Rude giant: Jail him, or make him a tax payer?

September 4, 2012

What do you do with someone who is obnoxious and rude, and a giant besides?  You can’t duke it out with him . . .

More than just a clever ad for an electricity company, this piece really gets at the heart of the differences between the Republican view of the world, presented by the Romney campaign, and the Democratic view of the world, as exemplified by the Obama administration.

Romney Signs Wind Turbine In Iowa

Yeah, but he didn’t think anyone was watching: Romney Signs Wind Turbine In Iowa (Photo credit: Talk Radio News Service) (Now Mitt thinks he built it, ignoring the union guys and other laborers who did.)

First, the obvious comparison:  Romney promises to kill subsidies for wind power, doubling down on America’s dependence on fossil fuels, especially oil.  To the GOP platform, wind is a rude giant, perhaps worthy of ignoring, but in not case worthy of giving a job to do.  To the Obama administration, every watt of power generated by wind is a watt that doesn’t need to be generated by coal, oil or gas, freeing up those fuels for other work, and decreasing U.S. dependence on oil imported from Canada, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.

Which treatment is more likely to increase the nation’s energy security and move the U.S. towards oil independence?

Second, the story carries metaphorical value, for the rest of the agendas of the two campaigns.  Consider the Rude Giant as an out of work person, someone who is unemployed.  The Romney campaign’s answer is that this fellow needs to become an entrepreneur, change his ways, change his behaviors, develop some other talents other than those God gave him, and maybe he’ll be successful; to encourage him to change himself, the Romney platform calls for pulling the rug out from under the poor guy so he’ll have to do something different or die.  Democratic platform stands for retraining, great education in the first place, good benefits and a safety net that works — to get the former taxpayer back on his feet and, coincidentally, paying taxes again soon.

Guess which plan is cheaper to taxpayers, in operation?

What’s the reality:  This past summer I drove through ten different states and the District of Columbia.  Only in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. did I not see vast new “wind farms” of windmills, or pass on the road the massive truck trailers carrying parts for wind turbine installations.  As it turns out, that was because I didn’t drive to the area of Maryland and Virginia with wind farms.  Only D.C. lacks a windfarm, out of the states I visited (Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado were the others).  Wind is big business and growing.

Why would any candidate try to choke off windpower growth, in tough economic times?

More:

Update on resources, September 13, 2012:

17 Comments | Electricity, Energy, Green Politics, Politics, Renewable Energy, Wind Power | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Texas Democrats like kids, educating kids, and the teachers who educate them

June 26, 2010

Stark differences show up in the resolutions and platforms of the Texas Democrats, compared to the Texas Republicans.  Elections in Texas have great meaning and significance in 2010.

Messy and open to long and loud discussions as the Democrats are, final copies probably won’t be available on line until about Tuesday, after proofing and grammar editing.  But you may want to be aware of a few items.  In this post I offer only a very, very brief summary of the education planks, holding off on comment until I can analyze the planks further — except to note my delight at the name of the plank, “Reform of the Unbalanced State Board of Education.”

First, the convention passed at least three education resolutions guaranteed to please teachers and friends of education.

  • One resolution calls for stripping textbook approval authority from the State Board of Education, placing it instead with the education professionals at the Texas Education Agency.
  • Another resolution calls for fewer standard state tests, higher teacher pay, and repeal of the No Child Left Behind Act.
  • A third calls for outdoor education, to get students outside and to educate future citizens in conservation and recreation — the “No Child Left Inside Resolution.”

Some of these issues get double attention in the platform.  Democrats provides four-and-a-half pages of support for education from pre-kindergarten through graduate school.  It is the first series of planks in the Democratic platform, following the preamble immediately, under the major section “Education.”

Public Education Funding first calls for a “100% equitable school finance system with sufficient state revenue to allow every district to offer an exemplary program.”  Democrats call for an end to reliance on the “Robin Hood” system, an extension of the 22-pupil-per-class limit, or lower limits, and asks the federal government to fully fund mandates including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Excellent Schools for Every Student calls for universal access to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, and after school programs for grades 1 through 12.  Democrats want a focus on up-to-date instructional materials.  One plank calls for opposition to “efforts to destroy bilingual education.”  Another calls for all students to become proficient in English and “at least one other language.”  This section also urges reduction in “high-stakes tests, used to punish students and school systems.”

Solving the Dropout Crisis includes an explanation that dropouts do not get jobs and pay they might otherwise get, and at a cost to all Texas households.  Solutions suggested include community-wide efforts to serve at-risk students and their families, including expanded early childhood education to help at-risk students.

Effective Teachers for Every Student calls for a raise in teacher and support staff pay, “exceeding the national average.”  Democrats suggest state-funded health insurance to all education employees.  There are planks calling for certified teachers in every classroom, an encouragement of diversity in teachers, and teacher performance measures that look at everything teachers do.  This is targeted at a Republican plank, described as “plans to use narrow test results instead.”

There is a call for beefed up pension support for retired teachers, and for the repal of “the federal government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions that unfairly reduce Social Security benfirts for educational retirees and other public employees.”

Reform of the Unbalanced State Board of Education offers few specifics, but does complain about the current SBOE’s having “made a laughingstock of our state’s process for developing and implementing school curriculum standards that determine what our students learn.”  The plank specifically mentions recent fights on science standards, language arts standards, and social studies standards.  Democrats also call for “sober fiduciary responsibility for the Permanent School Fund, exposing and prohibiting conflicts of interest.”

Making Our Schools Safe Havens for Learning calls for students and teachers to be safe from violence in schools, including bullying.  Democrats support the Dignity for All Students Act.

Higher Education calls for opportunities to go to college to be available to all students who wish to pursue a higher education.  Democrats complain about “tuition deregulation’s” effects, which they say has been to financially burden especially students from poorer families.  Democrats want state support to help ease the burdens.

Community Colleges generally supports community colleges, with similar calls for funding, and support of student opportunities.

Diversity calls for support for diversity programs in schools, community colleges and universities.

A quick comparison with the platform Republicans passed at their convention in Dallas two weeks ago shows some clear lines of demarcation between the two Texas groups.  The Texas Tribune, that already-great on-line publication, offers a copy of the Republican platform here.  Won’t you join me in analyzing it, and the Democratic platform, and discussing the differences?  Comments are open.  Please do.

4 Comments | Education, Education Administration, Education quality, Education spending, Government, Higher education, Political conventions, Politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell