor districts? Where's the open door to the suburban campuses with the big green lawns for the dark kids with the test-score mark of Cain?
And if I bring up the race of the kids with the low scores, don't get all snippy with me, telling me your program is color blind. We know the color of the kids left behind, and it's not the color of the kids you went to school with at Philips Andover Academy.
You know and I know the testing is a con. There is no "better option" at the other end. The cash went to eliminate the inheritance tax, that special program to give every millionaire's son another million.
But you'll tell me, you took tests as a youth. I know you did. And you scored on the Air Guard flight test 25 out of 100, one point above too dumb to fly. But you zoomed past the other would-be flyboys. They were stamped, "Ready for 'Nam."
And you took a test to get into Yale. And though your pet rock scored a wee bit higher than you, your grandpa on the Yale board provided the "better option" which got you in.
Here in New York City, your educational Taliban, led by Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has issued an edict to test the third-graders. Winnow out the chaff - the kids stamped 'failed' - and throw them back, exactly where they started, to repeat the same failed program another year. The ugly little irony is this: the core of No Child Left Behind is that failing children will be left behind another year. And another year and another year.
You know and I know that this is not an educational opportunity program - because you offer no opportunities, no hope, no plan, no funding. Rather, it is the new Republican social Darwinism, educational eugenics: identify the nation's loser-class early on. Trap them, then train them cheap.
No Child Left Behind is of one piece with the tax cuts for the rich, the energy laws for the insiders, the oil wars for the well-off. Someone has to care for the privileged. No society can have winners without lots and lots of losers.
And so we have No Child Left Behind - to provide the new worker drones that will clean the toilets at the Yale Alumni Club, punch the cash registers color-coded for illiterates, and pamper the winner-class on the higher floors of the new economic order.
by Greg Palast
*Go ahead, George, and lie to me. Lie to my dog. Lie to my sister. But don't you ever lie to my kids.
Deep into your State of the Siege lecture last night, long after sensible adults had turned off the tube or kicked in the screen, you came after our children. "By passing the No Child Left Behind Act," you said, "We are regularly testing every child ... and making sure they have better options when schools are not performing."
You said it ... and then that little tongue came out; that weird way you stick your tongue out between your lips like the little kid who knows he's fibbing. Like a snake licking a rat. I saw that snakey tongue dart out and I thought, "He knows."
And what you know, Mr. Bush, is this: you've ordered this testing to hunt down, identify and target for destruction the hopes of millions of children you find too expensive, too heavy a burden, to educate.
Here's how No Child Left Behind and your tests work in the classrooms of Houston and Chicago. Millions of 8 year olds are given lists of words and phrases. They try to read. Then they are graded, like USDA beef: some prime, some OK, many failed.
Once the kids are stamped and sorted, the parents of the marked children ask you to fulfill your tantalizing promise to "make sure they have better options when schools are not performing."
But there is no "better option," is there, Mr. Bush? Where's the money for the better schools to take in the kids getting crushed in cash-poor districts? Where's the open door to the suburban campuses with the big green lawns for the dark kids with the test-score mark of Cain?
And if I bring up the race of the kids with the low scores, don't get all snippy with me, telling me your program is color blind. We know the color of the kids left behind, and it's not the color of the kids you went to school with at Philips Andover Academy.
You know and I know the testing is a con. There is no "better option" at the other end. The cash went to eliminate the inheritance tax, that special program to give every millionaire's son another million.
But you'll tell me, you took tests as a youth. I know you did. And you scored on the Air Guard flight test 25 out of 100, one point above too dumb to fly. But you zoomed past the other would-be flyboys. They were stamped, "Ready for 'Nam."
And you took a test to get into Yale. And though your pet rock scored a wee bit higher than you, your grandpa on the Yale board provided the "better option" which got you in.
Here in New York City, your educational Taliban, led by Republican Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has issued an edict to test the third-graders. Winnow out the chaff - the kids stamped 'failed' - and throw them back, exactly where they started, to repeat the same failed program another year. The ugly little irony is this: the core of No Child Left Behind is that failing children will be left behind another year. And another year and another year.
You know and I know that this is not an educational opportunity program - because you offer no opportunities, no hope, no plan, no funding. Rather, it is the new Republican social Darwinism, educational eugenics: identify the nation's loser-class early on. Trap them, then train them cheap.
No Child Left Behind is of one piece with the tax cuts for the rich, the energy laws for the insiders, the oil wars for the well-off. Someone has to care for the privileged. No society can have winners without lots and lots of losers.
And so we have No Child Left Behind - to provide the new worker drones that will clean the toilets at the Yale Alumni Club, punch the cash registers color-coded for illiterates, and pamper the winner-class on the higher floors of the new economic order.
