Gun safety laws ARE NOT my thing.

[McGiver]

Who cares about all the political distractions.  A shiny object her an slight of hand there. 
Fuck all that.

My opinion is that people need opportunity. They need good paying jobs to raise a family in peace and relative comfort.

labor issues are my main political concerns.
What is your #1 voting issue and why?

[Pyraxis]

Education. I'm not into a nation full of entitled idiots. It is a mess.

[McGiver]

Education. I'm not into a nation full of entitled idiots. It is a mess.

many would argue that our (US) education system is an indoctrination towards consumerism.

Is that ok with you?  What needs to be changed?

[Pyraxis]

It's certainly indoctrination. I don't think consumerism is the only result. There's also religious indoctrination, self-esteem indoctrination, cheating-via-the-internet-at-the-expense-of-actual-thought indoctrination....

I think education needs to be individualized as much as possible. We should invest in it as a country because of how much it pays off down the line. No Child Left Behind needs to die a miserable death. Standardized testing needs to die a miserable death. Recess, art, gym and music should be brought back, in the places where they've been abolished in order to teach to the test. Free thought, creativity and logic should be rewarded, not just in students but in teachers. Spurious lawsuits that sap resources and make teachers too frightened to break the rules need to be heavily penalized. Basic life skills such as checkbook balancing, project management, navigating government and medical systems, job searching, and investment 101 should be more commonly taught at the high school level.

That would be a start. 

[McGiver]

Many of the extra curricular activities have been gutted.  Teachers are demonized and the public us being told it is their pensions which are bankrupting the states.
How do you get good teachers when there is a war on them?

[Pyraxis]

Pay them more, which would attract more skilled and intelligent people to the profession.

And yes, good point about the extracurricular activities.

[McGiver]

Though i agree they should get more....refer to my view of labor politics. but, We can't pay them more in today's political climate.  People hate them.  People believe that the teachers pensions are what bankrupting states. 
How do we change people's opinions?

[Pyraxis]

It's news to me that people blame teachers' pensions for bankrupting states.

I guess step one would be to get some numbers. How much do states spend on teacher pensions compared to other functions.

And what is the reasoning behind giving a teacher a pension, instead of paying them more during their life and having them save in a 401k and take social security like everyone else?

[McGiver]

The problem is that teachers have bargained for pensions. Oft times giving up wages now and accepting future payments.  Generally when states are struggling.  It's a good faith bargaining agreement.

Pensions are pre funded, weekly, monthly or yearly.  But politicians like to borrow against them to pay for other projects.  Now that hey can't pay them back they decide to demonized the pensions.  It's theft.

[Pyraxis]

Interesting.

I would pose the same question to the people who think the teachers are responsible for the bankrupting of the states. What do they propose to do, break the contract that was made with the teachers? If a contract was made it should be honored. Maybe a different contract could be made going forward for the next generation of teachers. But it sounds like another case of lack of foresight on the government's part, or maybe the voters' part.

[bodie]

My voting  issues?

Well, i think the way revenue is generated and distributed is paramount.  Stop squeezing the poor to cough up and tax people who can actually afford it.  Invest in poor areas.  Treat people like scum -  they will eventually act like scum.!  Give people something to be proud of then they are likely to look after it  ie. housing, jobs etc.

Any government that imposes cuts to education or nhs are fucking crazy.

Will someone please stop this nonsense of increasing the retirement age to 67!  Should be lowered instead.

Keep prison for criminals who are a real danger to society.  No one should be thrown in jail for not paying fines, taxes or  for petty stuff like shoplifting.

More referendums.  We are capable of making important decisions.

Make police wear jackets that say  'POLITE'  not  'POLICE' 

[McGiver]

Interesting.

I would pose the same question to the people who think the teachers are responsible for the bankrupting of the states. What do they propose to do, break the contract that was made with the teachers? If a contract was made it should be honored. Maybe a different contract could be made going forward for the next generation of teachers. But it sounds like another case of lack of foresight on the government's part, or maybe the voters' part.

they would say yes. Break the contracts. People are sheeple, easily distracted and led.

[McGiver]

My voting  issues?

Well, i think the way revenue is generated and distributed is paramount.  Stop squeezing the poor to cough up and tax people who can actually afford it.  Invest in poor areas.  Treat people like scum -  they will eventually act like scum.!  Give people something to be proud of then they are likely to look after it  ie. housing, jobs etc.

Any government that imposes cuts to education or nhs are fucking crazy.

Will someone please stop this nonsense of increasing the retirement age to 67!  Should be lowered instead.

Keep prison for criminals who are a real danger to society.  No one should be thrown in jail for not paying fines, taxes or  for petty stuff like shoplifting.

More referendums.  We are capable of making important decisions.

Make police wear jackets that say  'POLITE'  not  'POLICE' 

much I what I am reading seems to be a reaction to the last thirty years of failed trickle down economics....supply side.
Basically it's crony capitalism, invest heavily with the rich and some will trickle down to the poor.  It's laughable, really, like greed is never considered,

I completely agree with you.  I believe that labor creates wealth and consumers are job creators.  How do we redistribute the wealth back intro the hands of its rightful owners?

[McGiver]

Interesting.

I would pose the same question to the people who think the teachers are responsible for the bankrupting of the states. What do they propose to do, break the contract that was made with the teachers? If a contract was made it should be honored. Maybe a different contract could be made going forward for the next generation of teachers. But it sounds like another case of lack of foresight on the government's part, or maybe the voters' part.

referendums, like bodie suggested, would work.

Also, the whole notion that the rich should have tax breaks and supply side economics is the problem. The politicians cannot help themselves, hey have to give favors to those that fund heir am pains.
They are unwilling to increase taxes on the rich, and the teachers pensions are the scapegoat and he distraction.

[Scrapheap]

I'm for the dismantling of a ruling class institutions.

Governments AND corporations.