Response to: Teachers Today Challenge Tomorrow

America's teacher's futures are once again being threatened with mass budget cuts. In Deserah Alvarez's post titled Teachers Today Challenge Tomorrow,  she explains the uncertainty of our future generations as a result of today's teachers facing more and more challenges in the workforce. To read her blog post, click here. She adds that teacher's salaries are being cut, jobs are being lost, and negotiations with pay raises and pensions are no longer being considered.  The most noticeable she states, is in the state of Wisconsin, although, this has been a national problem for years.  I agree with Miss Alvarez that there is a dire need for budget reform in our educational system.  Why isn't there a better policy in place for education?  Teachers have an important job in shaping our future youth.  Without the resources available to our educational providers, the future appears to be uncertain. As Miss Alvarez says,

"Our children and younger generation are the most important thing in the world so why wouldn't America want the best, no matter the cost"

I have to agree that education is not the place to be making drastic cuts.  This will ultimately lead to a massive drop in the supply of future teachers resulting in a youth that is poorly educated.  Do we really want our country being perceived by others as the dumbest country in the free world?  Unfortunately, teachers have been getting "the short end of the stick" for years.  This has caused a decrease in performance in many teachers causing less patience with students and perhaps, a loss of love for a career that was once held ambitiously.  Teachers have a very important job and additional allocated funds should be contributed by the Federal government and better handled by State and local governments to provide a proper educational foundation  for our youth and fair compensation for the teachers. Miss Alvarez's blog posting sums up the painful reality of how neglected our educational system really is.  I mean c'mon, do we really want Bart Simpson for President one day? 

The American Middle Class: Preparing for Another Squeeze

As the loom of a government closure is behind us, where does this leave our solution for our national debt? Or more importantly, how will government's budget agreement effect the majority of Americans? Well, with budget cuts totaling $38 billion dollars for this year alone, some Americans will suffer as a result of government agencies receiving less funding. Health care funding like, Medicaid and Medicare will most likely fall into these cuts, as well as Defense cuts. The budget plan is supposed to decrease our national debt by $4 trillion over the next decade but to What or Who's expense?  The American middle class will be pushed further towards the "working poor" and the wealthy will still get richer.  The middle class drives our economy and with less money to spend and more taxes to pay, we will likely be pushed back into a downward spiral of economic chaos. Me, personally, am seeing a flip flop on the Obama Administration's tactics for helping the American public recover to a new tactic of concentrating on the national deficit. Not entirely a bad thing, however, the past has shown that less government spending slows down the national economy.  Possibly, this change is due to Obama's announcement for the 2012 presidential elections or from the constant friction between a divided Congress.  I am leaning more towards the latter, since the Republicans in the House have been putting the "cholk hold" on the President about reducing the deficit. Our nation's debt has reached it's limit. According to the Department of Treasury, if this debt limit is not increased by the middle of this year, we will destroy all efforts in restoring our economy.  By raising the limit, this will allow government to borrow funds and not increase the costs of doing so. But, Republicans are standing their ground in efforts to not raise the debt ceiling until the White House shows signs in a decrease of the national debt. That sounds fair in theory, but to who? The deficit cuts will never work unless someone foots the bill.  The middle class. Though the Republicans say that tax increases will not be tolerated, I think their interests on this only applies to the rich.  To be fair, I also believe the Democrats need to spend, may not be beneficial to reducing our debt without increasing taxes on Americans at the expense of the middle class. In my opinion, something has to give, not someone.
 


Resources
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dave-johnson/budget-cuts-kill-the-midd_b_844807.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42566545/ns/politics-more_politics
  
*****UPDATE APRIL 14, 2011******
This update is in response to President Obama's most recent speech to the American people.  After viewing, it would appear that the President's plan is to not tax the middle class, but instead tax the rich.  However, this speech seemed, in my opinion, like an opportunity to rally support for the 2012 presidential election.  Only time will tell.  But, I still think the middle class should be prepared otherwise

Classmate Blog Review(Gas Prices or Bust)

Lately, our nations dependency on oil seems to be hitting Americans where it hurts most. The wallet. In Emily Nichole Cook's post, "Gas Prices or Bust", she captures how consumerism is effected by our nation's fuel prices and what it really means by supply and demand. To read the full article click here. Cook states that spikes in fuel prices at the pump instead of the gradual increases we are all used to, tend to cause a downhill effect on other products and services. For example, with the sudden spike in fuel prices, farmers costs are higher, therefore, corn goes up. Corn is fed to domesticated food animals, which costs more to feed, and not to mention the transport expenses to get from point A to point B. So this is reflected on the consumer with a substantial increase at the grocery. Just the other day, I couldn't believe that bacon was at $3 bucks for the off-brand and close to $6 bucks for name brand. I feel that Cook's blog post really summarizes how Americans spending is curbed by high prices at the pump and how business' suffer as consequence. I say open our nation's reserves to take some slack out of the sting and continue forward on rebuilding our already teetering economy. I feel that this post was very informative and Cook's thought process that went into it "hit the nail on the head".

SHOW ME THE MONEY!! or not

The Democrats and Republicans are still disagreeing over the new fiscal budget. With a government closure still possible, some members of Congress are worried about getting a paycheck. But what about all the other Federal employees that will be out of work? According to Senator Barbara Boxer(D-CA), the Senate has already passed a bill denying members of Congress pay while the government is shut down. The Republicans disagree and have been shot down by the Senate on their proposal to prevent the government closure. I say give them a taste of what the common Americans have been going through for months. Looks to me like the Democrats sympathize with the thousands of Federal workers, and the 13 million already unemployed Americans who will possibly go without a paycheck too. In contrast, according to NBC's Luke Russert's reporting, he has quoted Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) saying:

"I guarantee most of you, I have more debt than all of you. With six kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I'm living high off the hog, I've got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now."

I know, sounds like a bad country song lyric with the chorus singing "Cry me a River". I was unemployed for 6 months and probably still would be if it wasn't for the VA Vocational Rehab Program. But 6 months is nothing compared to most unemployed Americans. That is where my sympathy goes. Don't get me wrong, I am not bashing on the young Wisconsin Representative, but with a salary close to $200,000 per year, not counting all of the "niceties", of course, how could you not be living well! This 1 paycheck he may not receive would come close to the amount I had to go without for 6 months. So which is it Mr. Duffy, are you representing Americans or yourself.

Resources
MSNBC Carrie Dann, NBC Luke Russert web March 30,2011 http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/03/30/6376058-congressional-pay-during-a-shutdown-still-looks-likely

Split the Country and Steal the Oil

With our nation, along with others, currently making efforts to cease the chaos in Libya, there is much speculation about our intentions. The blog entry that I chose, written by Mike Whitney, is based on the U.S.,particularly the Obama Administration, and how our government is masterminding a plan to control another arab country and steal their oil. To read the full blog entry click here. The author does make some good points and although some are backed up with credible sources, I believe the focus of this blog has been lost, as it sounds as though it is a conspiracy theory. He writes that the U.S. had planned to replace Gaddafi with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, restructure their government to a democratic one, allow Egypt to supply weapons to Libya's opposition,  and ultimately split up Libya's most economical eastern provence so that we may steal their oil.


First of all, of course there is a plan for a replacement leader in place following the end of Gaddafi's rule, otherwise, it would just be another chaotic and lawless country like Somalia. I feel that our government wasn't conspiring these actions, but rather thinking 3 steps ahead. Pretty smart if you ask me. The author also negatively portrays Jalil as our democracy puppet and insults him for wanting to lead Libya into a democratic nation. Why wouldn't people want this? The citizens of these countries that are revolting want liberty and not be oppressed by the tyranny of these long reigning leaders. I thoroughly criticize the author's views on this.  The statement about our government giving Egypt the "green light" on supplying the opposition with weapons is factual. I think that the Lybian rebels should be able to protect themselves. This is a Revolution, much the same as our own country went through with the British. As far as the U.S. intending to steal oil, there is no factual evidence that this will ever happen. If I had a quarter for every time someone said that our intentions for invading Iraq was for the oil, I wouldn't need a college education.


Overall, Mike Whitney has written a story with factual events and an occasional source, however, I believe his personal views have twisted the focus of the facts into conspiracy. I feel that I could take the same sources and facts and set a new tone to turn this blog entry into a completely different outlook. Whatever we can do to spread democracy will make for positive achievements.  Even at the cost of a little oil. Just kidding!




RESOURCES
The Smirking Chimp(http://www.smirkingchimp.com/) Obama's Serbia-Solution for Libya;"Split the country and steal the oil,  March 20, 2011 by Mike Whitney,   web  March 21, 2011

Hands Off The Oil Reserve

   As turmoil in Libya continues to heat up, so does our nation's gas prices. In a recent article from the editorial staff for the LA Times newspaper called Hands off the oil reserve, the author[name unknown] tries to convince the general public that tapping into our oil reserves is not the best solution. The author begins the article with a generalized accusation that politicians propose using the nation's oil reserves as a first response whenever fuel prices increase. Rising fuel costs are not a new issue in our nation. They tend to fluctuate with the economy's supply and demand.  However, the current spike in our fuel price jumped $.33 overnight.  I believe this gives the people and our government a reason to be concerned.  The author states that Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, urged President Obama to sell off the petroleum reserves. The author continued to provide additional information stating that the Obama administration was considering this option.  The sources the author used are credible and factual.The author expresses his concern in hopes that the issue will not be acted upon and follows up by telling the readers that "There are no compelling reasons for the U.S. to draw upon its emergency oil supplies." Why not? What are the reasons not to? The author tells the readers when and why the reserves were created and also is factual in stating that in recent history the government had tapped into these reserves as a result of hurricanes halting production. The author tries to back up his/her point by mentioning the rebellion in Libya, which in turn has interrupted crude supply to Europe and that additional factors are causing the fuel price increases. I completely agree.  When I read the 4th paragraph the author wrote about India and China this, then GM did that, Libya, and Americans need to focus on alternative energy, I was completely lost.  This whole paragraph could have been left out, because it does not really convey any message to the story. In the author's conclusion, he/she asks the readers if government tapped the reserves, won't the high gas prices drop down?  To which the author somewhat disagreed.  I believe that is the point! Why else would we use the reserves?  I agree with the author that the U.S. is in no short supply of oil but disagree with their opinion that using the reserves should be saved for more serious emergencies.

    I have several arguments with this editorial.  I believe that the spike in fuel costs will only deepen our recovery problems. Higher fuel prices are just the beginning.  Our food prices will skyrocket and commerce will slow. This is a compelling enough reason to utilize our reserves and stabilize fuel prices. As far as the current issues in Libya go, the United States is only affected indirectly. Yes, we do import directly through Libya, but only about 90,000 barrels a day. This amount is a fraction of our daily use. However, Europe depends much more on Libya. With the cease in supply, the cost per barrel of crude is controlled by ICE Futures in London. Currently at over $117 per barrel, most experts believe this is only speculation based on fear.  I believe our reserves can at least hold us over until things boil over in Libya. If we act now we can prevent our economy from slipping backwards. With over 700 million barrels, we would only need to sell a small portion.  After Hurricane Katrina, our government tapped the reserves of only 20 million barrels and this caused a decrease in fuel prices on the first day.  For Hurricane Ike, we used much less. 

    In conclusion, I feel that the author expressed his opinion on this issue without stating any tangible arguments as to why we shouldn't tap our reserves. Americans do not need any long term solutions right now. Most of us have been struggling to survive and a short term fix to a short term problem should be the solution. It will be a glorious day when we can either depend on our own nation for oil or to harness our addiction with alternative energy sources.    

Resources
CBSNews.com/The Early Show March 7, 2011
    

BUDGET WOES

      In the latest struggle between the Republicans and the Democrats over the Federal budget, our government is heading towards a "shutdown".  Check the details of the story out here to see the latest debate and why this "shut down" will effect our nation. The Republicans(majority) in the House want to cut 61 billion dollars out of the current budget and the Democrats(majority) in the Senate rejected, saying they want to keep running as it is.  What does this mean, you ask? If both parties cannot come up with a compromise soon, the federal government will run out of money and will have to shut it's doors and we, as taxpayers, get stuck with the bill. To avoid this, the House is asking for budget cuts totaling 4 billion dollars to keep the government operating for 2 weeks past its deadline. When you read this article, notice that they are proposing to pull funds from the 2012 fiscal budget. This sounds like a "super glue" fix until minds are made up. Maybe they can just print more money.[sarcasm] To understand the effects and costs of a government shutdown here is another article that is interesting. The Cost of Keeping the Governments Lights Off