As a friend said recently, it is only lip service to say that children are important in this country. If children were really important here, their education and their well-being would be a lot higher on the agenda of Congress. I know children do not vote, but their parents and grandparents DO vote, so where are they? Remember the old saying "put your money where your mouth is?" An average U.S. teacher makes $47,000 per year, but actual pay ranges from a little over $34,000 to a little over $58,000. If money denotes importance, why does a teacher make an average of $47,000 while an average executive makes $754,972?
Some people do not understand why our children are only 14th in reading, 17th in science, and 25th in math in rankings among similar nations. We spend more to educate each child than anyone except Luxembourg [//certificationmap.com/teacher-salaries/
//www1.salary.com/Chief-Executive-Officer-Salary.htm //usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-12-07-us-students-international-ranking_N.html].
America spends more of our tax dollars on military readiness than any country in the world; it actually spends the same as the next 15 countries combined. This money does not go to the care of our military personnel and their families, but to the military industrial complex. "Basic pay for an O-7 to O-10 is limited by Level II of the Executive Schedule which is $14,975.10. Basic pay for O-6 and below is limited by Level V of the Executive Schedule which is $12,141,60" [//www.militaryfactory.com/military_pay_scale.asp].
Many of the enlisted service people earn a very small salary, but there are other benefits, like housing (which can be considerable depending on where you must live) and medical care. Our people risk their lives for this country, and yet are paid so little that some need food stamps and subsidized school lunches to feed their families. At times I have wondered if it was only important to Republicans that our children be able to carry a gun or drive a tank in some foreign country. Well, they need to open their eyes! Warfare has changed; now our children need more math and computer skills to defend our nation, and if our children do not get a good education, they will not be prepared to manage the military's advanced weaponry at all.
Republicans have disparaged education, yet the ability to increase the GDP for this country is tied to the ability to educate our children and to turn out more college graduates. It is very important for our future and will determine our ranking in the world. Make no mistake about it: it is Republican representatives who demand austerity in this country. They will not let taxes be raised to pay for the products and services the government has already bought; instead, they take that money out of services and programs needed by the poorest people of this nation. Without these services, the United States is falling behind, and our investment in its future lost.
If we invest in the well-being and advancement of our children's minds, we get that money back tenfold. If we invest in the latest weaponry, that weaponry - like our computers or cell phones - is outdated almost by the time it is delivered. I am not saying we do not need weapons, but we can cut back and order less, and invest instead in something that would pay off in the future, people. The Republicans claim to be the "values" party, but whose values? Are our children important to you? Are our soldiers important to you? If they are, why would you vote Republican?
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