Week One

     The article “The reactionary essence of California’s Proposition 30” discussed the issues of California’s own Governor Jerry Brown is taking on November, adding on the ballot as Proposition 30 an increase of taxes for the working class. The main course of action it will take, if passed, is a small increase in sale taxes and as it is mentioned in the article “an increase in the income tax rate of between 1 and 3 percent for annual incomes over $250,000.” The bright side to this is that if it is passed it would mean the state will generate about $6 billion each year. But since there is a bright side, there must be a bad side to it as well. Brown, in order to get Prop. 30 passed, is taking the risk of holding California schools as the first thing that will be greatly affected if Prop. 30 doesn`t pass. By “greatly affected” they mean that incase of Prop. 30 not passing there will be a $6 billion in cuts, the majority of that tremendous amount of money will be cut from education. Statistics showed that since 2008 over $18 billion has been cut from k through 12th grades education. The author David Brown then continues to go on addressing the topic of how the wealthy people have ways to find loopholes to not pay their taxes in full, the example he gives for that is "the poorest fifth of California's families pay 10.2 percent of their household income on state and local taxes, while the top 1 percent pay 7.4 of their income."

                Education has taken a turn to where people begin to doubt if schools are doing their jobs properly in educating and preparing their students for the world outside of the school walls. We, the general public, people on television, authors and sometimes those in politics seem to not understand what the truth behind failing schools really are. Most of us tend to blame the teachers, we think or say “the teachers are bad,” “they are not doing their jobs properly,” and as Michael Moore includes in his work Idiot Nation “You`ve got to wonder about teachers who claim to put the interests of children first – and then look to milk the system dry through wage hikes.” (New York Post, 12/26/00) Moore expands his thoughts of this nation being “Idiots” throughout his work, going from speaking about T.V host Fred Barns making remarks about students not knowing things  such as “These kids don`t even know what The Iliad and The Odyssey are!”  When he himself doesn`t know what they are about. Later on Moore questions education itself, using the fact that a multiple choice high school level question test was given  556 students that attended high prestigious universities had 50 percent of them fail it. Out of the 34 questions, he said only one student got them all right. Throughout this reading Moore mentions politicians numerous times, how they themselves aren`t as “smart” as they seem to be and want the kids of the future generations to be. He includes a small 10 question quiz near the end which he firmly believes that the political leaders wouldn`t even score 50 percent on. Moore says “the ultimate irony in all of this is that the very politicians who refuse to fund education in America adequately re the same ones who go ballistic over how our kids have fallen behind the Germans, the Japanese, and just about every country.”  With budgets cut on education the school system isn`t as great as shape as it used to be, the money they get now is from advertisement from several different companies varying from Coca-Cola, Burger King, and even pictures of FOX TV personalities. Overall, Moore has a point in how this is an “Idiot Nation. Not because we are stupid, but for our actions in how we approach and affect our education system which should be one of the most important things throughout the country! In the end he advises students to take a stand, speak up and make the most and do what you think should be done to make this a better experience for you and the rest of us.