And Let's Not Forget the Economy...
In case you think hundreds of thousands of looming government layoffs--including layoffs of school and district staff--don't matter:
Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says state and local government layoffs are having an impact. "They are still in a cutting mode and seem likely to cut several hundred thousand jobs going forward," Bernanke recently told Congress. "That is a drag on the economy, no question about it."
(NPR)
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A middle school consolidation left students, staff members, and the community angry and disjointed. No one felt any joy in coming to a middle school that was housed in a former high school. The hallways and classrooms were out of proportion with the students, and the 900-student school was an extreme change for the rural area.
The closing of many of the area’s manufacturing plants and subsequent rising unemployment rates compounded the difficulties—unemployment in the area is the highest in the Commonwealth of Virginia at 20%, with almost 50% of the students eligible for meal subsidies. The board of education, supported by the community, recognized that an effort had to be made to provide a quality education for every student.
After a challenging first year of consolidation, the staff, led by principal Moriah Dollarhite, embraced the idea of grade-level teams, breaking the school into small groups to create camaraderie and school spirit. Content teams were also created to monitor instruction and ensure that all lessons were tied to the state learning standards. And finally, a lead teacher team, representing all content areas and including a differentiated learning coach, was formed to work with the administrators to guide the transformation. That group meets almost daily and has its finger on the pulse of every facet of the school. Today, the school performs well--and everyone enjoys coming to school. Read more...
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Government jobs are
Government jobs are different. They cost taxpayer's money and don't do anything to improve the private market for goods and services, which is the lifeblood of our economy.
Why should we keep pumping scarce blood into a corpse when we should be animating the market instead?
No, no, anonymous. The
No, no, anonymous. The government should take over the private sector and dole out jobs properly to people of the correct political and theological persuasions. Only then can we be sure of a fair distribution of wealth, a rising of all the boats and whathaveyou.
Sorry, Claus, it was just too tempting... :)
I'm sorry, but both of those
I'm sorry, but both of those comments are ridiculous. Some public sector positions clearly *do* improve the market for goods and services because they provide critical economic infrastructure. Improved road services (a large part of the stimulus package), for example, reduce transportation time costs, opening up new markets for consumers. Quality police departments make more neighborhoods safe (businesses cannot operate in unsafe areas). Ask a Realtor about the relationship between public school quality and home values, etc etc.
The rampant shedding of jobs at the local level could certainly be a drag on local economic growth, if towns notice a decrease in quality of local services. To pretend otherwise is simply being blindly ideological.
Anonymous--Yes, government
Anonymous--Yes, government jobs are different, but they're not unimportant. And, as Bernanke makes clear, they contribute to the economy. It's simply wrong-headed to think that the loss of hundreds of thousands of public sector jobs won't make our current situation worse. And blood into a corpse? Please. The teachers, firefighters and police officers who are being laid off deserve better than that.
Mrs. C--I knew you wouldn't be able to resist. Consider this blog posting bait. :)
Update: Mr. Brown posted his comment just as I was posting mine. He made much better points than I did.
We always suggest university
We always suggest university students to buy custom papers because it's a correct solution for people who are pressured by time.
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