BCT Editorial – 4/24/05

This page was last updated on April 24, 2005.

Bad deal; Editorial; Beaver County Times; April 24, 2005.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“You’re in a tough spot.

“Your salary isn’t keeping up with the cost of living. In fact, you’re losing ground because you’re contributing more and more money for your employer-based health insurance. The jump in the price of gasoline hasn’t helped.”

[RWC] The editorial doesn’t mention the non-wage portion of your compensation.

“Your three children are growing out of their shoes and clothes on what seem to be a daily basis, and they are eating you out of house and home.

“And speaking of the house, it needs a new roof and furnace, and the windows should be replaced, too. With five family members, a second bathroom would be a welcome addition.

“But you can’t afford to buy a new home and you can’t handle the cost of remodeling your existing one.

“One day, your Uncle Sam shows up at the door. He offers to give you $1,000 a month to update your home. All you have to do is give him the deed to the property in exchange. He assures you that when all is said and done, you’ll be better off because of his munificence and guidance.

“So, you sign over the property, take out a home equity loan and have the remodeling done. Uncle Sam takes great pride in broadcasting to family members and friends how generous and caring he is.”

[RWC] You just bought into communism lock, stock, and barrel. In other words, the editorial author assumes you are a complete moron.

Not to be picky, but can you “take out a home equity loan” when you are no longer the owner? It sounds like the equivalent of allowing a renter to take out a home equity loan on his apartment.

“But when Uncle Sam’s first monthly payment comes due, he only gives you $500, not the $1,000 you expected. When you ask him for the rest of the money, he tells you to be grateful for the $500, that he only said he might give you up to $1,000 a month, not that he would give you $1,000 a month. He calls you a lazy ingrate and scolds you for not listening more carefully.”

[RWC] Uncle Sam would be right. Anyone who would accept such a deal is looking for a “free lunch” and deserves what they get, unless they are mentally challenged.

“You’ve got to scramble to cover the difference. You take a second job, slash spending and stop putting money into your 401(k) at work because you need the money now.

“Uncle Sam’s duplicity doesn’t end there. In addition to stiffing you on the money he promised, he orders you to spend more money to get the house up to his standards. He can do that because he holds the deed, and if you don’t, he’ll stop giving you the $500 a month he does now. If you balk, your family will be out in the street, you’ll have the debt and he’ll have the house.

“More Americans are starting to wake up to the fact that this is what is happening under President Bush’s No Child Left Behind act. The federal government is ordering costly changes in education but not coming through with the money to pay for them. But like Uncle Sam, it brags about its generosity.”

[RWC] Earth to Times editorial authors; this has been the case with every government program since before recorded history.

“The Associated Press reports the National Education Association and nine school districts in Michigan, Vermont and Texas, plus 10 NEA chapters in those states and Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah, are suing the Bush administration. They want to free the districts from complying with any part not paid for by the federal government.”

[RWC] They don’t need to sue; just don’t accept federal taxpayer dollars.

Take the time to read the U.S. Constitution and you find it grants the federal government no authority over education. Further, the 10th Amendment to the Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved for the States respectively, or to the people.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

The only way the feds exercise control over our schools is via the wallet, as in “If you want federal taxpayer money, you’ll follow my rules.” Refuse to take federal taxpayer dollars for education and you can tell the feds to take a hike.

“Lawmakers in Utah have gone one step farther. They voted last week to put their state’s educational goals ahead of the federal law despite the possible loss of $76 million. Connecticut is planning its own lawsuit.”

[RWC] I don’t know if it’s relevant or not, but the Utah legislature is controlled by Republicans.

“More states need to rise up against this underfunded mandate.”

[RWC] More states need to “just say no,” but there is no mandate. As noted above, the feds have no authority over education.