Jeff Sandefer, founder of the Acton School of Business and TPPF board member, wrote piece on the bailout that sacrifices freedom for dependency. He wrote:
"Charging the Federal Reserve, investment bankers, and politicals to "solve" this crisis is like deputizing arsonists to fight a wildfire. The central enabler is government, with Wall Street hucksters as eager accomplices..."
It's worth a read...
http://www.texaspolicy.com/commentaries_single.php?report_id=2193
-- Peggy Venable
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sarah Palin's able -- credible, likeable, knowledgable and capable
Gov. Palin proved that a hockey Mom who has served as a mayor, as the Alaska energy czar and Governor CAN shut down a US Senator who's warmed a chair for far too long in Washington, D.C. Main Steet takes on Capitol Hill and takes the debate prize. Palin showed the world she is able -- credible, likeable, knowledgable and capable.
Picking up the dropouts should be an "all hands on deck" project
News Flash – the Texas Education Agency has actually identified a few private schools which will be able to get funds to educate public school dropouts. “Horrors!” claim the pro-educrat, anti-student crowd. “Imagine that – giving education dollars to a school which might actually educate dropouts!”
TEA Commissioner Robert Scott deserves cudos for daring to go where the educrat crowd opposed you going... allowing public dollars to be used going to the best schools to educate students who had already been failed by the current public education system.
It isn't entirely the education system’s fault. But a one-size-fits-all usually fits no one perfectly.
Let’s face it – public dollars should be going to educate students, not to institutions. If we go outside the comfort zone and start to fund the child’s education, we would find that the market would provide many opportunities for students to succeed.
The High School Completion and Success Initiative Council had an important mandate – to improve college readiness and to provide help for students at risk of dropping out of school. The Council had a very important task to reduce dropout rates and increase retention.
Right here in America, one student drops out of school every 29 seconds. Every hour of every day, 93 Texas students drop out of public schools. The majority are inner city males. Around 170 Texas schools have been deemed “dropout factories” with some schools in Austin, Houston and Dallas having a retention rate of just over 30%. According to the AP, 20% of Texas schools are “dropout factories”: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/wdc/dropout/index.html.
The majority are inner city minority males. This is our decades’ civil rights issue. And perhaps for that reason, this story goes largely untold.
The numbers represent a tremendous cost to our economy, and an even greater human tragedy, as many of these dropouts slip between the crevices of productive society.
The 2007 class of high school dropouts will cost Texas taxpayers $377 million this year and every year over the course of their lifetimes. It is a travesty.
So it’s time we look to alternate educational venues and provide parents with a choice, and students with a chance.
Those most vulnerable are those students who have already failed in the current public education setting.
That some public schools as well as a few private schools are designated as dropout recovery schools is an acknowledgment that education takes place in a variety of venues – and students don’t come in “one size fits all”.
-- Peggy Venable
TEA Commissioner Robert Scott deserves cudos for daring to go where the educrat crowd opposed you going... allowing public dollars to be used going to the best schools to educate students who had already been failed by the current public education system.
It isn't entirely the education system’s fault. But a one-size-fits-all usually fits no one perfectly.
Let’s face it – public dollars should be going to educate students, not to institutions. If we go outside the comfort zone and start to fund the child’s education, we would find that the market would provide many opportunities for students to succeed.
The High School Completion and Success Initiative Council had an important mandate – to improve college readiness and to provide help for students at risk of dropping out of school. The Council had a very important task to reduce dropout rates and increase retention.
Right here in America, one student drops out of school every 29 seconds. Every hour of every day, 93 Texas students drop out of public schools. The majority are inner city males. Around 170 Texas schools have been deemed “dropout factories” with some schools in Austin, Houston and Dallas having a retention rate of just over 30%. According to the AP, 20% of Texas schools are “dropout factories”: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/wdc/dropout/index.html.
The majority are inner city minority males. This is our decades’ civil rights issue. And perhaps for that reason, this story goes largely untold.
The numbers represent a tremendous cost to our economy, and an even greater human tragedy, as many of these dropouts slip between the crevices of productive society.
The 2007 class of high school dropouts will cost Texas taxpayers $377 million this year and every year over the course of their lifetimes. It is a travesty.
So it’s time we look to alternate educational venues and provide parents with a choice, and students with a chance.
Those most vulnerable are those students who have already failed in the current public education setting.
That some public schools as well as a few private schools are designated as dropout recovery schools is an acknowledgment that education takes place in a variety of venues – and students don’t come in “one size fits all”.
-- Peggy Venable
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Ifill Falls Short on Impartiality with "Age of Obama"
Gwen Ifill admits she didn't inform the Presidential Debate Commission that she authored a book about Blacks in politics subtitled "The Age of Obama."
As one Houston Chronicle reporter said: this is outrageous. It would not be allowed in a high school debate.
Let's get real...Ifill needs to get the boot. We know she is a liberal. She has much to gain from an Obama victory. No way she can be objective.
Let's hope when the candidates take the stage to debate tomorrow night, Ifell won't be moderating.
As one Houston Chronicle reporter said: this is outrageous. It would not be allowed in a high school debate.
Let's get real...Ifill needs to get the boot. We know she is a liberal. She has much to gain from an Obama victory. No way she can be objective.
Let's hope when the candidates take the stage to debate tomorrow night, Ifell won't be moderating.
Just hand over the money and shut up
Is it patriotic to pay higher taxes?
If so, the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties and most Texas school districts are indeed encouraging “patriotism”.
VP Candidate Sen. Joe Biden recently said in an interview with Good Morning America that it was patriotic for Americans to pay higher taxes (oh, the top rate taxpayers like him.) AFP is calling for him to pay the IRS the $18,036 that he got in income tax deductions last year. It’s time to be patriotic, to be part of the deal, to jump in, right, Joe?
If it is patriotic to pay higher taxes, then local government organizations like the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties and the Texas Association of School Boards are singing “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and the national anthem all the way to the bank.
These groups oppose taxpayer protections which allow taxpayers to vote when government entities increase their spending or revenue above the increase in population and inflation. These organizations oppose elected officials having to "make their case" to the public before digging deeper into taxpayers' pockets. And these groups oppose taxpayer protections using YOUR money.
So these groups promote YOUR patriotism (pay more in taxes) but don't want you to have a voice in how much government you want and are willing to pay for.
If so, the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties and most Texas school districts are indeed encouraging “patriotism”.
VP Candidate Sen. Joe Biden recently said in an interview with Good Morning America that it was patriotic for Americans to pay higher taxes (oh, the top rate taxpayers like him.) AFP is calling for him to pay the IRS the $18,036 that he got in income tax deductions last year. It’s time to be patriotic, to be part of the deal, to jump in, right, Joe?
If it is patriotic to pay higher taxes, then local government organizations like the Texas Municipal League, the Texas Association of Counties and the Texas Association of School Boards are singing “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and the national anthem all the way to the bank.
These groups oppose taxpayer protections which allow taxpayers to vote when government entities increase their spending or revenue above the increase in population and inflation. These organizations oppose elected officials having to "make their case" to the public before digging deeper into taxpayers' pockets. And these groups oppose taxpayer protections using YOUR money.
So these groups promote YOUR patriotism (pay more in taxes) but don't want you to have a voice in how much government you want and are willing to pay for.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Print Your Own Vote No! Signs
Ellis County's Taxpayers Alliance for Good Government has posted a link on their Web site for irate taxpayers to download and print their own 11x17 Vote No! yard signs.
They're generic enough to be used for any election, too.
"By doing this, regular taxpayers can bypass the political action committees and just do it themselves," said TAGG chair Joey Dauben, who publishes The Ellis County Observer. "It's like the We The People Starter Kit. It costs nothing to produce .pdf yard signs, though our recommendation would be that people print out 100 of them. It still costs less than $10-$20 and we encourage taxpayers to assemble them like we show in our example below..."
They're generic enough to be used for any election, too.
"By doing this, regular taxpayers can bypass the political action committees and just do it themselves," said TAGG chair Joey Dauben, who publishes The Ellis County Observer. "It's like the We The People Starter Kit. It costs nothing to produce .pdf yard signs, though our recommendation would be that people print out 100 of them. It still costs less than $10-$20 and we encourage taxpayers to assemble them like we show in our example below..."
Monday, September 29, 2008
Taxpayers Spend A Quarter Million Dollars for Superintendent NOT to work 3 months a year
Round Rock taxpayers, take note. The Round Rock ISD Superintendent accrues 2 vacation days each month. I may not be an educator, but I figure that to be 24 days a year – that’s almost 5 weeks. Now, that vacation time is on top of the regular school holidays. How many holidays do they get a year? Hum…according to the website, Round Rock ISD Holidays- 08/09 School Year include:
July 2008: 5 days
August 2008: 0 days
September 2008: 1 day
October 2008: 2 days
November 2008: 3 days
December 2008: 8 days
January 2009: 4 days
February 2009: 1 day
March 2009: 5 days
April 2009: 2 days
May 2009: 1 day
June 2009: 0 days
Total School Days Off: 32 days
So if you take the 24 days the Superintendent gets (per his contract), and add the 32 days all school employees get (including the Superintendent, per his contract), that figures to 56 days a year.
So Diana Maldonado, then RRISD School Board President, signed a contract that actually pays the Superintendent a quarter million dollars a year NOT to work 56 days.
That equates to 11 weeks…almost three months.
So while taxpayers are working hard, earning a living, paying their school property taxes, those same taxpayers are paying a Superintendent $250,000 to NOT work three months a year.
A quarter million dollars a year to take 56 days off each year. Good work if you can get it!
July 2008: 5 days
August 2008: 0 days
September 2008: 1 day
October 2008: 2 days
November 2008: 3 days
December 2008: 8 days
January 2009: 4 days
February 2009: 1 day
March 2009: 5 days
April 2009: 2 days
May 2009: 1 day
June 2009: 0 days
Total School Days Off: 32 days
So if you take the 24 days the Superintendent gets (per his contract), and add the 32 days all school employees get (including the Superintendent, per his contract), that figures to 56 days a year.
So Diana Maldonado, then RRISD School Board President, signed a contract that actually pays the Superintendent a quarter million dollars a year NOT to work 56 days.
That equates to 11 weeks…almost three months.
So while taxpayers are working hard, earning a living, paying their school property taxes, those same taxpayers are paying a Superintendent $250,000 to NOT work three months a year.
A quarter million dollars a year to take 56 days off each year. Good work if you can get it!
Edinburg officials can't count on their legislators
The City and Edinburg Economic Development Council don’t trust their legislators. That’s right, Sen. Juan Hinojosa and Rep. Aaron Pena have gotten a vote of “no confidence” by local officials and leaders. Edinburg leaders, in “preparing for legislative session” have hired a lobbyist who they credit with past legislative victories. That’s right – they don’t praise their legislative representatives, but the lobbyist for “establishing a known presence at the State Capitol in Austin,” according to City Manager J.J. Rodriquez. So much for Sen. Hinojosa and Rep. Pena...
Edinburg taxpayers, you are paying for a lobbyist who may very well lobby against taxpayer interests. Most city and county lobbyists oppose taxpayer protections. It is up to taxpayers to review the legislative agenda for the City and chamber of commerce. Make sure the legislative priorities are YOUR TAXPAYER priorities to keep more of your hard-earned money. After all, tax dollars are being used to pay your lobbyist.
Read about the lobbyist hire here:
http://www.edinburgpolitics.com/2008/09/14/edinburg-prepares-for-legislative-session-eedc-city-government-to-split-lobbyists-60000-annual-fee/
Edinburg taxpayers, you are paying for a lobbyist who may very well lobby against taxpayer interests. Most city and county lobbyists oppose taxpayer protections. It is up to taxpayers to review the legislative agenda for the City and chamber of commerce. Make sure the legislative priorities are YOUR TAXPAYER priorities to keep more of your hard-earned money. After all, tax dollars are being used to pay your lobbyist.
Read about the lobbyist hire here:
http://www.edinburgpolitics.com/2008/09/14/edinburg-prepares-for-legislative-session-eedc-city-government-to-split-lobbyists-60000-annual-fee/
Hero of the Taxpayer: Jeb Hensarlin
Congressman Jeb Hensarling, R-TX, gave an impassioned speech against the bailout on the House floor today. He calls the bill a "slippery slope towards socialism." Great job, Jeb! I am proud of you!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Explaining the financial melt-down
This is the best video I've seen explaining how we got to the Wall Street Meltdown situation. It is a "must-view" for all voters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tZc8oH--o
You will likely be surprised by some of what you learn in this video!
-- Peggy Venable
You will likely be surprised by some of what you learn in this video!
-- Peggy Venable
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