I don’t know why I read this political tripe anymore, except I suppose to get it from the most direct source. The designated spokesman answers a few reader questions and voiced worries:
“Karen from Newell, AL wrote “I am a school teacher in this very rural place…. This economic crisis is really hurting this little place. We will lose 7 teachers at my school which translates to increasing my class size from 15 to 20. This may not seem like much but it makes a big difference to students who need a lot of individual help.”
Oh suck it up, Karen. My elementary school class was 60-strong. And the teacher was locked up with these same students in the same classroom all day except for a lunch and recess break when the good sister would probably head for the convent and down some aspirin or perhaps a nip of wine. Are five extra kids really going to knock you for a loop? Then I think you’re in the wrong profession. You wanna see a school with a problem? That little girl who wrote to President Obama about her school in Georgia (?) where they barely had a roof over their heads, well now, that’s a problem.
And this:
Finally, several people, like Keith from Sitka, Alaska suggested that the Task Force have something with “average, middle-class Americans in an open forum to listen to what problems they face and what solutions they can offer.”
Well Keith, read the paragraph prior to this:
When the money is distributed at the state and local levels, we plan for it to be put to use where your community needs it most, whether you need teachers, firefighters, cops, paramedics, or bus drivers. President Obama put my boss, Vice-President Biden, in charge of overseeing the distribution of the funds that, among many things, will create jobs that will restore the prosperity of the middle class.
And best of luck to you in obtaining your teaching cert, or plan B, the firefighters training, or C, paramedics are good, or if you’ve got a license, D, a bus driver. Other than that, you’re shit outta luck.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology