The Socialists & Public Education

President Obama and the Socialists that control Congress, as well as Socialists within the states, are owned lock stock and barrel by the teacher unions. Public school union teachers will typically comprise more than half the delegates at the Socialist Presidential Convention every four years. Teacher unions contribute millions to Socialist campaigns in every election cycle.

Whose bread they eat whose song they sing. Socialists have been singing the same old song since 1965 when federal legislation was enacted as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society to provide billions to public education each year. The national Department of Education was created as a boondoggle during the Carter Presidency as a pay back to the teacher unions for their support.

Since then, trillion of dollars have been spent by states and the federal government to improve public education; yet the results have never been worse. In fact, even though the United States spends more on public education than any other nation in the world on a per capita basis, the US ranks 24th in the world related to academic performance. In actuality, there is a direct correlation between the rise of teacher unions and the fall of academic performance.

As someone who spent six years teaching in the inner city in Los Angeles 31 years ago, I saw first hand the impact of unions on academic performance. In teaching junior, senior and adult education, in the public schools I experienced, about 20% of teachers were completely incompetent, 30% were mediocre, 30% were good and 20% were outstanding. The same ratios were applicable to Administrators, many of whom could never make it as managers in business. This was the classic bell curve.

Some might argue that the same might be true in the private sector except for the fact that at some point particularly during bad times, the incompetent and/or mediocre in the private sector are usually laid off, or fired. The same is not true in public education, or any government employment where termination is almost impossible.

Despite what we hear from the Socialists and teacher unions, the reality is that excellence in public education is not about more money or even class size. The United States already spends more money on education than all other countries. If public education is ever going to really be improved, inner city poor parents in particular, must have choice in the form of school vouchers so that their children can escape failed public schools altogether just like most politicians in Washington, including the Obama's who send their children to an expensive private school. What hypocrites!!

Of course, the Socialists and the teacher unions vehemently oppose school choice and competition because they want inner city and middle class kids held hostage in public schools to protect their jobs and sweet benefits. Even though the Obama's send their kids to a prestigious private school in Washington, one of the first things Obama did after he took the oath of office was to end the pilot School Voucher program in Washington DC denying poor kids the same advantage.

And, if public schools are ever going to improve, they must get back to basics and discipline must be imposed. Further, tenure must be eliminated so that incompetent, or mediocre teachers can be FIRED. And, there must be merit pay for outstanding teachers. 50 years of spending trillions of dollars on public education has done nothing to improve academic performance. It is just throwing money down a union rat hole.

Finally, the US Department of Education and perhaps state Departments of Education should be eliminated. Both the federal government and state governments can do block grants directly to school districts on a per capita basis. These additional layers of bureaucracy have clearly done nothing to improve academic performance so why continue funding agencies that have failed. This same story is true about many failed government agencies and departments that should be eliminated in the "New Normal".

Improving public education is another reason we must sweep these Socialists out of office in 2010 and 2012. None of these things will happen as long as Socialists control our government. We must elect Conservatives who support free market capitalism, limited government, lower taxes and less regulation, a balanced budget, term limits, real energy independence and health care reform, a strong national defense including securing our border and fighting Terrorism, the right to bear arms, the sanctity of life and family values. This is the platform supported by the majority of the American people and the only way to restore economic growth and job creation in the United States.

Most important, we must elect Conservatives, who support the Constitution, as written by our Founding Fathers, not as contrived by the left wing media, Socialists Obama, Reid, Pelosi, and their teacher union supporters, former Presidents, Congresses, or the Courts. We must take back our country in 2010 and 2012 to improve public education and to prevent the bankrupcy of the United States. We can do it. We will do it to preserve our freedoms, our nation and way of life and for the sake of our children and grandchildren.