Holy Billionaires, Batman!
Warren Buffett, the world’s second richest man, is giving away his fortune… to Bill Gates.
Believe it or not, I cheered when Gates announced that he was stepping down from Microsoft in 2008. But I didn’t cheer for the reasons you think. Yeah, Bill Gates can be evil, but he really is doing great things with his foundation. Finally, someone is treating philanthropy as a business, and trying to get the most good for the least cost. I like the idea of Bill making a charity accountable for actually doing some good (rather than simply lining the pockets of its executives).
But Gates hasn’t tackled “celebrity” issues like luxury beach resorts in Namibia. No, he’s going after some hard-core problems like world health—AIDS/HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, among others—and improving US libraries and high schools. Good God, if anyone can fix America’s declining education system, it’s Bill Gates. (Or should I call it by its proper name? The “Socialist-in-training Entitlement and Acceptance System.” Feh!)
I never thought I’d say this, but… way to go, Bill Gates! Take Buffett’s money and do something good with it. You might even make up for your evil ways.
- Nick
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6 Responses to “Holy Billionaires, Batman!”
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Nick, I don’t think you realize how authoritarian our education system has become in response to its general ineffectiveness. Right now it’s not training anyone to be anything other than worker drones doing what they’re told.
This evil man is just incredible.
In contrast to the work M$ is doing, Bill does there, it’s just marvelous what he and Melinda initiated with their foundation. Their work against poverty, inequities and diseases and for equal education can’t be honoured enough.
You’re right. If there’s any place that hardcore capitalist methods could better be used, it’s charity.
Nick,
So you think our Educational system is “Socialist-in-training Entitlement
and Acceptance System.�??
Ok your the New Education Czar. It’s all up to you to fix the system.
Your word is law & it gets done… You have absolute power over the
D.O.E. Oh and your immune to “activist” Judges. You get 3 years
before Hillary Clinton fires you.
So tell us how you would do this?
Ike
I love Jerry Pournelle’s take on this:
“If a foreign government had imposed this system of education on the United States, we would rightly consider it an act of war.”
I don’t always, or even often, agree with him, but I see this and believe it. Remember, I’m in the UK, where our own education system is rapidly plunging downhill as well. More kids are passing more thests than ever before, but somehow they can’t read or write properly, can’t add up a column of figures, and believe astrology is a science. To borrow from Nick: “Feh!”
Steve.
Hmm can I take a stab at the education system. I have to say that the first problem we have is we group all of the kids together. What is the point of educating somebody that will only aspire to be a manager of a restraunt or something like that. Or what happens when the school you are attending has no electives in your choice of career. Those are some MAJOR grievences I have with the education system.
Probally the first thing I would do is make sure all school districts have High Schools over 1,000 in students. If they dont you merge the schools. That way you now have less schools that can be run by a limited number of high salary officials and not a lot of schools by 2 officials. Yes its evil and all but it needs to be done to save some money. The next thing at least for my state is funding needs to be done better. When we had a econimic explosion we had over a course of 5 years or so a 50% increase in state funding. Now the schools are upset and having to cut because they are getting that 8% or so increase a year. Rather they are getting a slight increase or none at all. Frankly its oversight by the state to force schools spend almost all of the state funding and not allow more into a rainy day fund to spread out when the ecomominy takes a down turn.
In anycase getting back to the schools themselves. First thing is getting the kids into the classes they need. You do this by breaking the kids into 3 major groups. Your Blue Collar workers ie ones that wont need a high level education but need to know the basics. Next your Profesional workers, ones that will need to get into college. Finally your I dont have a clue type of students. Most students wont need a test to know what they want to be when they grow up. Ones that dont know will need a test done. You do this in the Spring of 8th grade. The test will be one that will ask basic questions on what they like to do and what they dont like to do. That will allow them to either take the read back as something to look at or to go into the last block of just dont have a clue.
The diffrences in the blocks would be the type of classes. Every student would have a basic amount of education. Prior to entering the 9th grade they will need to read. If they dont they dont enter simple as that. If they dont know by then all of their teachers get canned simple as that. Next thing is they all would get a minimal of two years of literature, not english. English would not be required since middle school is where they learn the grammer rules. All students would get a year of foreign language although spanish would be the most used with certain career choices being forced into other languages. Math would be a minimal of Algebra since that is the most used in day to day work. Its so amazing how many people I work with as a blue collar worker that doesnt know basic math. Outside of that government, US History, World History, and a basic science would be required. Basic science would be a course that covers it all from biology to chemisty to geology. Stuff that is higher than middle school.
After that each grouping would have choices after 9th grade. For the blue collars it would Co Ops. Basically you go into the work force and learn about your possible jobs you might take. This would half of your hours in school. The other half would be to further your education towards your job. Ie a restraunt co op might put you in bussiness management classes, accounting classes, and culinary arts classes.
A white collar of high eduacation level grouping would be geared towards your intended profession. You would have higher level literature, higher level math, higher level science, along with classes simlar to the co ops but geared along your intended type of profession. The key here is to get rid of your remidial college classes. So after each advance class you take you get to take the AP board exam. This way you eliminate the need to take those classes in college.
A person who is unsure will have every class open to them and can take what ever they choose to get a good idea on what they steer themselves towars. I am unsure about the PE requirements since I find a lot of them stupid. I think we all agree that the STD classes get quite boring after a while since you get them so much before. But I think the class should be renamed to STD education and not sex ed since they dont teach ya anything about sex just what the repruccisions are.