What is the origin of the human species and how do we implement it in our school's curriculum? That very topic has been hotly debated over the course of a few hundred years as mankind questions it existence, yet the obvious answer still eludes us to this very day. So which one is correct? Evolution or Intelligent design.
According to my colleague Breona, the Texas state government has been battling to answer that very question amongst themselves. Thus making it quite difficult in searching for an answer that appeases both sides on how to implement that in the current science curriculum in public schools. On one side, you have the faithful who strongly believe that there is some higher being that have placed us here and that teaching their children otherwise would be a direct violation of their parental rights. Then there are the scientific minded who believe that by not teaching evolution in our science curriculum is essentially disregarding a important aspect of science.
With all the different opinions and biases, even in our local governments, how will they ever decide on the answer. I totally agree with Breona. This topic will always be debated over and over again until, by some miracle or science, a definite answer will finally put it to rest. But as we wait for that day, our government should focus less on the religious implications and just finding a way to either teach it or not.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Two Year Plan for Education and Others.
As the nation sinks, our state desperatly tries to keep itself afloat in an ocean of financial woes. So what is our state government doing to keep this sinking ship from going under? Well the answer to that question is quite simple; budget reforms and cuts.
After many hours of deliberation, the Texas Legislature and Governor Perry have agreed on a solution to lessen the states spending during the 82nd Texas Legislature. These "solutions" call for numerous budget cuts across the board, but one in particular will have a devastating affect on the minds of the future.
As students and faculty of any educational institution, you probably have heard or seen what I believe as a grave mistake by both the state government and ourselves. For at least 2 years the state will spend less in the area of Education, meaning that a number of teachers will find themselves jobless and the growth of public education will become stagnant.
This also does not bode well for students attending higher education institutions as grants and financial aid have also come under scrutiny. With less additional money to go around, receiving aid will become a difficult process and the rise of tuition might lead some to postpone going to college altogether.
So this is what our state government has decided for us? To postpone the future instead of finding better means to raise revenue (ie. taxes). This year will be marked in history by Texas' failure as a state to come up with a legitimate effort to downsized the states deficit.
2 more years of this absurdity and hopefully in the next Texas Legislature someone might come up with a better alternative, but for the moment we, the future, will have to suffer for their decisions.
After many hours of deliberation, the Texas Legislature and Governor Perry have agreed on a solution to lessen the states spending during the 82nd Texas Legislature. These "solutions" call for numerous budget cuts across the board, but one in particular will have a devastating affect on the minds of the future.
As students and faculty of any educational institution, you probably have heard or seen what I believe as a grave mistake by both the state government and ourselves. For at least 2 years the state will spend less in the area of Education, meaning that a number of teachers will find themselves jobless and the growth of public education will become stagnant.
This also does not bode well for students attending higher education institutions as grants and financial aid have also come under scrutiny. With less additional money to go around, receiving aid will become a difficult process and the rise of tuition might lead some to postpone going to college altogether.
So this is what our state government has decided for us? To postpone the future instead of finding better means to raise revenue (ie. taxes). This year will be marked in history by Texas' failure as a state to come up with a legitimate effort to downsized the states deficit.
2 more years of this absurdity and hopefully in the next Texas Legislature someone might come up with a better alternative, but for the moment we, the future, will have to suffer for their decisions.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Mistakes, Lawsuits, and Unresolved Agreements
The University of Texas, once again, is battling a controversy in which they have to pay a substantial sum for a mistake upon a mistake that they created for themselves. This all coming at a time when education budgets have been slashed across the nation. The controversy being mentioned is none other than the blatant hiring of Rick O'Donnell as a special adviser and his proceeding dismissal.
Vivian Aldous, Editor-in-Chief at The Daily Texan, addresses the taxpayers and anyone else who has been keeping up with the controversy about her stance on the issue. She is deeply worried for the taxpayers due to recent cuts in the already low UT budget. Arguing that where will the funds to pay Mr. O'Donnell come from and should someone be accountable for his hiring as well as the 200,000 dollar salary that would have been awarded to him.
Vivian shows the lack of research that the UT system did prior to O'Donnell's hiring and showing that his radical views and affiliation with the Texas Public Policy Foundations was the initial cause of the controversy. Vivian, a fellow taxpayer and UT student, believes it is her right to show the shortcomings that the UT System created and that the incident could have been avoided all together.
I tend to agree with Vivian's argument that the fault lies with the UT system and having to compensate Mr. O'Donnell during a time when spare money is a scarce commodity is downright absurd. How will the UT system handle this settlement and what else or who will they have to cut just to give the 70,000 that is owed to O'Donnell. This actually shows the negligence that UT is showing and their attempt at covering their awful mistake.
Vivian Aldous, Editor-in-Chief at The Daily Texan, addresses the taxpayers and anyone else who has been keeping up with the controversy about her stance on the issue. She is deeply worried for the taxpayers due to recent cuts in the already low UT budget. Arguing that where will the funds to pay Mr. O'Donnell come from and should someone be accountable for his hiring as well as the 200,000 dollar salary that would have been awarded to him.
Vivian shows the lack of research that the UT system did prior to O'Donnell's hiring and showing that his radical views and affiliation with the Texas Public Policy Foundations was the initial cause of the controversy. Vivian, a fellow taxpayer and UT student, believes it is her right to show the shortcomings that the UT System created and that the incident could have been avoided all together.
I tend to agree with Vivian's argument that the fault lies with the UT system and having to compensate Mr. O'Donnell during a time when spare money is a scarce commodity is downright absurd. How will the UT system handle this settlement and what else or who will they have to cut just to give the 70,000 that is owed to O'Donnell. This actually shows the negligence that UT is showing and their attempt at covering their awful mistake.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
More taxes on Dallas property owners?
An interesting event is happening in Dallas at the moment, city officials are determining if raising taxes on property owners is necessary to create an increase in revenue at the expense of tax payers during an economic downtime.
Mike Hashimoto, a columnists from Dallas Morning News, asks Dallas property owners a series of questions about the legitimacy of raising taxes and if it benefits the city as a whole. The main view he addresses is that Dallas residents are already overtaxed and implementing more taxes would be downright unjust. His supporting evidences comes in the form of numerous numbers from sources he does not cite.
His argument is that the current tax rate of 79.76 is well above the surrounding area's and other major metropolitan taxes. With that stated, he shows the reader the flaws of raising the current tax rate in Dallas even slightly because of the fact that other cities are doing just fine with their lower property tax.
I am no economic major nor do I want to be but after reading this article it creates more questions than answers them. Mike puts emphasis on numbers that have no credible sources to justify their existence. So where does he get his numbers from? Other things that downplay his article is that does Mike have any background in the field he's trying to prove? All I can verify is that he has worked for SportsDay for approximately 20 years and attended the University of Texas-Arlington.
My belief is that probably the tax increase is justifiable due to the fact that these numbers don't have any correlation to Dallas itself. Yes, Dallas has a higher property tax than the rest of the Texas, but it is probably needed to cover the higher expenses the city accrues compared to the other cities. Also, with less sources of revenue coming in (ie. Houston creates revenue from the Port of Houston and Houston Ship Channel) Dallas city officials need to find other ways to create a net positive in cash or they risk cutting needed budgets that keep the city running smoothly.
Mike Hashimoto, a columnists from Dallas Morning News, asks Dallas property owners a series of questions about the legitimacy of raising taxes and if it benefits the city as a whole. The main view he addresses is that Dallas residents are already overtaxed and implementing more taxes would be downright unjust. His supporting evidences comes in the form of numerous numbers from sources he does not cite.
His argument is that the current tax rate of 79.76 is well above the surrounding area's and other major metropolitan taxes. With that stated, he shows the reader the flaws of raising the current tax rate in Dallas even slightly because of the fact that other cities are doing just fine with their lower property tax.
I am no economic major nor do I want to be but after reading this article it creates more questions than answers them. Mike puts emphasis on numbers that have no credible sources to justify their existence. So where does he get his numbers from? Other things that downplay his article is that does Mike have any background in the field he's trying to prove? All I can verify is that he has worked for SportsDay for approximately 20 years and attended the University of Texas-Arlington.
My belief is that probably the tax increase is justifiable due to the fact that these numbers don't have any correlation to Dallas itself. Yes, Dallas has a higher property tax than the rest of the Texas, but it is probably needed to cover the higher expenses the city accrues compared to the other cities. Also, with less sources of revenue coming in (ie. Houston creates revenue from the Port of Houston and Houston Ship Channel) Dallas city officials need to find other ways to create a net positive in cash or they risk cutting needed budgets that keep the city running smoothly.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Small Business? Here's your Tax Break!
According to the Houston Chronicle, companies that reside in the state of Texas will continue to enjoy their tax exemption and the only catch is that annual revenues have to be lower than 1 million dollars. That's what our Texas Legislature has passed this past Tuesday when it was lobbied by the National Federation of Independent Business/Texas (NFIB/Texas). Citing that this bill would help small businesses "keep their doors open" as well as promoting a business friendly atmosphere for those wanting to jump start their own businesses. This extension will last until 2013 and the NFIB/Texas hopes that once that extension expires, that someone can come up with a "better" tax formula that helps the common businessman. Other interesting things in this article is online retailer Amazon may have to charge you, a resident Texan, another tax on top of the sales tax on online purchases. This is due to another passed provision stating that all companies who own at least 50% of a business in Texas must collect a state and local tax from its residents. That means we will have to pay more for those cheap textbooks that we order from Amazon, if Amazon can't get around this provision. This article is worth the second read as it show what our local government is trying to do to raise funds to pay off the debt that they accrued (Think about the money cuts towards education). Its nice to know that we aren't the only ones being affected.
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