Saturday, March 26, 2011

TEACHERS AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS UNDER ATTACK!

Corporate profits are at an all time high and the rich have become the super rich. The last ten years has seen a boon to billionaires. Why are we attacking teachers? Public schools spending is the villain of state deficits! Governors, both democrat and republican have sold-out, giving business and the wealthy tax breaks, grants, free land, cash incentives, all to stimulate the economy! What we have is low wages and very little to show. Two trillion in Wall Street bailouts, trillions in military spending for two wars are bankrupting our country. How is killing the middle class going to rescue our economy?
     Countries we like to hold up as great exemplars of students performance have the highest percentile of national GDP dedicated to education! More back-room promises, corporate welfare, tax breaks for the super rich all stolen from children and future prosperity. The reason wealth is created in the United States is infrastructure. The G.I. Bill, Federal Highways System, Railroad /Trains, Telecommunication, Internet, Public Schools, State Universities, First Responders, Military, Power Grid, Canals, Ports, Airports and Law Enforcement are all crucial to creating wealth. The US ranks 46th in the world for percent of GDP spent on education. Every year we slide closer to third word status, this is going to speed up in the next two years.

Public expenditure on education as a percent of GDP

RANK
COUNTRY (% OF GDP)
1 Kiribati 17.80 
2 Cuba 13.60 
3 Lesotho 12.40
4 Marshall Islands 12.30
5 Palau 10.30
6 Saint Kitts and Nevis 9.90
7 Uzbekistan 9.40
8 Djibouti 8.70
9 Moldova 8.20
10 Botswana 8.10
11 Maldives 8.10
12 Denmark 7.90
13 Swaziland 7.90
14 Comoros 7.60
15 Iceland 7.50
16 Micronesia, Federated States of 7.30
17 Burundi 7.20
18 Tunisia 7.20
19 Cyprus 7.10
20 Timor-Leste 7.10
21 Kenya 7.00
22 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 7.00
23 Namibia 6.90
24 Vanuatu 6.90
25 Tanzania 6.80
26 Barbados 6.70
27 Norway 6.70
28 Sweden 6.70
29 Kyrgyzstan 6.60
30 Israel 6.40
31 Bolivia 6.30
32 Saint Lucia 6.30
33 Fiji 6.20
34 Jamaica 6.20
35 New Zealand 6.20
36 Belgium 6.10
37 Guyana 6.10
38 Sudan 6.00
39 Cape Verde 5.70
40 Morocco 5.70
41 Saudi Arabia 5.70
42 France 5.60
43 United Kingdom 5.60
44 Ethiopia 5.50
45 Netherlands 5.50
46 United States 5.50
47 Austria 5.40
48 Hungary 5.40
49 South Africa 5.40
50 Samoa 5.40

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