Blog #11 – Bringing Change to Today’s America
As we enter the 20th Century in our classroom and studies, we approach an exciting time period in which America’s reforming impulse took shape in several different forms. One group of reformers took on alcohol and the Prohibition Experiment took off in 1920 when the 18th Amendment went into effect. More reformers focused on the plight of the urban poor and downtrodden and had hoped that this situation could be remedied with laws. Yet still a 3rd reform impulse attemtped to take on city hall and the federal government by changing the way people were elected and how people voted. By 1920, women had earned the right to vote with the 19th Amendment. Lastly, the power of big business seemed unstoppable and incompatible in the home of the modern world’s first democracy (where profits trumped one man= one vote easily). Corporate giants like Standard Oil and Northern Securities were broken up by the Supreme Court as harmful to the American economy because they limited competition.
When I asked you to look at what you might reform in America, I’m sure you could find things to reform. President Obama outlined many programs or areas that he would like to see America work on for the next year.
He wanted to help make not just new manufacturing jobs but also more white collar professional jobs too, and part of this is b/c the economy has changed so much in the past generation or two:
“The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100. Today, just about any company can set up shop, hire workers, and sell their products wherever there’s an Internet connection.”
The president reminded us of our history as a democratic pioneer:
“…we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea -– the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That’s why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like ‘What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world?'”
Finally, the president stated a major initiative (and how to pay for it):
“…in a few weeks, I will be sending a budget to Congress that helps us meet that goal [of reaching a level of research and development that we haven’t seen since the Cold War]. We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology…And to help pay for it, I’m asking Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies. (Applause.) I don’t know if — I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re doing just fine on their own. (Laughter.) So instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s.”
President Obama also wants to hire 100,000 new teachers as well. And he mentioned keeping undocumented immigrants (maybe the new buzz word for illegal aliens?) in the U.S. after they’ve been educated here.
Then the president mentioned rebuilding our infrastructure from high speed railroads to broadband internet access.
“Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail. (Applause.) This could allow you to go places in half the time it takes to travel by car. For some trips, it will be faster than flying –- without the pat-down…Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans.”
And, newsflash, the recession is practically over! He wants to put a freeze on domestic spending (not military).
“But now that the worst of the recession is over, we have to confront the fact that our government spends more than it takes in. That is not sustainable. Every day, families sacrifice to live within their means. They deserve a government that does the same. So tonight, I am proposing that starting this year, we freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years. (Applause.)”
A repsonse to Obama’s SOTU Address:
“Not exactly a Sputnik moment” – http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2011/0126/Mr.-President-this-is-not-exactly-a-Sputnik-moment
Michelle Bachman’s reply for the GOP – http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2011/0126/Michele-Bachmann-State-of-the-Union-response-where-she-and-Obama-may-agree
Your job – list three to five things that you would want to reform on a local, state or national level (with a very brief explanation as to what you think is wrong), and then write more on one of them and why you think that particular reform needs to go to the top of the country’s agenda.
Due Friday, January 28 before 11:59 p.m.
250 words minimum.
Sources:
1. SOTU Transcript: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0126/State-of-the-Union-transcript-2011-Full-text-of-the-president-s-speech
Immigration: letting other people into the country is fine but we can’t continue to let “undocumented immigrants” to continue to cross our border. It sends a message that our resources are here for random people to take.
Health Care: assuming that everything that is being said about Obama’s health care plan (ie. death panels, unfair taxes) is true, we need to repeal the plan completely and start from square one in order to reform the health care system.
Social Security: social security was never a good idea. It is a Ponzi Scheme larger than that of Berni Madoff. Instead of dissolving SS into Health Care, the government needs to revamp the way SS is run.
Social Security reform is the most pressing issue the U.S. faces today. If SS is not fixed, it will be bankrupt in a maximum of 10 years. Today’s teenagers will be paying for it and we will eventually become a broke country with no political power (like Germany post WWII). The U.S. gov’t needs to develop a plan to change the way in which Social Security is run. A possible alteration, the minimum change, would be to make SS a personalized program where a person gets the money they put in. Instead of putting in a little bit then getting it back plus someone else’s, SS would become like a giant 401K plan without the investments in order to earn interest on the money. This would make American’s more self-reliant, reduce the overall power of the government over the people, and help to fix a problem that, in the future, will end up ruining us economically and indirectly politically and militarily as well.
1. The first thing i think the united states has to reform is elderly driving. Currently the law is absolutely ridiculous. That is because there is practically no law! The only way and elderly person can not get their license taken away is if they fail the eye test or their family takes it away! That is so crazy! It is a current fact that their are more elder driving accidents than any other kind! This is currently not being dealt with enough in my opinion! I think that this issue should go to the top of the governments list! Their are teens adults and elders being hurt because of the inability of the elderly to drive.
2. Another issue that i believe needs reform is the light on 14 and telegraph. People dont understand how much traffic buildup occurs. The light lasts for a very long time when you go down telegraph. On the contrary when you go down 14 mile you have very little time. This causes low traffic one way and high traffic the other. They should try to even it out so it is not as bad because it makes people late to school.
3. The last current issue that I believe needs reform is the hospital situation in Michigan. I believe that there are to many hospitals in too close of an area. The competition is causing the deg-ration of the hospitals. It is also causing changing prices.
1. Alternate Energy – I think the way our country depends on oil is horrible. Especially, if you look at the way it affects our environment and economy. Also, it creates a huge dependence on other countries like in the Middle East when we are in need of it. I think we should focus on electric energy and solar powered energy moving into this next decade. It is cleaner way to use energy and helps protect our planet.
2. Immigration – Our whole nation is a country of Immigrants and I think it is unfair just to cut that off. It reminds me of the “nativists” and how they wouldn’t let the new wave of European immigrants come to America. We are well beyond that time and should offer our country to the world. When everyone is younger they think they could pack up and move to Australia if they wanted it, shouldn’t it really be that easy?
3. Education – With all the problems with the schools today and in the past year, especially in Michigan there has got to be a change. Teachers are a huge part of our society and I think they should be treated better. They should defiantly get paid more with all the work they have to do, the kids they have to put up with and the importance of their job. Also, in my opinion the Bush policy of No Child Left Behind is not really necessary and it seemed like a great idea at the time but I don’t think it really worked out.
4. Health Care – a lot of places throughout the world have nation wide health care, why don’t we? Health care is such a large part of society now, you even need it to go into a walk in clinic. Fifty point seven million people in the United States don’t have health care and that is just absurd. Being able to get treated for a medical problem should be in the Bill of Rights.
5. Financial – After the recession the government bought out tons of company’s, but I don’t think that should happen again. The government needs to find a way to prevent another recession or depression that has to work. I think one of the first steps is to definatly cut government spending and create a budget surplus that will help us with our debt to foreign countries. (this is why we fought the Revolutionary War, to be independent)
I think Alternate Energy is a reform that should go at the top of the agenda of the United States because it is a important issue if we want to keep living safely on this Earth. The electric cars made a huge impact in this years auto show and the hybrids were voted some of the best. The government should put more effort into promoting clean energy and increase the use of solar energy in the United States because it is a very useful resource.
1. I think that all states should have reform that makes a strong progressive income tax. Many people in certain wealthy areas of states have a surplus of money, while those living in cities of lower class don’t have as much money for public necessities. For example, many streets in Detroit are unpaved and could really use some extra tax money to strengthen the appeal of their community. Also, since there isn’t enough tax money many Detroit Public Schools (high, middle and elementary) have had to close recently since the school district doesn’t have enough money to operate completely and pay all of the staff people who were working there. This is unfair because there is no reason that there shouldn’t be enough tax money in these less fortunate areas for things as important as schools. If the lower class cities gained more tax money then the people living in them could live in a place that was closer to being as nice as the places that higher class people live.
2. The voting system should be reformed because it is not fair to less populous parts of the country that their votes are less heard in a way. No matter how many people are living in an area I still think that all of their votes should count.
3. Nationwide, there should be limits on how many trees companies can cut down because if people continuously cut down more of our oxygen supply then global warming will get worse.
4. The drinking age should be reformed because since it is clear that a huge amount of people in college (under 21) will be drinking, they might as well make it legal. It unecessarily puts bad things on ONLY people’s records’ WHO GOT CAUGHT so it is unfair to all of those people because a lot of other people in college are drinking with no consequences.
1. More Loans for College Students
-They say that to get a very good job you need a college degree. What if people afford to go to college? Then what. I think there needs to be more loans for students so they are able to go to college and be able to get a great job to then pay off the loan.
2. The New curfew law for 16 year olds
-I actually find this one ridiculous. It isn’t getting passed until late March but, it states that 16 year olds have a new curfew of 10, not 12. What’s the difference? It makes no sense to come in 2 hours earlier when some people babysit late, or have to come home late from a dance thingy.
3. Dress code
-This one is by far the stupidest because who cares what you’re wearing. We are showing up to school and we are doing the work, so why can’t we wear what makes us happy.
-The Dress code is crazy. I find it ridiculous that teachers are so wound up about boys “losing focus” when they look at girls by what they wear. It’s not that distracting, and it’s annoying that girls have to base their clothing off of what the school expects of them. Does it really matter if the shirt doesn’t exactly touch fingertips? And will wearing a tank top in the hot sun so bad? Its obnoxious when you can’t even walk down the hallway without having to hid yourself behind students because you’re afraid of getting in trouble.
Blog #11
1. “Greener” Energy- we have the technology, why aren’t we using it to its full potential?
2. Immigrant Control- Illegal immigrants need to be dealt with.
3. the new Michigan law that 16 year olds have a 10 o clock curfew with only one other person in the car- its just ridiculous. 10 pm is way to early, even just babysitting you wouldn’t be leaving until 11 or 12. And having more people in the car saves gas money, which many kids pay themselves. Awful law that shouldn’t happen.
Not so much in Michigan, but in states like Arizona, there are major problems with immigrants. They take over the state and take jobs from deserving citizens. Some also bring in dangerous drugs and weapons to our country. A close friend of mine lives in Arizona and has vented to me about how annoying this is and has told me some information on what has been done to help. The governor of Arizona asked Obama for help on this, and what did they get? A sign. A sign saying something along the lines of “don’t be an illegal immigrant”. Now, how about giving them a way to not be illegal? It’s very hard to become a U.S. citizen without being born into it, and if it was easier, it would help sort out the immigrants that come illegally for a better life and the ones that come for dangerous reasons. Cops in Arizona had to resort to racial profiling to try and catch these immigrants. It’s too big of a risk to let them go unnoticed. If the government set up a better system to allow people from foreign countries to become citizens, we could easily clear out the immigrants that weren’t here for the right reasons. Obama needs to do more than just put up a sign. Let’s be honest, if you were an illegal immigrant, would a sign have any actual affect on you? Probably not. Setting up a new system to help immigrants become U.S. citizens would help a good portion of our country and it deserves to be at the top of the to do list.
It’s no secret that the world isn’t perfect; the United States is no exception. There are quite a few things in this country that should be changed. For instance, the economy. Our economy (although not as bad as it used to be), is very, very bad. We need to create more jobs, and stop outsourcing already existing jobs to other countries, such as India. Also, we need to begin to control the immigration problem in the United States. All that has to be done is we need to increase security on the border, so as to keep illegal immigrants out. Another issue is Social Security. The whole idea of social security is a great idea, but the way it’s run is so blatantly asinine. It’s very simple. All that needs to occur is some simple reconstruction.
1. The first thing I think the United States should look at to try and reform would be immigration. Right now many people are upset with the people coming into this country, but maybe if the government provided more programs that helped immigrants to learn about how the country works and the language here there would be less conflict between people.
2. The second thing I think this country should reform with would be our use of energy. Let’s face it we use up energy like there will be no end. few turn lights on in our house and when we leave the room we don’t bother to turn them off even if we don’t plan on coming back for awhile. Something should be down about this.
3. Something I think the state should look into reforming is the driving age and the curfew. I think that once you hit an age, like eighty, you should not be allowed to drive alone anymore. There have been countless times I have been driving and the old man in front of can barely be seen over the seat and he is swerving in the lane. There are plenty of other ways to get around at an elderly age, like buses, and maybe if the government provided more transportation opportunities for the elderly there would be less accidents with them.
Immigration should go on top of the country’s to do list, because a lot of people seem to have an issue with it. Moving into this country is a lot of hard work and maybe if there were more places to learn the language and the culture better everyone would get along.
Five things that need to be changed on a local, state, and national level are: Lay-offs in education; better and less hassle airport security; and an easier method for immigrants to gain citizenship. One that I am very angry about is how we keep cutting and cutting on spending by laying off teachers. The teachers are what we need more of, not more computers and T.V.s that are rarely on. With fewer teachers, the classes become larger and some teachers, such as the ones at Beverly Hills Elementary, have more work given to them. For example, the counselors are now counselors, reading specialists, and enrichment teachers. Then with larger classes, the teachers are overloaded with work, retarding their grading and ability to give their students feedback. This, in turn, is unproductive and hurts student grades. Another part in the laying off of teachers is that many senior teachers are being forced to retire, just to save money. Then they hire “the best” teachers for the lowest price. It’s like they are shopping for cheap things that look nice, but probably won’t last very long. These inexperienced teachers are sometimes hired from completely different regions, and these teachers have no clue how the system here works. Some of these teachers are then placed to teach higher level courses which they don’t have any experience teaching. If they won’t change this teacher-hiring method, they should at least give the teachers who have taught regular classes the longest the chance to teach higher level courses, while they should give regular classes to the newer teachers. So I believe that the most important is to cut back not on teachers, but on unnecessary frivolities such as large plasma screen t.v.s that pointlessly decorate our hallways.
Although there are many important issues in America today that I believe deserve to be addressed, I think the most important issues are those of energy, health care, gay marriage rights, and education.
America has fallen far behind in respects to taking care of the planet we live on, with Switzerland, Norway, and Costa Rica sailing ahead, according to ecofriendlydaily.com. This is an issue that obviously needs to be addressed in the near future, as time is limited due to the decaying number of available natural resources and the time it will take to remodel the infrastructure and our energy companies to suit the new energy system.
For as long as anyone can remember, America has been a leader in quality of life. Yet, in recent years, U.S. health care has fallen behind that of other countries. This issue speaks for itself. U.S. Gov, step it up.
Gay marriage has been an extremely controversial issue for quite a while now, and I don’t think that it needs to be this big of an issue. In America, we should have the right to fall in love with and marry whomever we like, as long as that does not infringe on the rights of either partner. ‘Nuff said.
Finally, we come to the mega-issue. Education. For so long, education in America has been viewed as the gold standard upon which all other educational systems are judged. I believe, however, that education in America, especially with regard to public schools, has fallen behind, and this sentiment is verified by CBS News, stating that “South Korea has the most effective education system in the world’s richest countries, with Japan in second place and the United States and Germany near the bottom”.
This is a problem, as education is truly the way to elevate one’s standing and better oneself in the modern world; and a nation without intelligent citizens cannot hope to survive. Therefore, I believe that this is the most important issue in America at the present, and not only our great country, but our children and their children who eventually inherit it, deserve the immediate attention of our government.
One thing in the United States that needs reforming is the education system. Budgets in schools keep getting cut and schools don’t have enough money. This means we don’t get updated textbooks, new books to read for English class, and our teachers don’t get paid enough. Tax money should be given to schools so that they can avoid these problems. Schools without enough money are also likely to have classes which are too large, which in turn affects learning abilities.
Another thing that needs to be reformed is smoking laws. I don’t think people should be allowed to smoke in public at all, anywhere. A person smoking in public is not only gross, but also affects the people around them who have to inhale the smoke. If someone wants to endanger lives they can do it on their own time at their own house. I think this would be helpful because it would discourage a lot of people from smoking and reduce the amount of second hand smoke.
At school, something that needs to be fixed is mandatory electives. To start with, the term “mandatory elective” is an oxymoron, how can you mandatorily elect something. Then, there are so many of these classes that they clog up your schedule and prevent you from taking the classes you want or even graduating. Our school offers a lot of really cool classes, but not very many people can take them because they are busy completing their “mandatory” elective requirements. I understand these electives to a certain point, but after a while it becomes pointless to force these electives on us.
The education system is in need of serious reform. It’ s not fair that some classes have more than 40 students in them, while in other schools class sizes are much smaller. There should be a higher tax so that schools can have bigger budgets. If schools have more money, they can buy new textbooks, shrink class sizes, hire more teachers (as well as paying them more), and give their students a better education.
Gay marriage should be legal in the United States. By not allowing homosexual couples to be legally married we are depriving them of their rights (for example, the pursuit of happiness). Some people feel like legalizing gay marriages will somehow hurt marriages between a man and a woman. I don’t see the connection. If you don’t want gay marriage, don’t have one.
The third thing I’d like to reform is on a smaller scale. Everyone (especially people in Orchestra) needs to stop being rude to band students. I understand and accept that the Orchestra works harder than the Band, and their instruments are prettier and more difficult to play than ours, but that doesn’t give them a right to be mean. Calling the band kids slackers, lazy, or untalented is really uncalled for. Generalizations and stereotypes of band students are mostly wrong. Some of us do practice, work hard, and participate in other musical activities outside of school. Not all of us do drugs either. Stereotypes. They’re bad.
High school classes should start later in the day. It’s been scientifically proven that teenagers need more sleep than adults, children, and babies. Forcing us to wake up before 6 a.m. five days a week is cruel and unusual punishment. Many students walk to school or to their bus stops. Because school starts so early, this walk is usually done in the dark. This is dangerous. Many teenagers wear dark colors which makes it hard for cars to see them, so they could get hit. If school started later, students wouldn’t have to walk in the dark, so they would be safer.
America, the Land of the Free, is an ever-changing landscape. What was once spacious, hilly lands of freedom are now overcrowded industrial parks—a far cry from their former glory. How to change that and restore it is a daunting task. I plan to address that and more in the following.
Biased politics have plagued our country for as long as anyone can remember. One side says that they’re right, while the other says the opposite. Only large tragedies, such as the 9/11 attacks or the recent tragedy in Tucson, seem to force bipartisanship and change. How messed up is that? How many bodies must hit the floor before real change is seen?
While the bureaucrats in Washington, our supposed voice in government, have been bickering, we have failed the youth of our country. Our education system is in shambles. While Chinese and Indian students are flourishing, the future of our nation fails. What will be the condition of the world if this path remains the same? It will be a very different world indeed.
The ever-growing population of our nation and the world is cause for alarm. As Malthus explained, the only solution to decrease a morbidly-growing population is war and famine. As more people realize peace is awesome, the population will grow. But what will occur when our resources run out? What will be left when there are no more forests to cut down? Panic in the streets; anarchy in place of democracy. Very real possibilities if some reform is not gained.
There are countless areas that need reform. For the sake of time, I limit the most prevalent to three. Thank you for reading.
1. Elderly people driving. Moving back, I was under the impression that there were laws restricting people over a certain age from driving. However, I was shocked to find out that I was sharing the road with people so old they could have known people on the Titanic. I can’t tell you how many times I have been cut off by cars who didn’t stop at stop signs or changed lanes without signaling. Annual tests need to be conducted to elderly people over the age of 80 to see if they are indeed capable of driving without putting other peoples lives in danger.
2. The new 1st year drivers guidelines. To start, its BS. Straight up. When you look at the statistics, most crashes are not caused by first year drivers. The most likely time for a teenager to crash is between 3 and 5 on sunny days. Why then, are we banned from driving past 10? There is no reason! Taking away privileges teens have had for many years from current 1st year drivers is absolutely ridiculous.
3. Greener energy. Sustainable energy should be invested, not only to add more jobs but to help the environment. Wind turbines in the ocean could be a huge investment and provide tons of energy for the major cities of America. Damns on the major rivers in America could provide tons of energy also, as China recently put a damn on the biggest river in Asia, and the damn provides more than a million houses with clean energy.
Blog #11
Braxton Allred
1/28/11
Wickersham 4th hr
3 things that I would like to change or reform in a local, state or national environment are 1st off, to change the required amount of classes at groves. At groves, we are required to take many different kinds of class’s to graduate. In some cases, I believe the classes are helpful, but some of the classes are completely unnecessary for my life at all and even impede with other classes that I want to take. For example, I love studding history and social studies, and want to take classes like AP Euro, psychology and philosophy, but since I have to take an art class or a speech class, I’m not given the opportunity to take these classes, and have a bad attitude for them. Another thing I want to reform in our school is the system for finals. In my opinion, taking a huge test at the end of each Trimester is not a good way to test what we learned. All it does is get students stressed, cram a bunch of info into their head s that they barely remember, and in a lot of cases, and lower my grade no matter how hard I study. I have had –A in many classes, only to have a test that’s worth 20% of my grade bring it down to a b+, which severely affects my GPA. Also I enjoy most of the classes I take, and don’t need to take some stupid test at the end of each class to prove I learned something. I for one am not the best test taker, and tend to stress out for them a lot, which only puts me in a bad mood and makes it worse. A third issue is the issue with road construction. I know that the cities are just trying to help the community by making better roads, but many time the government close roads that aren’t even being worked on, creating terrible traffic jams and even accidents amongst the citizens. I don’t mind them closing roads for reconstruction for better roads, but sometimes its ridiculous and causes even more problems for everyone. One last issue that needs to be changed in our nation is the way college football’s “play-off” system works. Right now it is a bunch of random bowl games that most people don’t care about, featuring 6-5 teams that aren’t very good. Not only that, but it discriminates specific college leagues like the WAC and MWC, and doesn’t give them to have the same chance of making a good bowl games like orange bowl, sugar bowl or even the national championship. The worst part is that many times the teams from these leagues have better teams than those of the “automatic” qualifiers, where the teams are often weak like in the ACC and Big East. They should just switch to a playoff system taking the best teams in the nation and based on seeding and ranking, have the teams play each other for a championship game. This would not only create just as much revenue, but make a more intense, entertaining post regular season system of competition.
President Obama presented ideas regarding reform in his State of the Union Address. I believe energy is a major issue here in America. The president mentioned this in his speech and I totally agree. We have to find a way to get off of foreign oil. We put ourselves in a bad spot with our dependency on other countries for energy sources. Wind and solar have become alternates but neither have really become popular and taken off. Electrical cars are good and all but aren’t very efficient. Education and immigration are other factors that need attention. Over the past few years schools have been struggling and have had to make sacrifices like budget and teacher cuts. Ideally even American would have access to a good public education. We should strive for smaller classes and a low student to teacher ratio. Immigration, especially in the south is a problem for many. Citizens complain that illegal immigrants (or should I say undocumented immigrants) bring drugs and violence with them and over crowd and devalue their communities. I understand that they aren’t happy and the government should find a way to get these immigrants into the system so they can start paying taxes and make a contribution and not take advantage of our country. Lastly, I believe that lowering the drinking age to 18 would be a positive change. I am not just saying this because I want to go party or anything. Many teenagers drink underage and then fear to seek help when needed because of fear of getting caught. Kids have been left to die because of negligence by friends who don’t want to get in trouble. When someone turns 18 they are legally considered an adult and have the right to vote, join the military and get married. If they can make major decisions like that shouldn’t they be able to make the decision to drink or not?
The Dependency we have on oil- i think we are way to dependent on resources like oil and coal and they are going to run out if we arent careful! Also, the fact that we get most of our oil from countries in the middle east like saudi arabia and iraq is just enabling us even more! we need to be independent of other countries or we might fall back into a depression!
Immigrants- we really need to control all the immigration in our country. there are people living here who are getting money from the jobs they work at but aren’t contributing to society at all by paying taxes like the rest of us, so that really needs to be put in order of controlled a little bit at least!
Morals- people in this country are getting to be horrible about having good old fashioned values. the things that we hold in the spotlight are frivolous and selfish and we don’t actually look at the big picture of life, just what is enjoyable and pleasurable to us at/in that moment, no matter the cost.
the most important issue, i think, is the fact that the people in this country put value on stupid, shallow things, while closing their eyes to the real world around them. the fact that we pay basketball players, baseball players, football players, and other types of athletes millions of dollars to shoot goals, score touchdowns, or hit home runs is just ridiculous! I’m not trying to say that what they do doesn’t require some practice and skill, i just don’t think we should “worship” the players and give them bunches of money when our economy is going down a downward spiral! the same thing with Actors and Actresses in hollywood! they might say that they donated this amount of millions to that charity in Africa, but what about the people living in their own country? You don’t have to go half way around the world to find problems, we have plenty right here! and the worst part about it is that the population looks up to these people and strive to look, act, and basically be like them! instead of focusing on how to educate and better their communities, young girls are looking at themselves in the mirror and longing for higher cheekbones, fuller lips, and the body of Jennifer Aniston.
Overall, i think that we should stop putting all these people on a pedestal and worshiping them, and start thinking about better ways to make the world a clean, respectful place for the next generation.
Oh geezs where to begin? Okay if I had the ability to change four things (two on the national level one on a state level and one on a local level) I would instill universal tolerance of every race, gender, and especially for people with different sexual preferences. So basically I asked for world peace and I really don’t think I need to elaborate much more on that one. I would also like to increase the salaries of teachers, I’m not sucking up teachers are underpaid, well the good teachers are.
For a state level I would like to have all cars in Michigan be as environmentally friendly and efficient as possible. I would also like to have companies keep their jobs in state. This is to stimulate the American economy. Something local I would like to change is the so called “fashion statement of saggy pants” I do not understand this, were these people originally fat and then they got skinny so now all they have are these oversized pants?
Upon further elaboration I would like to see teachers paid more. It is a safe argument to make that they have the most important job in the universe (every other professions learned there skills from a teacher) so why dose an average teacher make $47,602? (http://www.employmentspot.com/employment-articles/teacher-salaries-by-state/) a professional football player might make millions and they would only work for about 5 years of their life. My mom works hard and deserves a better paycheck (she wont tell me how much she makes but I’m willing to bet its not what she deserves)
Three laws I think should be reformed are the immigration law trying to be passed in Arizona, the new curfew law for 16 year olds and increasing taxes for the upper class. First I’d like to explain the new law from Arizona. They are trying to pass a law that says if you parents aren’t citizens of the United States, and you are born in the state of Arizona, that you are not legally a citizen. Even though this law isn’t completely pointless there are a few problems with it. First and foremost it is unconstitutional; therefore without two thirds vote from the house and senate it can’t be passed. Another problem it applies to all immigrants who aren’t citizens, not just illegals.
The next law is the ten pm curfew for teens. Even though the reason is for teen “safety” it is unrealistic. Most people aren’t home by ten either way and this will just give officers a reason to pull over anyone who looks young after ten pm and write more tickets to fill their quota.
The last law I think should be reformed is the taxes for the upper class. It doesn’t make sense to be giving them tax breaks like they have in past years while our nation is around fourteen trillion dollars in debt. If anyone should receive tax breaks it is the hardworking citizens of the middle and lower class, not the richest men and women in America. These are the three laws I think should be carefully looked at and reassessed.
One thing we need to reform is education. Without education our nation will never be able to progress, and change. But depending on where you live and who your family is, people do not learn at the same level. Teachers don’t get paid enough although they have one of the most important jobs in the country: educating the youth of America. Education standards should become more even and at the same level across the nation. This gives every student a more equal opportunity to reach a higher level of learning.
The second thing we should spend time reforming is health care. A lot of the times people cannot help getting cancer, or a genetic disease. But they are punished if they cannot pay for the medical care that is needed to keep them alive. Many families lose their homes because the medical bills piled up. This isn’t right. Sickness and injury are a part of life and people shouldn’t be judged because they get fatally wounded in an accident or have a genetic disease. This happens to a lot of families, some have a lot of money so they can pay the bills, others have great healthcare so they can pay the bills. The ones who aren’t able to shouldn’t be punished for that.
Cleaner energy and fuel is the third reform I have chosen. We will not be around forever and we should want to world to be in the best condition possible for our descendants. We will not have to face the consequences of using unhealthy and dirty energy, but they will. We change our ways to become better people; we want to make our government the best so the future is better. The same idea applies to keeping the world as clean and useable as possible. We want to make the future the best it could possibly be. It may take time to get the cleaner energy options to a point where there are common household items but it is a cause worth investing time and money into.
1.Homelessness – there are too many people without shelter. There should be more places opened for the homeless to spend a couple of nights, especially in the winter.
2.Education – there should be more people exposed to better schooling. Some schools just don’t do the job of really educating the children.
3.Bad Roads – Roads that have potholes that have not been fixed are dangerous to drivers. Poorly maintained roads are the cause of many accidents.
I think Education should be at the top of the list in the United States. We as a nation should be concerned about what our children are learning in public schools. I know that Birmingham is a very good school district, and we have nothing to be ashamed of. But there are many schools out there that are not getting the quality of education we get at Groves. In the late 19th century, our nation began to give more government money to public schooling. Our ancestors realized that without proper schooling, our country could never advance. How come we can’t realize this now? Sure times have changed, but we should still be concerned about what our children are learning in school. If we don’t prepare them no for the future, we won’t have much of one. Technology is advancing faster each year. We need the next generation of workers to be able to keep up with the newest technology so we can stay a world power. But without proper education, our country might sink to the bottom of the list. And we as Americans cannot let that happen.
1. I think that a main reform is to restrict the use of producing american goods in other countries. For instance the auto companies- Ford has around 50% or more of there car parts made in mexico. Hershey switched out of pennsylvania and moved there company to mexico. I think that if a company is shown to have there base and major jobs lined up in America, there should be a minimum amount that is actually done by americans. This would increase jobs in America, and in this economy, you could pay the labor that the corporations would pay in other countries to americans since there would be much less complaining now.
2. I also think that reforms should be done to help people keep there homes. Especially for families that have children. The banks should not be able to throw out a family because they can not afford payments due to things such as a job loss.I don’t have a real idea but maybe there could be larger loan opportunities for the larger a family or smaller morgage payments every month if you lose your job.
3. I think we need to reform our use on waste and energy.I think there should be stricter laws on recycling or any laws at all because we use to much and it is not a secret. If they created some sort of law for recycling that involved small fines, im sure people would try to recycle more than we do now. Also, i think there should be increases on research for cars with other energy uses than gas with the prices still shooting up. Hybrids was a big step but maybe there should be reforms to make all cars have the option to come in a hybrid. I think this should be a major reform since it involves the entire country. We are fighting a war over oil and this reform would not only help our troops get home, but it would improve our environment and the amount of cash left in the people’s wallets.
1. On a national level, I don’t think there should be a graduated income tax system. Instead, everyone should have to pay a flat tax each year, which is where there is a set percentage of tax for everyone. It is unfair for the people who work harder and earn more money to have to pay more (proportionally) than other people. This discourages people from being more productive, and less productivity is the last thing this country needs.
2. The US could also improve their relations with China. Right now, we look at China as both a political and economic threat. The US needs to accept the fact that China has the second largest economy, the largest auto economy, and the capability of passing the US to become the largest economy. Although I’m not sure I know a way to carry out this suggestion, the first step would be to accept China’s current position in the world. This should be on the top of the list, because right now, people are concerned that China is our biggest competitor, and the US has to work harder to surpass them. If the US and China had a better relationship, it’s possible that both countries could benefit from it.
3. Third, the Unites States should come up with a better energy policy. Creating one million electric cars will not exactly be effective, and trying to convert everything to solar and wind energy would not help as much as the tree- huggers say it will. A better energy policy would include ideas to cover all aspects of better energy use. America’s natural resources are not endless, so we currently rely heavily on foreign resources. When the foreign resources run dry or become unavailable due to political instability, the US government better be ready to support our country with cleaner energy all around, not just more miles to the gallon.
4. Finally, I think the US should reform the current health care problem. It has caused lots of division and divisiveness among citizens. A plan needs to be made that can suit almost everyone, because without that plan, there will always be a large group of people desperately wishing for better health care. Yes, everyone should be entitled to health care, but right now it’s too difficult for everyone to access. If we could get to a point where health care wasn’t as difficult to obtain, then more people could get the health care that they need.
1. Overuse of Fossil Fuels- Fossil fuels are non- renewable resources, so if we keep on using them at the rate we are now, sooner or later they are going to run out. Not to mention, they are polluting our environment.
This needs to go at the top of the country’s agenda because the reserves are being depleted faster than they are being used. Instead of using non-renewable resources, we should start using renewable resources to meet energy needs. The burning of fossil fuels emits tons of carbon dioxide, which isn’t good for our health or the environment. Carbon dioxide is a factor of global warming, and this is something we are trying to prevent. The government should find and use other ways that are safe for our health and environment to produce energy. Also, as the supply of fossil fuels decrease, the price of their byproducts increase, which isn’t good for any economy.
2. Amount of Hours That Parents Work- Parents should only be required to work until 5 at the latest, because they need to be home with their children. Kids have social lives: they hang out with their friends, are active in sports, or just need to be somewhere. My parents usually come home at 6:30, and it’s really hard for me to go somewhere when I don’t have a ride to get there, because my parents are at work.
3. Lower Income Tax- The government should lower the income tax because people work hard for their money, and they deserve to keep all of it. No part of the money should go to the government, because it is unfair for the people who earned the money.
1. One thing that needs to be reformed is our use of energy. We need to get rid of dirty energy sources such as oil and coal, we already have enough pollution in the air from cars and factories. Cleaner sources of energy that we could use are wind and solar.
2. Another thing that needs to be reformed is immigration. It should be easier for people to apply for U.S. citizenship, this would minimize illegal immigrants.
3. A big thing that we need to change is education. There are so many budget cuts towards school, such as buses. Many schools used to be able to transport sports teams and clubs to other schools or gathering areas. I remember when i was in middle school we would have a bus that would take our swim team to the school where would have a swim meets. Now, we rarely have buses that take us to our meets. Also, we should swap the high school schedule with the elementary schedule. Young kids naturally go to bed earlier and get up earlier, as opposed to high school students who go to bed later and get up later. High school is more crucial to one’s future, and it is very important that you get enough sleep so that you can perform well at school and not fall asleep during class.
Immigration: I think we should let immigrants come into the country. But we need to fix the illegal immigrants problem. Maybe the government should provide more programs to help the immigrants to settle and learn the language and how the country runs.
Driving and Curfew: The older people are too dangerous to have on the roads. I’ve seen multiple times older people driving really dangerously on the lanes. Maybe the government could provide programs for the transportation for the elders, it would be so much saver on the roads. Also I saw that they added a new law that teens of 16 years have a curfew of 10 pm. Which is completely ridiculous considering that some have jobs like baby-sitting that requires later working. I think that it should stay at 12 pm.
Recycling: I think America needs to be more green. America needs to reduce wasting products, reduce air and water pollution and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.
Education: America needs to hire more teachers instead of cutting them off. In some classes there are way too many students and some teachers are given too much students. With too many students in a class it becomes unproductive and the result to this is lower grades. Also good teachers aren’t being paid enough. Instead of paying them correctly, school districts buy new materials that are sometimes unnecessary like a TV’s in school hall ways. If the teachers can’t get paid correctly because there isn’t then we should have higher taxes to pay for it. It is unacceptable that the good teachers are paid insufficiently.
1) Health care. There isn’t any reason that everybody can’t either have health care or apply for some sort of coverage.
2) Immigration. America is a melting pot, but there has to be a more effective way to combat illegal immigration while still allowing people to apply for citizenship efficiently.
3) Drinking age. People are already drinking well under 21. Either enforce it more, or lower the drinking age to stop unnecessary court sessions that jam up the system.
The thing I think the U.S. Government needs to change the most is healthcare. As it was, everyone “could” get healthcare, but insurance agencies would deny people because of pre existing conditions. As the health care bill stands now, it’s done good by getting rid of insurance agencies abilities to deny coverage for ridiculous reasons, but giving everyone free health care isn’t practical. It needs more time to be tweaked so that we can have the best health care possible.
If I could reform three things in this country I would make the death penalty illegal, eliminate off shore oil drilling and work to make students more determined in their work. I think that it is important to eliminate the death penalty because it is just plain wrong to kill people. I don’t care what kind of heinous crime they committed you still can’t kill them. We have prisons to keep the public safe from them the death penalty is over kill (no pun intended), besides an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind (or dead in this case). This needs to be changed immediately and be put at the top of our countries agenda. We also need to eliminate off shore drilling. It isn’t fair to the sea life to have the danger of an oil spill looming over them twenty four seven. I know that it can be “good” for the marine life to have the legs of the oil rigs in the water because they can grow coral reefs but an oil rig simply isn’t a good spot for a coral reef. What if there is an accident? They all die and that is not remotely okay. Students in school also have to start to be more determined at school. I know a lot of people who don’t give a hoot about their grades and that is not a positive way to live life. They don’t have ambition and won’t ever get anywhere. We’re talking about the world’s future! Does a future that sits at home all day watching television sound promising? No it doesn’t.
1. I think that all states should have reform that makes a strong growing income tax. There are a lot of wealthy people who have what the poor would like too have. The poor are having many financial issues that are hard to overcome. For example, Detroit have a lot abandoned buildings that can be fixed but there is no one who can repair it if they don’t have the money. Also, with the Detroit Public Schools, they don’t have enough tax money to pay the teachers so besides the fact that there are disobedient children that they have to work with but they are also not getting paid enough to do the job. There should not be any reason why the Detroit Schools have to struggle since education is the most important during childhood.
2. Immigration: All immigrants need to be watched out for. There should be strict laws for foreigners coming in and out of the United States
3. Dress Code: The dress code should not be enforced the way it is. People should be able to wear whatever they want to wear. If someone has a problem with what the employee or student wears then that person should buy the clothes for them. If there not going to then they shouldn’t have anything to say. For example, when kids are going to school there parents are buying them clothes, if the parent bought them, then it should be presentable enough for the school, unless the child buys their clothes. But its up to the child at school or the employee at work whether it looks good or not.
1. Michigan’s law on teenage drivers and their curfew- changing teenagers curfews from 12 to 10 pm, and also not allowing us to have more than one person in the car is ridiculous. Most teenagers babysit to earn money, and sometimes, the jobs don’t end until around 11 or 12 pm. How does Michigan expect to teach teenagers at a young age a good work ethic, if they don’t even let them drive home after their job?
2. Creating more jobs- with this economy going on, I feel like it is necessary for more jobs to be made so that America can start to get in better shape. There are millions of unemployed people out on the streets, and there are stores with “We’re Hiring” signs hanging up on the windows. Businesses should try a little harder to create more jobs.
3. Global warming and alternate energy- the ozone layer is decreasing in size every day, and as a teenager now, chances are, that when I am an adult the world will change much more drastically. We need to reduce the amount of energy we use so that we can live a full life, and not make the world a worse environment then what it already is.
I think that Global warming and alternate energy should go at the top of the country’s agenda because we only have one world that we’re living in, and I’m pretty sure that it can’t be replaced. People need to think more about recycling and conserving energy because this is what they are leaving for their generations to come. This also includes the country in helping how to have clean energy such as windmills, or solar panels. This is a big issue and should be a top priority if the human race wants to keep on living.
Three things I would like to reform:
1. I think the government should have more control over guns because the number of gun related accidents and crimes including the Gabrielle Giffords incident in our countries is off the charts and gun ownership is unnecessary.
2. I think that gays and lesbians should be included in the basic civil rights protections because they are equal to everyone else. Discriminating against sexual orientation is just as bad as discriminating against race.
3. I think that campaigns for congress seats and the presidency should all be publicly financed so that rich and poor people have an equal contribution in deciding who their leaders are.
In my opinion this third point should be brought to the forefront of the country’s lengthy agenda. Over time our country has come to its senses more and more about voting equality. Over time more laws have been passed that give people direct access to having their say about their choice for a candidate for different positions. Because all men are were created equals the rich and the poor should have the same say in who we select as leaders of this country. Unfortunately, this statement is only true at the surface. Voters all get one vote towards their candidate of choice; fine. The problem lies in the funding; in other words, rich people are able to step above equality by giving their candidate the edge with private funding. I find this to be incredibly unfair as it strongly favors the power of those with capital. Public funding represents the public and should be the only way that campaigns are funded. Everyone deserves a true fair say! Hopefully this can be altered in the future.
Salaries of Athletes: This is seriously ridiculous, these people are allowed to live in a dream world where even those just starting make more money in on year then I may ever in my entire life. It’s B.S!
Increase the pay of teacher: the people that prepare us for the real word and act as our guides are providing one of the greatest services to our country, yet their pay seems to be almost an afterthought, some average Joe working a desk job at some company who will never do anything of much importance gets better pay and benefits, lets reward teachers for all the work they do for us!
Student driving laws: the law coming into effect in march that prohibits anyone without a level 3 drivers license with a curfew of 10pm and only two passengers is ridiculous, 10pm? really? its just pathetic and stupid
What have athletes done to deserve so much money? yes they are entertainers in a huge industry yet they get paid like their kings. In my life i will porbably not make anything close to what a roookie can make in a single year. you would think that after a couple million they’d be content, but instead they only want more. the money is not deserved. all that money we seem to give for almost nothing could be better spent restoring cities and on various projects. if athletes gave back instead of taking maybe we wouldn’t have such a big divide between the rich and the poor and maybe the economy wouldn’t suck so much. Seriously their sense of entitlement and greed is sickening and it needs to change.
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The government should reform immigration, education, and reusable energy.
1. There are some serious issues with the immigration system in America. We can’t have immigrants being shot or arrested or deported back to where they came from for crossing the border. The government needs to get rid of the minute men and self-appointed border patrol in favor of helping immigrants gain access into our country safely and legally. What the minute men are doing is illegal and immoral, and their ‘patriotism’ is reflecting quite badly on America.
2. Education in America has hit a peak; hopefully this won’t be its last. What with all the new technology, though, some districts are having a hard time keeping up, especially those in Michigan. Many school districts have had their budgets cut, and the students who attend these unfortunate schools are suffering. Art and music classes, so vital to a child’s development, are always the first to be cut; sports will be next, because according to multiple boards of education, these aren’t catalogued as ‘necessary’. Schools that are unable to afford anything but the bare essentials are merging with other schools, swelling class sizes and slashing salaries all in one move. With such a surplus of students, there isn’t enough equipment to go around; this leaves some students behind and certainly means that certain schools and districts are below par.
3. Reusable energy should be a major concern in America. We are running these finite resources into the ground – literally. Within a couple centuries, the most commonly used supplies will be gone and we’ll be forced to utilize water, wind, sun, and other replenishable stores. We’ll all live healthier if we slowly scale back the use of fossil fuels; it will also help the economy. Without sky high gas prices, we can retrieve our own energy through solar panels and wind mills. We’ll have more to worry about than our country’s problems if our entire planet has no way to readily move forward without fossil fuels.
Jacob Seid
#1 Educators should be paid more. This is because teachers teach and prepare their students as kids to be the famous, rich and powerful people that make up the world. I don’t think all the credit for being great should just go to that person, it should go to ( within a reasonable amount) to the teachers who taught that person how to be successful
#2.I think that the government should regulate how and when the elderly are allowed to drive because they cause the most problems due to their failing 5 senses. When a person cannot see, hear, smell, touch or taste, to a certain extent. they should not be allowed to drive because it creates a threat to everyone on or near the road. Their driving should be restricted because the loss/injury of people from something that can be prevented with a simple and effective law, in my opinion, is stupid. The government should get on that asap
#3 I think the fuel we use for our cars should be reformed. Not only making it greener and not imported from unpleasant places outside of the U.S, it should not deprive the driver of driving pleasure. Therefore i think that the person (preferably american) who discovers how to separate hydrogen from the oxygen in water, collect it efficiently, and compress it for use in hydrogen cell vehicles not only be rich, but be the savior of the automobile. Because whether or not we like oil, it will eventually run out and we will need another fuel source. Thankfully hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and therefore we will never run out of it. An example of this type of fuel used in a car is the Honda FCX clarity which is only leased in California. The thing that is so great about it, the motor is very simple with one moving part, yet amazingly, it is still a Honda. It still seats five, it still has all the options drivers might want, it looks okay depending on who you are talking to, and although it is the car of the future, what makes it so cool is that it is just like the car of today. Just like a car today, the Honda can go to a Shell gas station and fill up with hydrogen using a normal pump and it has zero emissions. Despite the money that needs to be spent on figuring out the process, it will be the future. I mean it cannot be more expensive and more challenging than drilling for oil
1. I think that there should be state and federal laws against telemarketers and door-to-door salesmen. It is an intrusion to have people call your house at all hours of the night trying to sell you items on the phone. People have to stop what they are doing to answer the phone only to find the caller is trying to tell them something they have absolutely no interest in buying. Additionally, its insulting to have to pay the phone bill only to have outsiders use it to intrude on your peace.
2. The Michigan Legislature should reinstate the Michigan promise scholarship. Several years ago, Governor Granholm promised graduating high school seniors that if they scored a 21 or higher on the ACT, they would be given $3,000 toward college. Last year the legislature cut the program even though many students were still in college and had not received their $3,000. It is inconceivable that the governor broke the promise she made to the students. How can students grow up to respect the government if the government can’t even keep their promises? Notice it is called the promise scholarship, not the broken promise scholarship.
3. All retailers should be banned from using plastic bags. Plastic does not decompose in the landfill and too much plastic is ending up in the ocean. Scientists have found the majority of fish in the ocean are eating plastic. We need to be vitally concerned about taking care of our environment. Instead of using plastic bags, customers should ask for paper bags or reuse their own bags.
The most important reform is the use of plastic because if we continue with our dependence on plastic, we may not even be here in 100 years.
One reform that should take place is general civil improvements. This would include improved public transportation and increased recycling capabilities of cities. Compared to other developed countries, the United States has a poor public transportation system, and changes could be made to expand bussing and rail. This reform would lead to the alleviation of other problems, including traffic. Although America has made major strides towards recycling in recent years, there is still a long way to go, and the process begins with local recycling.
Another reform that should occur is business regulation. Certain industries have prospered due to a lack of government regulation, including the banking and finance, and, as President Obama mentioned, the oil companies. However, these types of companies have had success partially due to their exploitation of the government and American consumers. Oil companies receive billions of dollars in subsidies, and the financial industry received a massive bailout after their poor management and corruption led to issues. Congress needs to stop these blatant abuses of the American government and people. In addition, tariffs should be raised to protect American industry and reduce foreign competition. Tariffs are currently low or nonexistent to prevent other countries from levying tariffs against American products, but United States companies could still easily survive by marketing their products to the large domestic market.
The most major reform that needs to take the most immediate effect, however, is gun control. Although the right to bear arms is protected in the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, there should be increased regulation, as some Americans are stretching the law to its extreme. Due to an open carry law in Arizona, my uncle saw a man with an unconcealed fire arm at a carryout restaurant. However, concealed guns can be even worse. In a confrontation, a person with a gun might lose their temper and shoot the person they are arguing with. Americans should be allowed exclusively to openly carry guns, with no concealed weapons allowed, and only after they have attained a permit through extensive training. Guns are deadly weapons, and American lives are at risk. Congress must act quickly to lay down the law on guns to prevent more unnecessary American fatalities.
There are thousands of issues that need reforming, but the ones that jump out at me personally are: researching and utilizing renewable energy alternatives, the education system, gay marriage rights, and government spending.
Energy: There are so many things that we could be (should be) doing to find clean energy options. Wind turbines and photovoltaics can be used to generate electricity and more of the jobs that we so desperately need. The potential for electric cars should be explored so that we can decrease our dependency on imported gas.
Education: There is honestly so much wrong with this that I hardly know what to say. They’ve got to stop cutting jobs just to decrease expenses. Isn’t the most important part of society the next generation? Everyone should have the greatest educational opportunities possible so that they can become a productive part of the workforce. Schools need money to work. It’s pretty simple.
Gay Marriage: Really? Is it such a big deal if two people who love each other want to be free to be openly committed to one another? Gay marriage should be legalized for those who want it. It’s not harming anyone. It shouldn’t be this huge deal. If you don’t like it, then don’t look.
Government Spending: We are still have troops overseas. The government shouldn’t be squandering it’s money on these pricey, dangerous, and occasionally pointless maneuvers. Get our troops home!
The issue that should be on top of the government’s agenda is government spending. We are fourteen trillion dollars in debt, (I seem to mention this in every blog. I sense a pattern developing.) can we please find a way to stop sending all the jobs to China and to stop spending billions on the military which is off fighting in a rather meaningless war. We need to develop more jobs here so that we can import less and export more. I think that renewable energy may be starting to open up a new field of jobs that would really be useful to our planet, but I don’t think that it’s enough. I have no idea how we can dig ourselves out of this hole.
1. Driving laws for teens
The new driving laws for teens are crazy. The are very restricting and unreasonable. If I have to drive people to soccer practice how am I supposed to do that? There is no way that kids will be able to carpool with each other. The ten o’clock curfew is also very imitating. What happens if you see a movie that gets out after 10? Am I going to get stuck in Birmingham? Even worse if you go over to a friends, then you will get stuck at there house if you don’t have a ride home. The law makes it much to restricting on us.
2. Spending on the war
The U.S. government spends (and has spent) way to much money on the “war” that we are fighting in the middle east. At this point no one knows why we are there. The Government claims that we are fighting terrorists and making life better for citizens. But all we have done is spend billions on something that will never be “won”. There is no end in sight right now and we need to drastically reduce the amount of money that we are spending.
3. Mass Transit
I think that this is an important issue that many people, especially those living in the suburbs, don’t care much about. But for those living in cities sometimes owning in car is just not an option. If we has better more streamline mass transit systems in major cities, and even in smaller towns it would bring in revenue for the gov. and also reduce pollution and traffic because fewer cars will be on the roads.
4. Public School Funding
Public school funding is an issue that needs to be dealt with by the government. Educating children for the future is a very important thing, and if schools don’t have proper equipment then they cannot do that. The schools in our country need the support of the government. If teachers are teaching students that have books with missing pages, or asking them to type papers and there are no computers, then the youth will not learn everything that they potentially can.
5. Immigration (most important issue)
I think that the government needs to take a hard line on this issue. They need to either completely cut off immigration, or work on getting illegal aliens registered and making the immigration process quicker.If they take the first option then they have to do many things. First would be increase the amount of people that are going out and deporting people that have over stayed there Visa. The gov. also has to make it a lot harder to get a Visa so that way they can track the people that the give home to, since there will be fewer of them. If they decide to make it easier they need to quicken the process of getting into the country. They also need to make available for people already in the country the option to be a citizen
Teachers
There are several failing school districts across the nation, do we blame the students? Do we blame the parents? Or do blame the teachers. A lot students are failing school and one of the main reasons are the teachers. There are educators who have lost their zeal to teach, or basically just not good teachers. I feel personally they should not be able to teach students and there should be some type of policy or reform where there is some type of annual testing or evaluation to ensure to the students are being educated. This is not to put the full responsibility on teachers, but should be held accountable. Students are the next generation and for teacher they do have a responsibility along with the students and their parents and guardians themselves to make sure that students are well prepared for what is awaiting for them.
College Athletes
College athletes should be paid or receive some type of stipend. The main sports being basketball and football. This will prevent the mini cases of athletes taking money, property, cars, and homes from boosters. Many of these students that play football, and basketball, the majority of them being from the inner cities or just from low income homes. It’s not just a wholesome game anymore, its a billion dollar industry. The colleges are profiting from these athletes. There so much money being made and it should never be problems for a college athlete receive gifts from boosters in order to maintain, and help their families.
Inhale…Exhale
So for those of us non smokers, it would be greatly appreciated if public places did not allow people to smoke. If people smoke outside, they should not be standing right in front of the location where smoking is banned. I mean you mine as well just come in the place. Perhaps a 30 ft away from location would work. Not sure if this idea would ever be turned into a reform due to our current President admitting to being a smoker, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. It would also be nice if the person who just got done smoking to wait outside, so you can’t smell them, but yeah just my opinion.
1) Healthy Energy Sources
I think America needs to step up their game. Other countries are making efforts to try to convert to alternative fuel services. I think that the whole world needs to work together to try to get everyone off of this severe oil dependence. Not to mention other things that are ruining our environment.
2) Judging Based on Sexual Preference
This is a huge problem that you hear even more about than racial prejudices today. I hear about things like teenagers getting kicked out of their house by their parents because they refuse to accept their son or daughter for who they are. I don’t see why people hate them or are so freaked out. I don’t understand how it’s any different from anyone else.
3) Pressure on Teenagers
The pressure on teenagers is evident in society. It’s the pressure to be the best in everything we do, especially academics. With the economy, not many people can afford to go to college so what’s the only solution? Scholarships. And what do you need to get to have the best scholarships possible? Amazing grades. So, teenagers kill themselves over school work to try to get into the college of their dreams so they can even begin to try to succeed in life.
I think the most pressing matter of the ones I have above is probably Judging based on sexual preference. It’s not a government issue or something that could save the planet but it’s something that could really save lives if everyone got over their prejudice. Prejudice people claim it’s unnatural or disgusting. But if that’s true you can call anything disgusting. Gay marriage is illegal in many states and I say that anyone can love you ever they want and should be able to without ridicule. The gay teen suicide rate is also up and I think if everyone just tried to be excepting to everyone then we could save lives, we just have to take the first step. I think it will get better soon, as the media is taking a bit of a stand, but we still have a long way to go.
I think that the number of students in a classroom should be reformed because if the teacher is not able to reach the students and help them understand the material that their learning will not be embedded in their minds. Their should be reform in regards to the media that is aimed towards children, the youth is growing up too fast causing them to miss out on the wonders of childhood. I also feel that their should be reforms in animal protection, i think that puppy mills and the death of animals due to overcrowded shelters should be abolished.
The most important of these reforms to me is the size of classrooms. When a child is in a class that is overcrowded, and the teacher is spread too thin all of the students become at a disadvantage. The teachers’ lessons are no longer helping the students learn but become background music for the bustle of the over sized classroom. This causes the kids who have issues with paying attention struggle. If the classrooms are smaller then the teachers message becomes clearer and the students are able to learn more efficiently. In my honors American lit. class, we have 15 students each day we learn something new and exciting plus we have time to sometimes work on homework, ask the teacher questions that were unanswered during the lesson, or just chat a little with our classmates. My American Lit. class is like a family at school,we are all very comfortable with each other making speaking in front of the class much easier, we also have breakfast parties each Friday which gives us all something to look forward to during the week. I feel that all classrooms should be formed in this fasion making learning an enjoyable, beneficial experience.
New rules for 16 year old drivers:
-For one, I think it’s really stupid that you cannot drive more than one person in a car at a time because they will be “distracting”. It’s not our fault we go to schools with long lecture classes that make us A.D.D and no matter WHO is in your car something is going to distract you, I don’t care if your 16 or 52. You can always be distracted and I don’t really think more or less people will make a huge contribution to this. Also, a lot of teenagers get jobs and if they by chance get a late shift than they might not be able to come home. It’s ridiculous if the state thinks you’re old enough to get a job but not drive yourself home after 10PM.
Health Care:
-Obama wants unrealistic things from his country regarding health care and it’s not at all fair:
To start, Obama wants to put way to many people who can’t afford health care on it for free and our country cannot afford that at all. He wants to do this by paying doctors who help these people for 20% less and he just assumes they will keep working! He also assumes that all the big companies will continue giving health care for their employees but ultimately people will ALWAYS do what’s in their economical best interest. One last thing I think is totally wrong is that he’s trying to force young people(as well as others) to buy insurance but kids right out of college generally feel invincible and anyways what’s the likely hood they are going to fall down randomly and break their hips or get diabetes from old age, etc. Kids right out of college can’t afford to spend let’s say $500 a month on health care they are NEVER going to use. It’s wasted money for them, money that could be spent on something much more profitable for the stage they are at in life and they’re age!
besides…you know what they say about assumptions.
Education (in America and just our community as well)
-I am so sick of teachers who don’t care and don’t teach well (or at all) in public school systems. I have no idea what is to blame for this because I think in some ways unions help teachers immensely and in some ways, if you’re talking about a certain type of teacher, it almost gives them a free pass saying they can be lazy which is not fair at all to the students. It’s also really sad that Birmingham Public Schools is one of the top 100 public? school in America and I can still say that I have experienced having a teacher who does not care about the class they teach, but just their paycheck, or was super lazy. Don’t get me wrong many teachers I’ve known are not like this, but if we are one of the top 100 school districts than it can only get worse and I actually have proof that it does because my sister is a teacher in an inner city charter school in New York and they compare data from her schools to public schools around her. Another thing I think is absolutely ridiculous about school systems is that they already have a set college in mind for us walking in. We’ve been told many times that U of M and MSU are our best options in state but when do we ever hear about other options? Some students do not thrive in such a large environment and I’d like to see someone actually consider that for once. Also, our society cannot be built of just great thinkers. Someone NEEDS to become a sanitation engineer, someone NEEDS to drive a bus and I don’t really care if it’s the smartest person in the world or the stupidest, it still needs to happen and if they’re constantly telling us that there is only one type of suitable colleges for us that’s never going to happen. Plus, as our teachers/councilors I think it is SO important that they encourage us to go to college at all! Not everyone is self motivated and if someone by chance doesn’t have the grades to get into our educators connotation of “the best college” than they may give up. What’s really important is to motivate students to go to any type of college that suits their personality and grades. So what if it’s junior college, at least they’re going!!!!!! One last thing, at Groves this is 100% true, you are either ahead of the average or below the average and everything in between you don’t get noticed and you don’t get helped academic wise because technically you are “right where you’re supposed to be” but then you’re just leaving a massive amount of students behind like every teacher promises they won’t. I think that is incredibly unfair.
Four things that I would want to reform in America today are the election process, the ability to create and join political parties, income taxes for everyone, and the educational process and standards. Out of these four, the one that I believe should be at the top of the country’s agenda is the “right” to form and be a part of a political party. Political parties should be illegal, no questions asked. Many people can keep their individual opinions, however we truly need to work as one nation, one union, together, to really create the “change” everyone was looking for back in 2008. Another reason we need to be ridden of political parties is that if other countries notice us fighting amongst ourselves, trying to resolve pitiful political background deals, other countries could seize the opportunity to possibly attack or attempt to do some things in the world economy. Also, the failure of not listening to our first and arguably greatest president, George Washington, has gotten us into trouble before. I guess no one decided to listening to him when he said that the formation of political parties in the united States would basically tear the country apart and destroy it. The greediness and flaws of every single politician in the United States tossed everything our first president suggested for the future and threw it away. The political parties in the country are fighting for one thing, and one thing only—money. Because in today’s society the only that matters is how much money you have or who can corner the gold market the best and fastest, creates these flaws and the “need” of our American citizens to feel like they need to join a political party to be heard. I say have one thing to say to the American population: If we truly want change, it needs to start with the working and middle class, and the first step we can all make is to not join a political party. Not independent, but no party. In respect for President Washington, when it is time for me to register for a political party, I will put down the George Washington party.
1. Insurance- My grandma recently retired and with that came a new insurance, but the problem is that she can only get certain prescriptions filled with certain pharmacies. This is a big problem, because she is elderly and has a hard time understanding what she has to do in order to get her medicine. If the health care system is so confusing that people can’t use it then what is the point of having it? Also, the insurance company will only pay for a certain amount of a certain brand of medicine, so if you get a prescription that is for the wrong thing then you have to pay for it by yourself, which can be really expensive.
2. Energy- there is many different ways in order to obtain energy. I think that if more of the country obtains their energy using alternate energy sources then the dependence on oil will obviously drop, as well as save al lot of money. Some ways would be hydroelectricity with a dam, or windmills, or geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is sustainable, and can be expensive initially but in the long run it is cost effective.
3. Education- Children are the future of America. It is said all of the time but still there are major budget cuts in the schools directly affecting the students. For example, class size. First there isn’t enough money to keep schools open so they combine schools. But then, class sizes are so large that teachers have a hard time controlling the students so it is distracting and a lot of time is spent with discipline.
The First thing I would change is the Insurance because it is important for people to be able to get their medication. If people don’t know how to use the services that are given to them then there isn’t really a point, and if people need to have their medicine, and they can’t afford it because the doctor prescribed them for a different brand or the wrong amount then that could be dangerous.
America has a lot of serious issues on its plate right now. First and foremost, Flobots are not considered the best band in the universe by more than 67% of the population (personal opinion by the author of this post -not backed by any objective evidence). They have such awesomesauce music and even though some of their songs go a little deeper into politics, most of it is just common sense stuff like not being mean and killing people. Their lyrics are great, and the music is amazing as well! I could go on for a while but it is 11:43 and this is due sort of soon. I would say that the spread of Flobots should be on the top of the government’s list but I feel like that would get me an E so I’ll just put something a lot less important.
As scary as it may seem, our generation is the future of America. With worldwide trade and competition, education is a big deal. Money has been thrown at it for a while but I really don’t think that the reason our system stinks is because math classes could have regular white boards instead of the really big digital things that are fun to play around on. We need a new strategy. We should just copy off of Japan and call it a day (but after our generation is long out of college). Our education determines where this country is going and if we come out of college as a bunch of dunderheads then America is just going to crash and burn worse than it is.
Another thing we are doing wrong is our prejudice against gay and lesbian people. The only non racist excuse is that marriage is a religious ceremony and most religions are against gays, but religion can be interpreted many different ways and it is a legal process so this is just a big separation of church and state fail. If two people love each other then no one has any right to break them apart.
The last point I shall make in this glorious blog post is that the U.S Federal government should ban homework due Saturday. That’s just not cool! An example story is of this one little child, who came home on Friday and had important things to do such as nap, play Mario Kart, and draw. Yet the weekend was stolen away with an evil homework assignment that was due on a Saturday and she spent over 400 words typing along when she could have been sleeping.
That concludes my marvelous opinions on what needs to change in America at this very instant.
Things that I think should be reformed are: drinking age, welfare and who should get it, how kids should be rewarded for doing well in school, and how early school schould start and quantity of homework.
1. Drinking age: I feel that the drinking age should be brought down to eighteen. I feel this because of profit and what happens at collages anyway.I feel that if you are old enough to be a legal guardian when you are eighteen and take care of yourself then you should be able to decide weather or not you can drink. Also we could get a huge profit from all the tax revenue you can get out of the amount of eighteen year olds that would be drinking.
2. Welfare and who should get it: I feel that there are some people who are less deserving than others. Some people where working hard for thier pay and went onto bad luck and lost thier job. I think these are hardworking people who need welfare. But people who are just lazy and just want to smoke pot a drink beer all day dont deserve welfare because they dont try to be productive at all while other people do and are just down on thier luck. If they needed money so bad they would work at mcdonalds and get a free collage education. So I feel that it should be monitered who should get welfare and who should not.
3. Amount of homework and how early school stars: I feel that school starts way to early, your barely even awake and cooherent enought to focus on your first hour. With all the homework you have and if you are in an extra ciricular activity that is all that you do. We should really be focusing more on the testing part of schoo,because that is what we are falling behind all the other countries in the world in. If we made it so kids just had to go home and study for an hour a day and not do homework as apposed to doing two hours of homework and a half an hour of studying a day kids at school would be more happy, they wouldn’t be as tired, and we wouldn’t be behind the rest of the world in test scores.
How kids should be rewarded for doing well in school: If kids are given rewards for doing something well than they are allways going to try thier hardest. Kids in school theese days are just given an amount of work to do and do. They dont have any fun and absouloutly hate it. Why, because it boring. If kids are rewarded for doing well then they have more fun and try harder in school, which would lead to us being better than the rest of the world in innovation and success.
One thing I think seriously needs to be reformed in the US is how green we are. Too many people in the US are able to get away with destroying the environment with dirty fuels such as oil and coal. I think that there should be a legal limit on the amount of resources like those that can be used by something. A great example is cars. Foreign cars are generally way more fuel-efficient than American cars, though we are getting better about those with things like the Chevy Volt.
Another thing that I think needs to be reformed is education and supporting it. There are too many children nowadays who don’t get the most out of their education and could have their whole lives affected by things like their school not having enough teachers or their schedule being too strict. Schools aren’t well-funded enough and they should be funded better.
This is a major problem, because hundreds of thousands of kids might not reach their potential simply because their school wasn’t able to afford enough useful materials like quality textbooks, computers, and so on. A kid might not be able to get help because their teacher has way too many other students at one time to get to them. It really is a huge problem in other districts across the country.
The last thing I think really needs to be reformed is food control. Too many disgustingly unhealthy foods get onto the market without being regulated well enough. For instance, a company could disguise their food as being somewhat healthy just by making the serving size ridiculously small, and since people generally just look at the calories and the other things per serving, they’ll never notice. The way companies label their products is not regulated well enough.
1.) In the U.S, the drinking age is 21, and it’s absolutely ridiculous how it isn’t legal to drink when your 18, or even 19. Lowering the drinking age would result in less MIP’s and less people getting in trouble with the law. Too many times have the life of an 18 year old has completely changed because a police officer gave him or her and MIP.
2.) I would strive to use more solar energy. Currently, massive oil companies are drilling into the earth and disrupting its functions, like we just saw with the BP incident. Solar energy is always available, (until the sun blows up) and is easy to access. The only issue is that solar energy is expensive, and it could also do as much damage to peoples pockets as oil and cars emitting gas does to the environment.
Solar energy should be one of the top priorities of this country. Solar energy would not only help eliminate the use of oil, but solar energy building factories on U.S soil also pose as great places for new jobs. Solar energy however would be a costly affair, and it could also to damage to the economy with the money needed to build such solar panels, but it could very easily benefit our economy as well.
3.) I would help to change the public school system in my state. This is important to me because in my area, we prosper in a wealthy public education system, but in Detroit, they cannot say the same. School phasilities need to be reconstructed and teachers need to be fired and hired. The public school system in America needs to earn a good name for itself.
4.) The incoming driving laws need to be repealed. I and many other 16 year old drivers work till 11, 11:30 pm, would it make it illegal for me to drive home from work? Its madness and the law isn’t going to change anything but make a bunch of angry kids.
1. I think education really needs to be reformed. Although we are in a school district that really pushes students to do their best, not all schools have such high standards. Some countries have even higher education standards than the U.S. and we are falling behind in education. This is why we really need to reform education.
2. In the U.S., the unemployment rate has been increasing. We badly need to reform the employment system. This could include creating more jobs or providing more benefits to workers who are unemployed.
3. Our healthcare system also needs to be reformed. Although the government passed legislation to reform healthcare, it still hasn’t been enough. With a vital part of the reform bill declared unconstitutional, and millions of americans still without health insurance, we need to do something about our nation’s healthcare system.
Of these things, I think job reform need to be at the top of the preseident’s agenda. With millions of Americans out of work, we need to do something to reform our current system. If we don’t do something about the nation’s unemployment, the rate will continue to increase. The government can pass laws creating jobs for the unemployed or provide them with temporary benefits to give them an income until they can find another job. This needs to be the government’s top priority.
sorry i’m getting this in so late, i just got back.
1. Stop throwing money at banks that are “too big to fail”. they brought this on themselves. What should have happened with banks is what should happen with anything else: the ones that followed the rules set in place for a reason could stay, the others could fail. If the banks did what they were supposed to, Michael Moore would be filming documentaries whining about how the banks wouldn’t give out enough loans. the advantage to having regulations for people to whine about is that the economy doesn’t collapse.
2. Cut dependence on foreign oil with our own responsible offshore rigs and R+D into alternative fuels and energy sources.
3. Revamp Civil defense/Emergency preparedness, our current system is an utter failure (see: hurricane Katrina). We need better leadership, as well as a better plan to notify and prepare civilians for emergencies.
4. Move manufacturing back to the states. This begins with getting the Chinese government to stop deflating their currency to artificially low levels to keep cheaper labor. Afterwards, the government should offer incentives for manufacturers to return to the US.
5. Welfare Reform. we need to have a better eligibility system in place, and much more stringent regulations on how government aid can be spent.
Most importantly, Keep our current stockpile of strategic arms and/or stop rogue nations, namely Iran/North Korea from developing warheads and delivery systems. Although the Cold War is over, strategic deterrence is still necessary to keep newer nuclear equipped nations in check. In addition, Russia is still maintaining 367 ICBMs with 1,248 warheads, 13 Nuclear submarines carrying a total of 591 warheads, and 76 strategic bombers carrying 884 warheads. The United states maintains 450 missiles with 500 warheads, 1,152 SLBM warheads, and 500 bomber warheads. IN all, Russia had around 4,830 deployed weapons vs. America’s 2,702. We can’t begin to stand down until Russia dismantles their arsenal.