There are things that ought to bug us more than they do: that ought to be questioned, for which real answers, not just a lot of double-talk, ought to be demanded. Here are two of them.
We ought to be bothered by the fact that you go into Congress with a salary of $174,000 a year and come out a multi-millionaire. Our country’s founders never imagined public office to be so flaming lucrative. Look at Bernie Sanders: never did a lick of work outside of politics, and he’s got four houses. How do they do it? How do they get so fabulously rich at our expense?
And then there are the public schools. Why don’t the people who pay for the schools, the taxpayers living in the district, get to decide who teaches in those schools and who doesn’t, and what gets taught and what doesn’t? That was the way we used to do it; and Alexis de Tocqueville, visiting from France early in our country’s history, marveled at the overall literacy of Americans. But now, trillions of dollars later, our illiteracy is a cause for wonder. What would happen if people could vote on, say, whether unionized teachers ought to teach our children that America is a racist hell-hole and a boiling cauldron of injustice? How many districts do you think would vote for that?
Have we lost even the possibility of questioning such things, and demanding answers? Is the way it is the way it truly has to be? Heaven forbid.
Those are two very good questions.
I have to account for my income. If I showed up with a Rolls Royce and moved to a mansion on my current pay, I’d have to explain it. If I could t my income was from legitimate sources and paid my taxes, that would be fine. But if I kept getting wealthier than my income could explain, chances are very good that I’d be answering some tough questions. Is it unreasonable to expect as much from public servants whom accumulate disproportionate wealth during their time in office?
I’m astounded that communities don’t have input into the choice of teachers in their schools and control over the curriculum. With the education system, there is a fundamental problem; many in the school system seem to believe that they have greater authority over their students than the parents. What folly.
They elect their school board members, which is a farce because those have to do whatever the state and federal governments tell them to do–and the teacher unions. The people get to vote on the school budget; but at least here in NJ, if they vote “no,” the board need only take it to the state commissar of education and all the budget cuts get restored.
The public has no say at all in public education. All we do is pay.
Sounds like a racket.
People in Congress should not be allowed to be paid beyond expenses incurred to give speeches – that’s how many of them get so rich. Donald Trump, if he was paid for a speech, always gave the money to charity. As President he gives his salary to gov’t projects, especially to the Vets. Isn’t it strange how these people in Congress, GOP & Dems, are so upset about the President pulling a small number of our troops out of Syria because of a border dispute with Turkey when at our own border a war is going on between the drug cartels and the Mexican gov’t and they show no concern about it at all? It’s INSANE.
When David Crockett served in Congress–by far the best job he ever had–he lived at a boarding house with several other Congressmen. No luxury hotels, no multiple houses, no freakin’ mansions for them!
One of those things we really ought to question–and question hard!