Kerry pledges $30 billion for teachers

The Associated Press ^ | May 06, 2004 | AP

[kcat]

well woop te doo! Where are you going to put them in the overcrowded schools?

[TheDon]

LOL! What's wrong? Do you object to having a gun put to your head to help pay for this? :^)

[Gefreiter]

Would any of those billions help make teachers any smarter?

[rintense]

That's my point. The teachers keep saying they don't have enough money to teach kids the right way. What a crock. The entire system is f-d, and the kids are the ones paying for it. The NEA doesn't give a crap about kids. If they did, they'd have more stringent guidelines for teacher qualifications and competency tests for them.

[djf]

He is also violating this little gem:

TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 29 - ELECTIONS AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
-HEAD- Sec. 600. Promise of employment or other benefit for political activity
-STATUTE-
Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

[pabianice]

"Kerry Pledges $30 Billion in New Taxes for the NEA"

[southernnorthcarolina]

Kerry pledges $30B for teachers? Why, that's very generous of him and Teresa. I can't understand why everyone is so hostile about the news, and furthermore -- Hmmm? What? You day he wasn't pledging his money, but ours? Oh. Well. Never mind, then.

Yes, once again, we see the ease with which liberals dispense OPM*. And the automatic reaction by so many is to praise such "generosity," as if the money materialized out of thin air. Amazing.

____________

*OPM = other people's money, the very best kind.

[1Old Pro]

This just means that 95% of the teachers will vote for him instead of 94.9%

[southernnorthcarolina]

I should've read the thread before posting! My response at post 27 is almost exactly like yours, but arrived at independently, I swear.

Isn't it amazing how the emphasis in such stories is always on the dispensing end of the money, and the great things it will do, as opposed to the confiscating end, and the economic harm it does in the form of pulling it out of economic production?

[lilylangtree]

NEA's soul and heart for sale. Corrupt organization.

[GaltMeister]

Lemme see - He wants to raise taxes back up (think Mondale), and does photo ops with a silly assed bicycle helmet on (think Dukakis), he spews constant lies Like Clintern, (except he ain't quite as smooth).

I rally find it hard to believe that anything close to a majority of voters will vote for this fool. I will be 'deeply saddened' If JF'nK gets even close to W's numbers come election time. I just can't believe America would vote for something like that, but then again, we had to put up with 8 years of the Great Stainmaker, so who knows. {sigh}

[genghis]

I teach high school.
It is so easy to understand the problem.
Suppose you were a salesperson, and you got paid the same no matter how much you sold. Suppose your boss got paid the same no matter how much you sold.
After a few years, how much would you sell?
Yes, no much. that is exactly the same with teachers. Great teachers and terrible teachers are compensated exactly the same and there is no mechanims to determine who is great and who is terrible.
There was a reason why the old soviet union was so poor.
Socialism doesn't work, free markets do.

[RJS1950]

Yeah, sure. Pay the incompetent majority of teachers more to try to entice them to do a better job. Forget it. Thirty-some years ago when I was in college, the denizens of the teachers college were mostly there because it was easier and less work than a hard major (engineering, science, business). I fought tooth and nail with many of them over their non-fitness to teach when my kids were in school.

[RetiredArmy]

CSM: Back when the Klintons first came on board, they discovered that there was something like 2 or 3 trillion dollars out there in 401k investment plans. They devised a scheme to raid that plan by imposing a one time 15% income tax on those monies right now. Then later when you starting drawing that money, they would tax you again! It did not get off the ground thankfully, but it is still in their game plan. They would get billions of vote buying dollars in that move!

[CSM]

Then the message is clear when the NEA fights so hard against measuring the teachers performance. That would lead to compensation based on ability to teach, of course that would weed out the lazy teachers and the union must protect them to ensure the union's viability!

[rintense]

I had a 10th grade English teacher who gave us the vocabulary word of, 'vocabulary', whereas my 9th grade teacher gave me words like, supercilious, subterfuge, vociferous, dogma, etc.

There are SOOOOO may bad teachers out there. They need to raise competencies big time.

A few years ago, I played volleyball with a middle school science teacher. Well, during one of our time outs, I told another player that they made a magnanimous gesture to let another player spike. This teacher then said, 'You made that word up. That's not even a word.' I stood there stunned. Unreal.

[GailA]

Won't work in TN, rural schools sued for equal pay for teachers and WON.

[CSM]

Equal pay to what? Other teachers or other vocations?

[Sir Gawain]

Kerry is fluffing up his base.

[cherry]

gee, I wonder what he will give nurses who work on Christmas Day taking care of HIV patients will get ....probably nothing as usual....