Compromise and Resolution
The Impossible Dream?

Our educational system is broken and cannot be fixed and I am tired of government taking my money and using it to support people who do not make something of themselves after benefiting from this broken system. We just can’t afford it any more.

This was a point from a conversation that I had with a friend concerning our educational system and social economic support. It illuminates some of the difficulties of dealing with issues on a rational basis and without invective. There are at least three or four issues in that statement. In many people’s minds they are inseparable and cannot be discussed without keeping them connected. If we do that then we are dooming ourselves to intractable problems. The problems are NOT intractable but the issues must be separated in order to logically deal with them. I have to say that my friend and I found several things on which we could agree and others can too.

I think almost everyone will acknowledge that our educational system is dysfunctional and inadequate overall. We should acknowledge though that it works pretty well for some. What we need to do to fix it is to determine how we can make the system work for the preponderance of the students and for the country. No system can be designed that will work for everyone so the solutions must be multiple but, overall, it can be fixed. The solutions are sometimes hard to accept but if it were easy we would have already done it. The world has changed and to unleash the innovative spirit that is our hallmark we must define different tracks for different students. With different tracks one loses the economy of scale so we have to have a funding plan. To those who would eliminate the Department of Education I say this: only government is big enough to do the job, at least initially. Perhaps we can move some of the vocational and technical training to the private sector later but for now it will take government to do it.

As for funding. Some people just don’t like the idea of government, or anyone, taking their money. To them I say, get over it. To have a society that provides services requires money. If you don’t think you need those services then try to imagine your most desperate circumstance and then ask yourself who can help.

Our Protestant ethic just rebels at the thought of people getting something for nothing. The problem is that some people just need it and we owe it to them to help our fellow traveler. What throws a wrench in the spokes is how people game the system. So, fix the system but it will require people to keep an eye on things and to see that those who are able are employed. It will also require something to be employed at. Those things require funding or a willingness to just let some people die. And if the system is broken how can we expect people to meet expenses with inadequate training and no jobs? But it can be fixed.

There is a clamor that we are broke and can’t do those things any more. Not true. We are a rich country and can afford to do anything we choose to do. It will require people to try to reach rational compromises and solutions and that deals with human frailty. Now that it hard but we can do it if we rid ourselves of selfishness and look to the welfare and future of our country.

Another friend of mine told me that he paid more taxes when he started his business some thirty or forty years ago (when he made less money) than he does now. He has not done too badly and he seemed to make the connection between taxes and the good of the country. I think the problem is that people don’t like the way the taxes are spent but I would urge people to take a close look at where the money goes. It becomes pretty clear that we are not throwing most of it away.

Regardless of what you may think of this President he has been enthusiastic in his efforts to reform the educational system. He does not have the answers but his administration is actively seeking solutions that will ensure the competitiveness of our country in the world markets. The answer does not lie in the old ways. They are not adequate for the demands of this multi-faceted world. No longer is the will to work enough to ensure success. It will require some level of advanced education whether in the trades or in the professional areas.

The good news is that we can do it if we will focus on the achievable and set differences aside. Or is that heresy?