Readers: this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about the Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1. List and general description of entries to date.
Note: most entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations. Profile of characters (see link at top of page). You’ll catch on quickly. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.
Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC. Conversation began Entry #289.
Greenie: “Before the break, I said I thought at first Jordan’s idea of reinstating conscription was stupid. Then I came around and supported it.”
JC: “And…?
Greenie: “Well, here’s an idea that you guys might think falls in the category of stupid. I think we should ban charter schools.”
JC: “What’s your logic? Something wrong with charter schools?”
Jordan: “Supporters claim charter schools are more effective than public schools at educating students. So what’s wrong with their argument?”
Greenie: “My view is charter schools are band-aides, not solutions. Charter schools are an excuse to divert money from public schools to the private sector. Or even worse, charter schools are part of a plan toward eliminating public schools altogether. But charter schools don’t solve any real problems.”
JC: “Not that I disagree with you but why do you think charter schools are a band-aide?”
Greenie: “Because charter schools address symptoms and not causes. Let’s not be naïve, a certain percentage of public schools have real problems. And those problems need to be fixed.”
Jordan: “You’re saying that charter schools don’t fix the problems. Why not? Aren’t students better off moving from public schools to charter schools?”
Greenie: “Some students, probably, but not all. What about the kids who don’t go to charter schools and remain in public schools? Many are worse off than before the other kids left…plus there’s less funding for the public schools because taxpayers must fund the charter schools.”
JC: “We need to get more specific about the issues. Besides we know that merely throwing money at schools does not necessarily make schools better.”
Greenie: “You want specifics? Start with quality of teachers. I know we all grew up in a different era – some probably liken it to the Stone Age by today’s standards. But think about the quality of teachers we had from first grade through high school…and especially high school.”
JC: “I agree that many were top-notch, especially those teaching math and English. To think we were so motivated we used to diagram sentences for fun!”
Jordan: “Why do you think the teachers were so good?”
Greenie: “Party because women had fewer career opportunities than today.”
JC: “True, but we had some great male teachers as well.”
Jordan: “What about teacher pay?”
Greenie: “Much better proportionately than pay today but still less money than the private sector.”
JC: “What about respect? In an earlier era, teachers seemed to be respected by almost everyone…including politicians.”
Jordan: “Good point. I really get frustrated with some politicians in North Carolina. Republicans have let teacher pay lag behind the rate of inflation. What’s even worse, when teachers marched on Raleigh recently for higher pay and more support for students, a long-term, high-profile Republican called them thugs.”
JC: “Nice, huh? Calling your teachers thugs. What an a-hole.”
Greenie: “See why I said charter schools were a band-aide? Charter schools do nothing to address some of the fundamental problems of public education.”
Jordan: “OK, I’ll be the bad guy. Why do we need free public education? What percent of the public thinks education should be privately provided and not publicly provided…forget who pays for it?”
JC: “That kind of question makes my head hurt. Jordan, you know as well as I that what made this country great was not a bunch of open land, not a bunch of resources…not even a great constitution. None of those mattered unless you had one thing…”
Greenie: “…an educated populous. And how did the US populous become educated? Not just an education for the elite but an education for everyone, including immigrants, many of whom arrived here illiterate. They were educated through a free public education.”
Jordan: “So your premise is until the country sets a goal of free, quality public education for everyone…and then begins to make that happen again…we’ll not make real progress toward making America great again. Right?”
Greenie: “You got it. Allowing charter schools avoids forcing society toward restoring free, quality public education for all.”
JC: “While we’re throwing out ideas about education, what about banning busing? Busing seems like a waste of time and money.”
Greenie: “Busing is a waste. I agree the goal should be to eliminate almost all busing.”
Jordan: “Ok, what’s the first step in making this plan work?”
Greenie: “Simple. Commitment. If people commit to free, quality, public education for all, then the problem is more than half solved. With such a commitment, all the other issues can start to be addressed rationally.”
JC: “What about support from politicians?”
Greenie: “Tell me how a politician is going to campaign against free, quality public education for all? That type campaign, especially in this post-Revenge Revolution environment would be suicide.”
Jordan: “Greenie, I really like your idea. Simple and easy to understand.”
JC: “You got my vote too. And now I’m the one who needs a break.”
(Continued)
eenie: “Ready for another idea how to really make America great again?”
Jordan: “You mean like Trump, Limbaugh, Hannady, and the former right-wing truthsayer, Bill O’Reilly.”
enie: “Jordan, pulleeeze. Be a bit more diplomatic, will you?”
Jordan: “For now, we’ll include both men and women.”
Jordan: “Eligible at 18 but must begin service by say age 26. A person could get a deferment to attend trade school or college but would need to start by age 26.”
Jordan: “Federal agencies that have operations in most parts of the country. Agencies that serve people locally or work with the states to service people locally.”
Jordan: “Same with EPA. There are lots of areas where an ‘EPA corps’ as it were, could help gather data or fix an issue before it becomes difficult and costly to solve. Just like that old commercial, ‘pay me now or pay me later.’ But later is almost always much more expensive.”
JC: “I can hear it now. Some people are going to claim what we’re proposing will be taking away jobs from others. Or worse yet, conscription will interrupt little Johnnie’s or little Susie’s career that mommy and daddy paid so much to prepare them for. How are we going to counter that argument?”
JC: “…Let me try. #4, forced diversity. Exposure to a wide range of people and backgrounds never hurt anyone. Maybe we, that is societal we, could become a bit more civil if we understood others’ perspectives. Brilliant statement, huh?”
JC: “You know, the time might be right to reinstitute conscription. Since the Revenge Revolution people seem more willing to explore old and new ways of trying to solve problems.”
Gelly: “Jordan, you have a call from a guy named Willie. Want to take it or should I…”
Willie: “Your voice mail said you wanted to talk about crypto-currency.”
Jordan: “In a way, the crypto-currencies remind me of the US prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve. Lots of variation in value and no one quite sure who’s in charge?”
Willie: “Another good question. A lot of the so-called crypto-currencies vanished early on. Some never got any momentum and some were never issued even after investor funds were taken.”
Willie: “A couple of crypto-currencies were backed by some assets. One was even backed by gold, but most were backed by nothing.”
Jordan: “While true that governments might have gone off the gold standard, governments do have assets…and a way to generate revenue. Governments can collect taxes. Save one or two, crypto-currencies had no assets and none had authority to collect taxes.”
Jordan: “Over the years you’ve dealt with the Federal Reserve. How did they view crypto-currency?”
Willie: “Two primary roles of the Federal Reserve are managing monetary policy and controlling the banking system. The already difficult job of managing monetary policy became much more difficult with the alternative-currency universe.”
Willie: “Most people did not fully appreciate how crypto-currencies forced the Fed’s hand. Crypto-currencies took a bigger and bigger slide out of the Fed’s monetary pie. In order to achieve the same result as before crypto-currencies, the Fed was forced to exaggerate changes in interest rates, both up and down. The exaggeration also affected Wall Street. As a result, the Fed was unhappy, Wall Street was unhappy, many investors were unhappy and the general public was unhappy.”
Willie: “Federal revenue. While the Fed is not responsible for collecting taxes, in order to manage monetary policy, the Fed needs to have a good idea of sources and uses of Federal funds.”
