Invest the Money Where it Counts

         

                So institutions of higher education are experiencing huge surpluses in their budget, yet they cannot afford to give raises to their faculty, while programs and classes continue to get eliminated as a result of budget cuts.  This doesn’t make sense!  How can institutions afford enormous bonuses for their boards of trustees and administrators, yet cannot afford to pay professors, largely the ones responsible for developing the future of this nation?

                Across the country, there are many cases where college executives, both retiring and incoming, earn over six figures, while their faculty members barely make a living salary, many of whom have not had raises for many years.  Meanwhile, administrators are the ones that collect most of the profits while making decisions and policy, generally not in the best interest of the institution, and typically spend their time wining and dining with college contributors and benefactors.

                Are educational funds truly being invested towards the educational benefit of the students?  Are college administrators truly out to serve the educational needs of society by developing high quality graduates, or are they serving a rich influential board that has a narrow scope on what kinds of students the institution should produce and only serve a focused agenda (i.e., standardized assessment tools and products that some of its board members produce).

                Has the greed of capitalism set in our educational institutions so that a few can make a profit off our students?  After all, just look at the government charging 10.5% interest on student loans while only levying a .75% rate interest for major banks.  It’s almost as if Congress is making every attempt to privatize education and undermine the freedom of public education for the masses as well as affordable college for those who cannot afford to pursue the luxury of a four-year college degree or higher.  Or commonly known as, “The dumbing down of America.”

                Clearly, quality education in the United States is not a top priority.  Nor does it appear that the government is interested in developing high quality educated students at a minimum fare.  It seems that the government is only interested in developing a certain class of educated people in this society.  That is dangerous.  As it is, drop-out levels in high school and lower grade educational institutions are already high enough.  This is because, largely, society has not taken accountability for developing and participating in a highly developed educational system.  Rather, educational institutions are treated more like “childcare centers” for children of all ages.  Parents must be held equally accountable for the development of their offspring and companies must allow time for this to take place.  This is especially important for the future of companies in America if the United States expects to become a leader in the world once again.  However, the other factor that undermines the quality of our educational system is the government’s insatiable appetite for military spending.

                More money is invested in an over-bloated war machine that has consumed the Federal Government’s budget that takes away important investment funds for education, health care, and other social issues.  We could afford a higher quality educational system if military funding was put in its rightful place in society.  That is, the United States must transition from a mentality of serving as the world’s “police force,” to that of only having a military only for national defensive purposes.  Presently, our military services are used for offensive purposes.  The government gets it nose into the affairs of other countries far too often.  A military should only be used for peaceful and defensive purposes – to defend this country.  Too many times, we have used the military as a pre-emptive device and largely to promote a political agenda – not the will of the people.

                Another matter which interferes with a higher educational system is the dictatorship of an international banking cartel which dictates to the government how this country should invest and prioritize this spending.  These strings must be cut – especially, when they do not meet the needs of the people, but rather an elite few.

                If the government cannot change its spending priorities, then it is the responsibility of the people to ensure that the Congress changes its ways.  If elections to remove irresponsible leaders fail, then, a peaceful revolution to make governmental changes is in order through a new constitutional convention.  The present Constitution, however, works – only if people abide by the spirit of the document – not add anything special or subversive to the original framework if the original governing document.  The problem is, there is no accountability to upholding the Constitution nor are our leaders held to a binding rules of ethics.  Our leaders and government employees must be held accountable to the U. S. Constitution.  If they fail to do so, they should be removed immediately.  These representatives should be held accountable to the voters.

If we are to ensure that money allocated towards higher education is to be invested in our students and professors, classes, programs and not administrators, then a wholesale change in societal attitude is in order.  Our citizenry should no longer tolerate the greed that has crept into every crevasse of society, but must learn how to eradicate it and say, “No, we will no longer tolerate this behavior anymore.  We, the people, desire to build a higher quality educational system – not driven by test scores – but based on other more important factors.”

                The political war machine must finally be put in its proper perspective and priority in the budget.  If present government refuses to make these changes, then government changes are absolutely necessary.

                Only the ignorant will attempt to privatize education and maintain it only for the elites out of pure greed and stupidity.  The wise, however, will make education affordable and accessible to the dreamers and masses.