The Salem Leader
Educationally Speaking
07/21/08
Justin Harter
If I Were Running for President
You may have heard that two guys by the names of Barack Obama and John McCain are running for president of the United States. Each of them have been offering their policy plans for the future of America and it appears that most of their policies will either fall flat, lack funding or are just empty promises. So, that makes me incredibly qualified to offer my own policy plans because we all know they’ll fall flat, they have absolutely no funding and anything I promise here is totally empty.
Education
According to 2000 census statistics, nearly a quarter of Washington County’s adult workforce lacks a basic education. Thus, I propose the Educated American Tax Credit or EAT-C. Americans over the age of 25 that pursue some form of training or higher education can take the education expenses and apply them towards an income tax credit. This will provide incentives for older folks to get back to school and give them nothing to lose.
For younger students, I’d encourage middle schools to identify warning signs in students that are at-risk for dropping out of high school. I’d encourage schools to assign at-risk students to a teacher, mentor, counselor, active parent or community volunteer. That mentor would be tasked with keeping tabs on the student and providing assistance to keep them in school such as homework help, looking at colleges and helping them get entry-level jobs.
And most importantly: reward successful schools and teachers with more money. A teacher that clearly goes above and beyond to turn around a failing or underperforming set of students deserves more cash – just like anyone working in any other job. Rid schools of the responsibility of preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests and prepare students for college and careers by giving them advanced college credit and the resources they need.
Rebuilding Rural America
Areas like Washington County are at a marked disadvantage in today’s changing economy. Washington County lacks the infrastructure to support large-scale manufacturing and statistically lacks an educated-enough workforce to bring in top-paying medical and science-related jobs. So, in addition to the education planned outlined above, I propose improving infrastructure as a top priority. But I don’t mean highways and bridges. I’m talking about broadband Internet access and high-speed rail.
I can’t tell a factory or business to locate in Salem or any other rural area, but I can get the people to that business wherever it locates. Utilizing broadband Internet, residents in rural areas could telecommute to office jobs and workers more suited to manual labor could utilize high-speed rail to quickly, efficiently and economically transport them to urban areas for better-paying jobs. Better yet, it’d be clean technology that helps reduce pollution and our dependence on cars and trucks. It can be paid for with the money we’d save by not building and expanding new roads.
Climate Issues
To add to the business climate in rural areas, development of cleaner and eco-friendly technology is key to our nation’s success and job creation. Windmill plants are well suited for building in large, rural counties such as Washington County. Millions of jobs across the nation are created when government realizes that to transition from a dated, aging infrastructure of analog power grids, sprawling electrical wiring and unhealthy coal power plants to clean and powerful solar, wind, water and renewable energy produces cost savings in the future and jobs in the present.
Iraq
Leave it.
Healthcare
Everyone gets sick so it only makes sense that everyone should be allowed the right to quality healthcare. That’s why I favor a healthcare plan that works like homeowners’ insurance, but on a national level. Anyone that pays into it can get the use out of it when they need it. If you don’t want to pay into it, then don’t expect anything out of it. Paying into the system can be based on income tiers so it’s affordable and the system would purchase medical supplies in bulk like retailers such as Wal-Mart and Kroger do to reduce the cost. Of course, low-income folks, children and seniors can apply for little or no cost.
Housing Crisis
The housing market is crashing because they’re too many homes on the market – more than we have people to live in them. Cities are sprawling out far and wide, increasing travel times, reducing community density and absorbing farmlands and producing excess waste and pollution. Solution: stop issuing housing permits. Stop building new houses, force developers to re-develop existing homes or produce denser housing units. You’ll reduce urban sprawl, revitalize crumbling cities, protect cities from blight-fleeing upper-class citizens, raise income levels for schools, protect family farms, reduce waste and travel time, create stronger communities and balance out the housing market by reducing supply and increasing demand.
It’s as simple as that, right? If you like these ideas I’ve presented, feel free to vote for me as a write-in candidate. But I can’t promise you anything. Not even a bumper sticker.