The Problem Is That Everybody Has A Different Idea.

       I'm trying to figure out how they think this will all work out. They say we need to reduce our deficit. They say we need to improve our economy. They say lower taxes is the first thing to do. They say we need to develop jobs. But everybody seems to have a different idea as to which is more important, here and now. And a different idea as to how to overcome each of those problems. Why, there are even folks who think that education is the most important concern.
       Of course when you look at each one, you find other folks who will explain why each one isn't the most important issue. Take education for instance. Some say we need to spend more on education, some tell you throwing more money at education won't improver the outcome. The retort is that less money certainly won't improve the outcome. A lot of states have decided to cut funding to education, presumably to see if it helps or hurts.
       But if you ask companies why they don't bring more jobs back, they'll tell you our workers aren't prepared to handle today's hi tech jobs. Now whether or not you agree with that, that's the answer you get from the companies with the jobs. Well, that and the taxes are too high. But after you look into it, you find most companies pay very little in taxes for one reason or another.
       So, in order to reduce the deficit, if you cut taxes, how do you pay down the deficit? With lower revenue? How do you improve the economy if jobs refuse to comer back. It makes sense to me to concentrate on education. If our workers were better able to handle the newer hi tech jobs, they'd make more, thereby providing more revenue, even with lower taxes. Of course just spending more on education really won't guarantee a better outcome. We have to be smarter about how we make our kids smarter.
       We need to stop teaching to tests and start teaching critical thinking, especially in math and science. Students need to learn how to think. For themselves. Multiple choice and true-false tests are too easy to guess at. It's time to make students think about a question. About how to answer it. How to communicate that they actually know what the question is asking and that they have figured out how to answer it. Because that's what job creators want from the people they hire. That's what will tell us how much to spend on education.