September 09, 2011
Bailout
Recently two men gave money to help bail out different organizations.
Billionaire Warren Buffett gave billions of dollars directly to a bank, while California
school superintendent Larry Powell gave up $800,000 in salary over the next three
years to the Fresno County School District. Both men can be credited with
giving back to their circle of influence, but there is one big difference - Mr.
Powell didn’t see his gift as being newsworthy. His generosity was motivated by
he and Mrs. Powell asking themselves, “What
can we do that might restore confidence in government?” I love the fact
that Mr. Powell is also an ordained Baptist minister…chalk one up for Christian
witness.
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Gail;
-----I can only find two things about this on which I might agree with you. First, Mr. And Mrs. Powell desired to restore confidence in the government. They are on the right side of the problem because of that alone. And I speculate in the rest of what we don’t know there is a lot of good they’ve actually done because their desire is right. But then, who would actually want to erode confidence in the government? Don’t guffaw, but there are a lot of people even in government who would. Some things can be adjusted or changed. Others can only be replaced. Fundamental transformation requires replacement of many governmental, economical, and sociological aspects. And our government has a plentiful supply of these types.
-----But I am less certain about the second thing. $800,000 of salary over three years is a lot of money. That is $266,667 dollars a year. Living in California, the Powell’s are going to need at least $75,000 a year to scrape by. This means his salary either topped $340,000 a year, or he had been earning $266,667 long enough to save at least $225,000 to get them by on no salary for three years. Either way shows the ghastly excesses of governmental spending and the cronyism between government and public service employee unions that raids taxpayer pockets for the lining of other pockets in return for perpetuation of the sacred raiding ground.
-----Government run education is one of several premium tools used for that perpetuation. Children in them are captive to whatever curricula the education administrations deem beneficial to teach them. By the end of their primary education children come out of these schools with a functional proficiency in math and English, a strong foundation in the physical and political sciences, and a grasp of history sufficient to know what humanity is, where it is currently, why it is there, and the best directions it could go next. They have learned by influence the need for outright truth and honesty, the relevance of a strong and realistic religious faith to the individual and society at large, and an abiding respect and honor for every individual around them, even if other’s ideologies are arguable, and indeed since they do confront them. They have learned in our government schools the utmost value for individual freedoms and the guiding value for mutual participation in socio-economic-political system that belongs to no one and benefits everyone.
-----Right! On Mars they do! Our children come out of our schools scratching their heads at math and science, muttering barely intelligible nonsense in what is at least recognizable English about how great grand-daddy was a monkey, God is a ding-a-ling’s emotion, Sally’s cute but her brother’s better, and don’t worry about tomorrow because the government has got someone else’s money and it’s ready to share it with you. Gee! Doesn’t history show it was always this way and the stinking, religious conservatives are just trying to ruin it for us? What has Mr. Powell done about this?
-----If you are willing to oversee turning out such a valuable product as this for fundamental transformation, then you’ll win the $266,667+ per year prize, too. Now, my lesser certainty about agreeing with Mr. Powell’s gesture: does he get his full $266,667+ back in year four?
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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