November 28th, 2009 :: Permalink

Aloha ~
Irony? I don't consider the Grassroot Institute (GI)'s pitch ironic ... it's hypocritical. They call on government to be transparent, which is a laudable goal, yet cannot behave this way in return. This is the definition of hypocrisy ... "do what I say, not what I do."

This is the flaw in the libertarian/conservative/Republican platform. Jamie Story posts an article on GI's website, "No More Taxes to Stop Furloughs."

She claims DOE is full of dead weight in a bloated bureaucracy. Ms. Story does not account for the explosion of costs related to Special Education nor does she display sufficient economic skills to adjust for basic inflation in her 10-year time series review of costs.

Is the DOE bloated? Likely ... yet insurance companies that manage our health care are bloated as well. They have overhead ranging from 18% to 40% while government-run Medicare has a 2% to 6% overhead.

There are problems with both the private and public sectors. Yet GI and these advocates only pursue a selfish and anti-social agenda - no more taxes from our most rich - as they do not care about YOUR kids. They likely send theirs to expensive private schools.

I have one suggestion for Ms. Story and activists at GI. Develop your own system of school where you accept 100% of students - as public schools must do. Accept Special Needs children as well.

This year's average cost per pupil figure is about $10,500. Show us how you would do it ... not how you "SAY" you would do it. Show us how your system would increase proficiency. We are willing to watch this experiment.

Most of America is frustrated with our education system. We are waiting for your innovation and creativity. Build your schools and our Keiki will come.

Stop pointing fingers and the uneducated blaming. Invest and build. Put your money where your mouth is, as the saying goes. End this incessant whining about public schools and build your own. Private schools do not count, as they limit admission to the best of the best. Charter schools currently have failure rates equal or above our public school system.

We're waiting ... but not patiently, Jamie Story.

A*L*O*H*A

FOLLOW UP
Aloha ~
When a private group acts in the economic marketplace they should have a reasonable right to privacy ... yet when a private group acts within the political system they should be transparent.

Would we accept Al Qaeda setting up a front group called the Grassroot Institute and acting within our political system? In fact how do we know the Grassroot Institute's secret donor isn't an Islamic extremist group? I don't agree to such a principle.

Of course who am I to talk about transparency in a forum where most people hide their identity?

A*L*O*H*A