Bringing Education Into The 21st Century

Technology and innovation have disrupted scores of industries over the last 50 years.

Newspapers. Network television. Landline telephones. Film and music distribution. Photography. Taxis. Retail shopping. The list is endless.

In some cases, the disruptors have gone on to be disrupted themselves.

Blockbuster changed the way many people watched movies. Blockbuster was driven out of business by Netflix. Netflix had to reinvent so as to not be rendered irrelevant itself by streaming.

Cable television disrupted network television. Cable is now being disrupted by streaming as well.

There is one glaring exception when it comes to a major industry that has not been disrupted.

EDUCATION.

Primary and secondary education has not advanced much over the last century.

A teacher lecturing in front of a class of 15-25 students. 

Asking ANYONE? if they know the answer to their questions.

From "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
Source: Paramount Pictures

The blackboard in front of the class might have been replaced by a whiteboard.

Computers are in use in the classroom but have they had any effect on improving academic performance?

What is different in 2023 compared to 100 years ago in the classroom?

The classroom might not differ much but what students learned has changed.

For example, consider this examination for 8th graders that was given in Bullitt County schools in Kentucky in 1912.

 

Here is some background on the exam as provided by the Bullitt County Geneaological Society

Bullitt County Schools were mostly one-room schools in those days, scattered around the rural county. Students came together at the county courthouse once or twice a year to take this "Common Exam." It was apparently a big deal. The local newspaper urged students to do well, even urging seventh graders that it was not too early to start preparing. Some scholarships were provided to those who passed to go on to high school, which was also a big deal back then. In those days, high school was sometimes another county away and a rare thing for many farm children to be able to otherwise attend.

How many 8th graders today could answer half of those questions let alone college graduates?

Education experts today argue that tests like this merely quiz facts and do not provide any insight into a student's knowledge or understanding.

They then go on to say that testing for knowledge and understanding is very difficult, Therefore, it is not done very often.

This also seems to apply to the SAT and ACT exams which more and more colleges are no longer requiring.

Is it any wonder that the state of education is what it is today?

How much knowledge and understanding do we see on almost any subject at all?

Of course, educators always seem to argue that they could do a better job if they had more money.

Schools in the United States spent an average of $16,993 per pupil in the 2022-23 school year.

Spending has increased over 50% per pupil in constant dollars since 1990.

Total expenditure per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools in the U.S from 1990 to 2019
(in constant 2020-21 U.S. dollars)

Credit: https://www.statista.com/statistics/203118/expenditures-per-pupil-in-public-schools-in-the-us-since-1990/

It is worse in some of the nation's largest school districts.

Chicago public schools spent nearly $30,000 per student this year.

Credit: https://wirepoints.org/trapped-in-a-death-spiral-chicago-public-school-spending-hits-record-29k-per-student-as-enrollment-shrinks-outcomes-plummet/

Spending per student has increased 40% in the last four years.

Credit: https://wirepoints.org/trapped-in-a-death-spiral-chicago-public-school-spending-hits-record-29k-per-student-as-enrollment-shrinks-outcomes-plummet/

What are the taxpayers getting for that money?

83% of the students in Chicago public schools are Black or Hispanic.

Less than 20% of these students can read at grade level.

In Detroit public schools, only 5% of students are rated "proficient" in the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests.

However, the Detroit Public Schools Community District rated 99% of its 3,285 teachers as 'highly effective" (53%) or "effective" (36%).

Only eight teachers in the entire district were rated "inefficient".

You have to wonder how much influence the teacher's union is having in all of this?

A prominent school choice advocate looks at the trends in staffing vs. enrollment in the Los Angeles school district and questions whether public schools have become more of a jobs program for adults than an education initiative for kids?

The latest test scores in Los Angeles indicates that only 29% of its students are proficient in math.

That is half of what it was in 2014.

Source: https://www.publicschoolreview.com/california/los-angeles-unified-school-district/622710-school-district

However, you would not know that by looking at the grades that teachers give their students in L.A.

75% of students are awarded with A's, B's and C's on their report cards by their teachers while less than 30% are judged to be proficient in state level testing.

Source: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-12-22/la-student-reports-card-grades-are-high-test-scores-are-low-why-the-big-disconnect

Do you see a disconnect?

It seems parents are increasingly seeing it as well.

The number of students who are being homeschooled has increased dramatically in recent years.

This was particularly true during the Covid pandemic. However, even with school restrictions behind us, the number of students being homeschooled is over three times what it was 25 years ago.

Source: https://www.nheri.org/how-many-homeschool-students-are-there-in-the-united-states-during-the-2021-2022-school-year/

Private school enrollments increased by 6% between 2019-2021 while public school enrollments were dropping.

More and more parents are advocating that they be given more choice in determining how their children are educated.

At the same time, many politicians are saying that there needs to be more accountability from public schools in the academic results that public schools are providing for students.

This is resulting in the passage of "school choice" legislation in a number of states that provide parents and students more educational alternatives to traditional public schools.

School choice includes school vouchers, scholarship tax credit programs, education savings account programs, public charter schools, virtual charter schools, and other meaningful school choices. 

One trend in school choice that is becoming increasingly popular is allowing school funding to follow the student and receive state-funded scholarships to attend the school of their choice (public, charter, private etc).

With school choice, parents and students are no longer trapped in underperforming public schools or schools that are more interested in promoting a woke agenda than teaching the fundamentals of a sound education.

The most popular school choice program being considered in many red states right now is one that provides universal choice to all families regardless of circumstances.

Source: https://thefederalist.com/2023/05/12/school-choice-takes-state-houses-by-storm-in-2023-legislative-sessions/

Seven states have enacted universal or near-universal school choice funding into law---Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Utah, and West Virginia.

North Carolina, Ohio are other states that may be close to enacting some form of universal school choice.

Redirecting the flow of money from school to student is an important step in beginning to reform and improve public schools.

In the past, if a parent was dissatisfied with the education their child was getting in public schools it actually worked to the benefit of the school. The money to the school stayed the same whether the child was in the school or not. The school also saved costs in not having to educate that child.

Universal school choice should hold schools more accountable to parents and the taxpayers.

No student. No money.

However, there is still much more that can be done to use technology and innovation to improve student education putting money aside.

There is a huge opportunity to improve instruction by improving curriculum.

There is no reason that the best teachers and instruction methods cannot be leveraged through technology and innovation.

Why can't the very best instructors be made available to thousands, if not millions of students, in online courses?

Why can't we use multimedia to enhance the educational experience and make it entertaining for students at the same time?

Why can't we use gamification concepts to capture and maintain the interest of students while they learn and test their knowledge?

There are a wide array of possibilities to take education from 19th century concepts to the reality of the 21st century we live in today.

Curriki is a non-profit organization that has a mission of doing just that.

Curriki is a nonprofit organization committed to using technology to improve the quality of online education and make it available as widely as possible.

We believe dynamic, interactive learning content has the power to transform students’ lives at a global scale.

We made it our mission to unlock learning potential by providing the technology that helps every student achieve improved, personalized learning outcomes anywhere, anytime.

Curriki  provides educators with a toolkit to publish and create interactive learning experiences for their students.  

Curriki is also dedicated to providing an open platform that allows education content creators to develop and put lessons, lectures and other educational content for use by all while also letting the creators receive a fair payment for their efforts.

Think of something similar to the Apple iTunes store or Spotify where artists get paid with each download of their music off these platforms.

Curriki provides a platform that schools, home school parents and other can go to get quality online education and education creators have a financial incentive to develop quality content.

The Covid pandemic showed many parents how poor the educational experience was for their children.

It also revealed just how poorly schools and the educational community had embraced innovation and technology to advance the state of education.

When you combine public schools and the increasing power of the teacher's unions over the last 40 years, public education has come to feel like a hidebound monopoly that has no interest in changing with the times. This is despite clear evidence that many children are being ill-served, particularly minority students in large, urban centers.

Make no mistake that changing our educational system will not be easy.

Teacher's unions maintain a immense power over education. 

There is also a symbiotic relationship between these public sector unions and the Democrat party.

99% of over $55 million of teacher's union political contributions in 2022 went to Democrats.

Teachers Union- Long Term Political Contribution Trends
Source: https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/totals.php?ind=L1300

There is little interest in the Democrats or the teacher's union in seeing the public school system and their monopoly power weakened.

Look no further than this tweet from Biden's Secretary of Education if you have any doubts about that.

Teachers know better than their parents as to what is best for their kids?

I have news for Secretary Cardona. A teacher may see a child for 6-7 hours, 180 days of the year.

A parent sees them 365 days a year. 

What planet is he living on?

We also have the fact that the Biden administration directed the FBI to investigate and intimidate parents who spoke at school board meetings to argue that schools be opened during the Covid pandemic.

Source: https://katv.com/news/nation-world/no-legitimate-basis-judiciary-committee-blasts-biden-admin-directive-telling-fbi-to-investigate-school-board-meetings

Or take a look at this email response New Hampshire Representative Tommy Hoyt (D) sent to a parent who was asking him to support a Parental Rights Bill.

He blames parents for the facs that student results tanked during Covid and suggests that for their children's sake they shut up and let teachers teach.

What?

Source: https://nhjournal.com/nhdem-rep-tells-voter-to-shut-up-over-parents-rights-bill/

 

These examples tell you all you need to know about how strong the desire is by the teacher's unions and the Democrats to keep parents far removed in decisions about the education of their children.

Education can change for the better.

We can bring education into the 21st Century.

However, it is not going to come about by relying on the teacher's unions, providing even more tax dollars or following a model that is over a century old.

It is going to require parents to stand up for their children.

It is going to take politicians and school board members who put children ahead of the unions.

It is going to take technology and innovation to remake education as has been done for so many other industries over the last 40 years.

There is a glimmer of hope that change is afoot in all three areas.

Let's hope that glimmer grows into something far larger that will benefit our children and their education.

Ruminations On Reparations

DEFUND THE POLICE was the demand in 2020.

It seems that the topic of the year in 2023 is REPARATIONS.

Apparently this is going to make everything great.

What used to be the a call for equal rights in the civil rights movement has now become one of equal results.

Equal opportunity no longer seems to be important. Economic justice is the new watchword.

This gentleman in Tampa wants to put all white people on notice "that we want our reparations".

Link to video: https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1659280195419791361

Rep. Cori Bush and a group of other Democrats House members introduced a bill this week calling for $14 trillion in reparations for descendants of slaves.

House Democrats Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he has not taken a position on the bill yet but he says it is important to uplift everyone and make sure we deal with injustice.

Jeffries did not get his position without being able to switch into careful political speech mode quickly.

Of course, he has to know that there is no way that $14 trillion is available in the federal budget when we are projecting $2 trillion annual deficits every year, we are have over $31 trillion in federal debt and the entire GDP of the U.S. is $25 trillion.

Governor Gavin Newsom of California has similar political moves.

He established a state task force to study reparations and make a recommendation.

The task force recently came back with a proposal after two years of study that recommended paying reparations that would amount to about $1.2 million per person. That amount alone has to be disappointing to the gentleman in Tampa, Florida. He wants $3 million.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2023/05/07/1174627337/a-california-panel-has-called-for-billions-in-reparations-for-black-residents

California's reparations task force voted Saturday to approve recommendations on how the state may compensate and apologize to Black residents for generations of harm caused by discriminatory policies.

Some estimates from economists have projected that the state could owe upwards of $800 billion, or more than 2.5 times its annual budget, in reparations to Black people.

It does not seem to matter that California was admitted to the United States in 1850 with the express proviso that it be a "free state" and the California Constitution expressly prohibited slavery from the  beginning of existence as a state.

Already facing a $32 billion budget deficit for the current fiscal year, Governor Newsom has declined to support the recommendations of the task force on reparations that he created.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-gov-newsom-declines-back-reparations-checks-says-slaverys-legacy-more-cash-payments

I guess a heartfelt apology will have to do in California for something they never had anything to do with in the first place.

I also find it interesting in all the talk of reparations that we never hear anything about calls for Brazil, Caribbean countries (including Cuba) and others to pay reparations.

Most people are completely unaware of the fact that only 4% of the entire Atlantic slave trade from Africa to the Western Hemisphere were brought to North America.

Source: Natchez, MS Visitor's Center

96% went to places other than North America. 38% of the total slave trade went to Brazil. 42% to West Indies countries such as Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic.

Why do we never hear about any calls for reparations in those countries?

The moral and legal obligations to provide reparations in all those countries much be many times higher than in the United States.

Less than 400,000 Africans were originally brought to North America out of 10.7 million who came to the Western Hemisphere through the slave trade.

It is interesting to note that almost 400,000 Union soldiers died in the Civil War (almost exactly the same number of slaves brought to the United States) that resulted in the end of slavery.

Do the descendants of these soldiers not deserve reparations at least as much as anyone else?

I am also having a hard time understanding how the amounts of reparations are supposed to be calculated.

Where are these numbers coming from?

What is the control group income or wealth gap that should be used?

Is Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) correct?

If reparations are paid will there be exclusions?

Will Oprah Winfrey be eligible?

Kanye West?

LeBron James?

Kamala Harris?

Patrick Mahomes, DeShaun Watson and Lamar Jackson ?

Denzel Washington?

Clarence Thomas and Ketanji Brown Jackson?

Michelle Obama?

Barack Obama would clearly be ineligible as I am not aware of anyone in his lineage being a slave in the United States.

Joe Biden is on record as saying during the 2020 campaign that he favors studying the subject of reparations.

Of course, good old Joe had a different take in 1975 when he was a young Senator.

Source: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/8/joe-bidens-1975-comments-slamming-slavery-reparati/

Mr. Biden told the People Paper, a Delaware-based weekly newspaper, in 1975: “I do not buy the concept, popular in the ‘60s, which said, ‘We have suppressed the black man for 300 years and the white man is now far ahead in the race for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back, to even the race.’ I don’t buy that.

“I don’t feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather,” he continued at the time. “I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation. And I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago.”

That ought to be enough ruminations on reparations for now.

However, expect to hear more as it is surely the emerging topic for 2023 among the leading leftist "thought" leaders.

Worse Than Watergate

The Watergate scandal of the early 1970's involved the attempt by the Committee formed to help real-elect President Richard Nixon  to bug the offices of the Democrat National Committee offices that were in the Watergate office building complex in Washington, D.C.

The scandal grew as the Nixon administration attempted to cover-up its involvement in the break-in of the DNC offices.

It took several years of investigate reporting spearheaded by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, that was later chronicled in the book (later made into a movie) "All the President's Men", to uncover the truth that later led to the resignation of President Nixon and jail terms for many of his close associates for their roles in the scandal.

The release of the final Durham report this week demonstrates that something far, far worse than Watergate has been going on in Washington, D.C.

The Special Counsel's report found that there was no basis for any FBI investigation of Russian collusion by Donald Trump or the Trump campaign dating back to 2016.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf

Durham further found that a number of allegations of Russia collusion could be traced back to the campaign of Hillary Clinton (referred to as "Clinton plan intelligence" ) that was created as a campaign tactic to vilify Trump. This fact was known to the CIA and shared with Obama, Biden, the Attorney General and others in the White House in August, 2016. 

Source: https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf

As Donald Trump spent the ensuing years attempting to dispute the charges of Russian collusion did any of these individuals step forward to defend him based on the knowledge they possessed that the Clinton campaign was complicit in all of this?

Has anyone apologized?

The report also mentions the number of times that the media had been used to promote and amplify the claims of Russian collusion. It also cites the instances that the FBI used media reports as "evidence" for FISA warrants and justification to continue to investigate Trump and his associates.

You may recall that The New York Times and The Washington Post both received Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 for their reporting about the Trump-Russian collusion story.

Here is what the Pulitzer committee stated in announcing the prizes.

Source: https://www.nytco.com/award/national-reporting/

DEEPLY SOURCED? RELENTLESSLY REPORTED?

We now know that there was no reporting to be had. It was all built on a mountain of lies.

Shouldn't these papers now be forced to return the prizes?

Does not all of this look like this was many times worse than Watergate?

If you doubt that consider these points.

For starters, the FBI, which is supposed to be the nation's premier law enforcement agency, was apparently actively working to undermine a Presidential candidate (and later the President of the United States).

A rival political campaign was allowed to manufacture a fake collusion narrative and the FBI then spent years investigating Trump rather than the source of the false and malicious narrative.

The media, which was the people's watchdog on Watergate, became a full participant in the fake narrative and cover-up when it involved Trump.

It is almost impossible to calculate the damage done to the nation by these actions.

There is a lot of talk these days about this or that involving Trump, his supporters, white people or parents of schoolchildren being "threats to democracy".  I would suggest that there is no greater threat to democracy than when the fundamental institutions of government and the media participate in activities like those described in the Durham report.

Donald Trump spent almost the entirety of his administration fighting false allegations that undermined everything he did.

Those false accusations undoubtedly also harmed his prospects in his 2020 re-election bid.

Trump was maligned and ridiculed for stating there was nothing to the charges of Russian collusion. Those who stated that the Clinton campaign, the FBI and the media were the ones that were colluding were labeled "conspiracy theorists".

The FBI was investigating Trump when it should have been investigating Hillary Clinton and the top leadership of the FBI who set all of this in motion.

Now that we know this it makes me wonder what else we don't know?

If the FBI, the D.C. and media establishment would go to these lengths to attempt to prevent Donald Trump from being elected, how far-fetched is it to wonder what lengths they would go to in order to prevent him from being re-elected?

We know that the FBI was silent about the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop in the waning days of the 2020 campaign. 51 supposed national security experts stated that it was Russian disinformation. The FBI had been in possession of the laptop for a year and knew full well that it was not. Yet, it said nothing to correct the falsehoods from being repeated over and over.

How much were FBI undercover agents involved in January 6th?

How much did the FBI do to really investigate allegations of election fraud in 2020?

Those that have raised questions about these issues have also been called conspiracy nuts.

Are they?

What really makes this worse than Watergate is the fact that 50 years ago there was accountability.

The bad actors were held to account.

Nixon was forced to resign.

A number of Nixon's closest advisors ended up in prison.

Despite everything cited in the Durham report he suggests it would be too difficult to prove anyone violated any laws in all of this. There were just a lot of horribly bad judgments. Of course, those" bad judgements" were made by people we entrust to make good judgments.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf

Durham also seems to be saying that trying to get a conviction in the District of Columbia for anyone who unjustly targeted Trump (who only got 4% of the vote in D.C.) is a fool's errand. The bad actors are actually looked at as heroes in that city for targeting Trump rather than criminals 

Source: https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf

Yes, Durham also knows that injustices and misconduct have happened all over the place here but that is just the way it is.

Let me translate what the Durham report is saying below---injustice is fine when it involves Trump. It is not fine when it involves holding the D.C. Establishment to the same standard.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf

Worse than Watergate?

Watergate was mere child's play compared to all of this.

This did not involve just "All The President's Men".

We have a President, a Vice President, Director of the CIA, Director of the FBI, the media establishment and the D.C. establishment all working to subvert the will of the American people.

It is nothing less than the most brazen abuse of our Constitutional principles and subversion of our republic's democratic foundations in American history.

Yes, this is many times worse than Watergate.

However, you are not likely to see that comparison made by many other political analysts or media figures.

For example, here is former FBI Deputy Director and current CNN law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe (who was terminated from his FBI position for his role in all of this) telling the CNN audience that Durham never conducted a legitimate investigation while doubling down that he still believes he was correct in opening the investigation of Trump Russia collusion.

Even Anderson Cooper seems to be confused about that "analysis".

Link to video: https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1658418812910223360

We are living in very dark and depressing times when this is how "justice" works.

We came back from Watergate.

It is not going to be easy to come back from where we are now in the United States of America.

Chaos At The Border

Title 42 was implemented by the Trump administration at the beginning of the Covid pandemic to provide stronger measures for border security personnel in order to swiftly expel migrants from other countries attempting to enter the United States.

It has been reported that the policy has been used to prevent 2.8 million illegal immigrants from entering the United States in the last three years.

The Title 42 provisions expired at 11;59 pm last night. There are fears that the expiration of the policy will result in a veritable flood of illegals at the border in coming days.

The Biden administration, which has refused to enforce immigration laws, is reaping what they have sowed and it may get much worse.

Despite this policy being in force, look at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data on how many illegals have entered the country since Joe Biden became President.

Source:https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters

In fiscal 2020, Trump's last year in office, there were 646,000 border encounters with illegals that ultimately came into the country until they could get an immigration hearing.

In 2021, there were almost 2 million illegals that entered the country.

In 2022, there were 2.8 million.

At the current pace, we are looking at over 3 million this year.

8 million illegals in three years?

Remember this does not include the nearly 3 million that were reported to have been expelled under Title 42.

That takes us to 11 million who crossed the border illegally.

This number also does not include the number of illegals who were never encountered by Border Patrol agents and snuck in completely on their own.

For years we have been told that there were 11 million illegals in the United States. 

In fact, DHS was claiming that there were 11 million illegals in the country in February, 2022.

Th chart below is from 2016 that I cited in a previous blog post which claims that there were 11 million illegals in the country at that time.

It is also claimed that there were actually more illegals a decade earlier.

Who would believe that there were less illegal immigrants in the United States in 2022 than there were in 2006?

Invasion does not adequately describe what has happened on the southern border of the United States.

What is even more interesting is to look at the makeup of those entering the country illegally the last few years.

The overwhelming number of illegals are single adults. A large proportion are males.

The numbers within a family unit (FMUA below) pales in comparison, as are the number of single or unaccompanied minors, that get so much media attention.

Source: https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters

Despite all of this factual evidence, the Biden administration has insisted the border is secure.

DHS Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly testified before Congress that "the border is secure".

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/media/mayorkas-takes-heat-repeating-border-secure-claim-house-hearing

VP Kamala Harris has repeated the same claim a number of times.

Despite the fact she was named the "immigration czar" in 2021 to explore ways to better control illegal immigration, Harris has visited the border only once since she has been in office.

Biden Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeats the "border is secure" mantra routinely.

At one point she claimed that illegals are just not walking across the border.

Credit: https://nypost.com/2022/08/29/white-house-claims-migrants-not-walking-across-border/

That statement did not sit well with Border Patrol agents that actually witness what is happening at the border.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/border-patrol-agents-slam-karine-jean-pierres-ignorant-claim-illegal-immigrants-walking-across

Of course, Jean-Pierre and many Democrats like to repeat a narrative that "border walls don't work" as a reason the United States is in the middle of this mess right now.

You have to wonder where they got that talking point from?

Let's look at FACTS.

This is the number of border incursions Israel saw after it erected a wall along the West Bank.

Hungary also constructed a border wall to stem a flood of illegal migrants into its country.

 

Watch closely and see what transpires in the next week or so at the border.

The Biden administration has signaled they may replace Title 42 with a similar measure that would prohibit entry for large number of illegals trying to claim asylum in the United States.

If this is not done we may see an unprecedented flood of illegals coming over the border as news quickly gets out that there is nothing to stop anyone from coming. Reports are that there are tens of thousands of migrants waiting to come over the border.

The shelters and processing centers are already full and stretched to the limit.

Chaos like we have not seen before could quickly take hold if the rule of law and order at the border are not instituted.

Republicans in Congress passed H.R.2 yesterday which is a wide ranging border security and enforcement bill. Political analysts expect nothing will come of it in the Democrat-controlled Senate. Biden has also vowed he will veto it if necessary.

This is a report describing key elements of the bill.

The bill would codify some of the border programs implemented by former President Donald Trump, including the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which mandated that migrants stay in Mexico while going through the asylum process. It also would pour more resources into security at the southern border, restart border wall construction, add more border personnel and upgrade border technology, among other provisions.

If I were the Republicans in the House I would tell Biden that they would concede to his demands to drop their current proposal for budget reforms in the debt ceiling negotiations and accept his word that he would consider the House proposals in looking at next year's budget.

However, in return, the Republicans would require that H.R. 2  be attached to the debt ceiling extension.

Would Biden be willing to reject that proposal knowing that if the U.S. "defaults" it is solely due to the fact that he and the Democrats are unwilling to agree to the most basic border security provisions?

I believe that would put the Democrats in a tough place with voters.

Why do I say that?

Look at this Gallup poll from January, 2023.

American voters have less satisfaction with levels of immigration than almost any other major issue. This is particularly true for Republicans and Independents.

Source: https://www.voanews.com/a/americans-satisfaction-with-us-immigration-lowest-in-decade/6966951.html

Another poll from January found that 66% of American adults favored stronger border security. A plurality of 45% said they strongly favor it.

Source: https://thehill.com/latino/3831721-66-percent-in-new-survey-support-increased-border-security/

The Biden administration has made a bad illegal immigration situation many, many times worse over the last couple of years.

This is what happens when the law is blatantly ignored.

We may see it get even worse in the coming days.

The Democrats often say that you should never let a good crisis go to waste.

It is time that Republicans start playing the same game.

A debt ceiling limit and border chaos coming together at the same time provides a unique opportunity to get something done to fix the problem.

It is great to talk about pairing budget reforms with the debt ceiling but in the end my fear is that the Republicans will be blamed for being obstructionists.

I think it is harder to do that if border security is what the Republicans demand.

It is easier for voters to understand border security and there is a strong majority that support it.

The Democrats would find it difficult to defend their position in favor of an open border.

Let's hope the Republicans are smart enough to not fumble the opportunity away.

Turn Off the Lights?

The state of New York had an estimated population of 19.7 million as of the end of 2022.

The population declined nearly 1% in the last year.

New York Population Trends
Source: https://www.macrotrends.net/states/new-york/population

The state of Florida had an estimated population of 22.2 million at the end of 2022.

Florida's population has increased almost 2% in the last year.

Florida Population Trends
Source: https://www.macrotrends.net/states/florida/population

I think most people are aware of the population trends of these two states over the years.

I doubt many would know that despite having a population that is 11% less than Florida, New York's 2023 state budget is almost exactly DOUBLE that of Florida.

New York is spending $227 billion. Florida $115 billion.

On a per capita basis, New York is spending 2.24 times what Florida is.

This chart from the The Wall Street Journal provides all of the key data.

When Ron DeSantis was elected Governor in 2018, Florida had a $1.8 billion deficit.

Florida ended the last budget year with a $21.8 billion annual budget surplus.

Some would argue that the increased spending is justified in New York by the fact that education funding is much higher and students are getting a better education as a result.

New York is slated to provide $13,868 in state funding for local school districts in 2022-23. Total per student spending in the state is over $32,000 per student.

Credit: https://www.manhattancontrarian.com/blog/2023-2-14-once-again-budget-time-in-new-york-and-florida

By comparison, Florida is providing $8,453 per student in state funding in the current year.

However, in the most recent NAEP national student test scores, Florida fourth graders ranked 5th in the nation in Mathematics scores while New York was 46th.

Source: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/profiles/stateprofile/

Florida fourth graders ranked 4th in Reading nationally while New York was 36th.

Over $30,000 of per capita spending per student gets you these results?

Of course, the fact that DeSantis did everything to keep students in school during the pandemic while New York did everything to keep them out clearly had something to do with this as well.

Faced with a population that is declining and a state budget that is twice the size of Florida what is Governor Kathy Hochul focusing on?

She has been supporting legislation in her 2023/2024 budget proposal to ban natural gas appliances and furnaces in new buildings in New York.

It passed the Democrat legislature last week.

You may recall that it was only a few months ago that the media labeled those who were arguing that Democrats would soon be banning gas stoves and furnaces as a crazy conspiracy theory.

The same was true of Democrat politicians.

In fact, three months ago New York Senator Chuck Schumer mocked GOP claims that natural gas stoves were the next target of the progressives on the left.

Source: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3843076-schumer-mocks-gop-nobody-is-taking-away-your-gas-stove/

A national ban is on hold.

However, Schumer wasn't exactly telling the truth to his own constituents was he?

Looking at everything that is going on it almost looks Democrats want people to leave New York.

The poor people of New York are being taxed to death, regulated to death, many are scared for their lives and they soon may be freezing to death.

Will the last person to leave New York please turn off the lights?