Earlier today, I saw something on my Facebook page which asked the question as to what type of human being thinks there is nothing wrong in asking a teacher to take a 20% pay cut, but cannot fathom asking a millionaire to pay an addition 3% in taxes.
There was a lot of discussion about it, as you can imagine. And, I, of course, added my two cents. Then, I thought, perhaps, my two cents was actually worth sharing with the blogosphere.
If we want to fight the conservatives in the area of education funding, PART of the answer is endowments for teacher's salaries and pensions. Here is an idea in a few steps:
1) You make conservatives happy by "investing" in something that pays interest or a dividend. If you have a 5% return, you need $1,000,000 for a $50k salary. If you want the teacher to have a bigger salary, you add to the endowment.
You can use this same fund for the teacher's retirement pension, allowing the surviving spouse/partner to receive the pension upon death of the retired teacher. BUT you need a stipulation that the funds will be used to pay a NEW teacher when both teacher and spouse/partner have gone on their great reward in the sky. Thus, you fund BOTH salary and pension at the same time.
Wall Street would practically slobber all over itself trying to make this work. Yes, you WILL have to have stipulations as to what happens in economic downturns, so that teachers salaries are not all wiped out because some stockbroker(s) or bank(s) does(do) something stupid and tanks the economy.
2) Next, you give donors to the endowment a tax deduction. (See conservatives act like sex-starved teenage boys.) Make it a charitable deduction. Currently, if a millionaire makes a donation to endow a professor's chair at a university, the millionaire gets a tax deduction. Why shouldn't anyone who gives to endow a public school teacher's salary and benefits get the same?
3) As each teacher's salary/benefits is endowed, you place the tax savings into another teacher's account. This is so all the teacher's salaries get endowed faster. There will ALWAYS be people who can get donations faster than someone else. Just like there are people who can jump higher or type faster than others. When Teacher X has all they need in their account, and they can get 100% of their salary and benefits from their endowment, the TAX money that would have gone to Teacher X can now go to Teacher Y. It helps meet the entire goal faster.
4) When it is all COMPLETE, you lower or eliminate PROPERTY taxes, and, after that, SALES taxes. Why not do this as each teacher is funded? Because the wealthy areas will be funded faster and the poorer areas not at all. Sooooooooo, if the wealthy want to be done with property and sales taxes, we need to make sure they also donate to the poorer districts. By the way, this will not work if we wait for the wealthy to fund the whole thing. All of us will have to make contributions here and there to teacher's endowments.
Donations would have to be given with no strings as to what can be taught, but can be given to specific subjects. For example, you could donate to fund a math teacher, science teacher, PE teacher...whatever you, the donor believes is important. You could NOT, for example, put a stipulation on the donation that a science teacher could not teach evolution, or a math teacher multiplication.
This will take generations to finish, but in the end, you have a fully funded public school system that includes pensions and does not depend on taxes.
Well, that's my basic idea. I am sure there are people out there that will tear my idea apart and list all the reasons why "liberals" like me can't possibly know what we are talking about.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Return The Democratic Majority To The House And Senate in 2012: OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ...
Return The Democratic Majority To The House And Senate in 2012: OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES ...: In response to this letter , written by former general partner of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldman S...
Health Care Pro-Life Bag from thedemocratlady.com
Health Care Pro-Life Bag from thedemocratlady.com
Reads, "Health care is a pro-life issue". Great way to show your feelings about cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other health issues. Great way to support Barack Obama, too. Vote Democrat! Save Medicare! Can be used as grocery bag to help the environment's health as well.
Design is featured on many other products, as well. An appreciated Christmas gift for someone who thinks as you do.
Reads, "Health care is a pro-life issue". Great way to show your feelings about cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other health issues. Great way to support Barack Obama, too. Vote Democrat! Save Medicare! Can be used as grocery bag to help the environment's health as well.
Design is featured on many other products, as well. An appreciated Christmas gift for someone who thinks as you do.
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Democrats, Get Off Your Rear End!
Get ready now!
In recent months, Republican majorities in Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, and several other states have created voter registration ID laws that are intended to prevent the poor, the elderly and other people who generally do not have drivers licenses from voting. They claim that this will reduce voter fraud. But the actual intention is to stop Democrats from voting.
That said, this blog post is not intended to be a complaint about the laws. While I do feel that they are un-American, cumbersome and intended to violate people's constitutional rights to vote, it does not change the fact that we have to live with them.
With that in mind, here are some action suggestions that any person can do NOW:
1. Find out what the current voter ID law is in your state. What paperwork does a person need to get a voter ID?
2. Look around you, who do you know who does not drive and/or does not have access to wherever they need to go to get the proper identification in order to be able to vote in 2012? How much help does that person need help to get the right paperwork?
3. Get off your rear end and help them! Stop complaining about the law and work with it. Explain the new law to the elderly, the poor and anyone you know who might be disenfranchised. Help them write for their birth certificate, or other paperwork, if necessary. Help them pay for it if necessary. When all their paperwork is ready, make sure they have filled everything out properly. Then take them wherever they need to go to get their voter ID. Get started now! Not tomorrow, not next week, not later on in the day, but right now.
4. Some people will require to take a day, or more, off work in order to get the necessary papers and voter ID. Many people will not be able to afford this. If they do, they risk being fired or just losing a day's pay, that they can ill afford. There will be costs involved in order to obtain birth certificates and other documents that may be necessary to get the voter ID. Many people will not have the funds for these simple fees. When you can, where you can pay for it yourself. This is not a bribe to vote. This is not anything except helping people to keep their right to vote.
Belong to a union? Get your union involved. How many people can your union put on a bus and take them en masse to wherever they need to go, to get whatever paperwork they need, in order to vote in 2012?
Remember, read the laws carefully. Get legal advice, if you think you need it. Do not break any laws. Just get off your rear and get to work!
It really is simple. Mostly, it takes a lot of work. Over the next several months, it is necessary that every Democrat that lives in any of the states that have these stupid, silly, bad voting laws comes to the aid of every poor person, elderly person, or anyone who may be disenfranchised by these new laws.
Make sure that no one in your state is unable to vote because they don't have the proper ID.
Republicans are counting on you to be lazy. They're counting on you to sit back, and be mad at Obama and not budge. Prove them wrong!
America is counting on you. Freedom is counting on you. The future is counting on you.
In recent months, Republican majorities in Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, and several other states have created voter registration ID laws that are intended to prevent the poor, the elderly and other people who generally do not have drivers licenses from voting. They claim that this will reduce voter fraud. But the actual intention is to stop Democrats from voting.
That said, this blog post is not intended to be a complaint about the laws. While I do feel that they are un-American, cumbersome and intended to violate people's constitutional rights to vote, it does not change the fact that we have to live with them.
With that in mind, here are some action suggestions that any person can do NOW:
1. Find out what the current voter ID law is in your state. What paperwork does a person need to get a voter ID?
2. Look around you, who do you know who does not drive and/or does not have access to wherever they need to go to get the proper identification in order to be able to vote in 2012? How much help does that person need help to get the right paperwork?
3. Get off your rear end and help them! Stop complaining about the law and work with it. Explain the new law to the elderly, the poor and anyone you know who might be disenfranchised. Help them write for their birth certificate, or other paperwork, if necessary. Help them pay for it if necessary. When all their paperwork is ready, make sure they have filled everything out properly. Then take them wherever they need to go to get their voter ID. Get started now! Not tomorrow, not next week, not later on in the day, but right now.
4. Some people will require to take a day, or more, off work in order to get the necessary papers and voter ID. Many people will not be able to afford this. If they do, they risk being fired or just losing a day's pay, that they can ill afford. There will be costs involved in order to obtain birth certificates and other documents that may be necessary to get the voter ID. Many people will not have the funds for these simple fees. When you can, where you can pay for it yourself. This is not a bribe to vote. This is not anything except helping people to keep their right to vote.
Belong to a union? Get your union involved. How many people can your union put on a bus and take them en masse to wherever they need to go, to get whatever paperwork they need, in order to vote in 2012?
Remember, read the laws carefully. Get legal advice, if you think you need it. Do not break any laws. Just get off your rear and get to work!
It really is simple. Mostly, it takes a lot of work. Over the next several months, it is necessary that every Democrat that lives in any of the states that have these stupid, silly, bad voting laws comes to the aid of every poor person, elderly person, or anyone who may be disenfranchised by these new laws.
Make sure that no one in your state is unable to vote because they don't have the proper ID.
Republicans are counting on you to be lazy. They're counting on you to sit back, and be mad at Obama and not budge. Prove them wrong!
America is counting on you. Freedom is counting on you. The future is counting on you.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
No New Texans Ipad Skin from thedemocratlady.com
No New Texans Ipad Skin from thedemocratlady.com
No New Texans I Speckcase by thedemocratlady
Ipad expresses your feelings and thoughts about another possible president from Texas.
No New Texans!
Stop Rick Perry!
Texas conservatives tickin' you off? Tell Rick Perry what you really think of him and his "ideas". Stop Rick Perry! NO NEW TEXANS! Support Barack Obama!
Design comes in shirts, tees, mugs, hats, keychains, and much more.
No New Texans I Speckcase by thedemocratladyIpad expresses your feelings and thoughts about another possible president from Texas.
No New Texans!
Stop Rick Perry!
Texas conservatives tickin' you off? Tell Rick Perry what you really think of him and his "ideas". Stop Rick Perry! NO NEW TEXANS! Support Barack Obama!
Design comes in shirts, tees, mugs, hats, keychains, and much more.
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