TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
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join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
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|  Just 1 more reason to bag the USF fund for all time
The USF is rife with corruption, incompetence, & inefficiency. Even when the money makes it way to schools, libraries, etc, the money is often spent on things that had nothing to do with why the fund was created.
The fund should be abolished all together. Unfortunately, the new incoming admin plans on expanding it with the subsequent further waste of phone customers hard earned money in MORE fees.
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Karl Bode
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| Unfortunately, the new incoming admin plans on expanding it with the subsequent further waste of phone customers hard earned money in MORE fees. Expansion of the USF before reform (or elimination) has been a bi-partisan push, with support also coming from Kevin Martin and Ted Stevens. |
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nitzan
Premium,VIP
join:2008-02-27
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| reply to TKJunkMail
said by TKJunkMail  :The fund should be abolished all together. Agreed. The USF has so many things wrong with it that we should just get rid of it altogether!
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Nitzan Kon, CEO
Future Nine Corporation |
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rit56
join:2000-12-01
New York, NY
| reply to TKJunkMail
Amazing how you and only you can write something that is correct in principle and cannot help yourself and drag politics into it thereby making a post that started out being of truth and flip it into the usual conservative hate fest, divide the country, pro corporate post we here at BBR expect from you. you really need to get a grip on reality. FYI most Americans are tired of the hate message. the new Administration is not in power yet. the economy is cratering all due to the policies of fiscal trickle down conservatism and you it appears would rather see the United States be completely destroyed rather than hope like the rest of us the new President may help the country. for one who claims to be a patriot you are very un patriotic. how can you say you're pro America and secretly hope the new President and his administration fails. |
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NetAdmin
CCNA
join:2008-05-22
1 edit | reply to TKJunkMail
said by TKJunkMail :The fund should be abolished all together. So, by eliminating the USF and the funding that goes to schools and libraries to provide internet and other network access, you obviously support making our schools and education system even less competitive, right? That is the only logical conclusion from your statement because you don't make an exception for funding schools and libraries.
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Drilling for more oil is akin to giving a methhead the keys to the meth lab. |
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stevephl
join:2000-11-27
Colorado Springs, CO | reply to TKJunkMail
I agree with you 100%; with a Marxist administration about to be coroneted in January we can look forward to further expansion of wealth re-distribution programs.
Stockpiling in Colorado
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
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join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
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| reply to NetAdmin
said by NetAdmin :said by TKJunkMail :The fund should be abolished all together. So, by eliminating the USF and the funding that goes to schools and libraries to provide internet and other network access, you obviously support making our schools and education system even less competitive, right? That is the only logical conclusion from your statement because you don't make an exception for funding schools and libraries. Dumping the USF has NOTHING to do with funding schools. Using the USF for school funding has been a total disaster as the funds have gone to things that have nothing to do with adequately educating children. Keep the Feds away from school funding - leave that to the states and local communities where it belongs.
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
Premium
join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
2 edits | reply to rit56
LOL. Read much in to a simple factual post???
End of discussion - with you anyway. |
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stevephl
join:2000-11-27
Colorado Springs, CO
·Comcast
| reply to NetAdmin
An even better approach to school funding, start by eliminating some of the fat that is cut back on the number of administrators and non-teaching positions at schools. Elimination of the NEA and teacher unions. If a school needs a technology upgrade then put a measure so stating this and why on the local school district ballot and let the people decide if they want to fund this project. Do not automatically steal the money from people for supposed school or library upgrades.
But really does your schools success/failure hinge on any dollars reaped from the USF? Maybe your local board of education needs to reconsider its priorities, cut back on sports programs to reinforce technology projects right? |
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NetAdmin
CCNA
join:2008-05-22
| reply to TKJunkMail
said by TKJunkMail :Dumping the USF has NOTHING to do with funding schools. On the contrary, USF funding pays for the internet connectivity and much of the network equipment used in schools. Look up the E-Rate program.
Using the USF for school funding has been a total disaster as the funds have gone to things that have nothing to do with adequately educating children. Nothing? I'm pretty sure giving kids a basic understanding of computers and how to use the internet is pretty important to the education process. In a country where the kids leaving school aren't as competitive with other nations in technology, science and math, it seems pretty obvious that technology needs to be part of the curriculum.
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Drilling for more oil is akin to giving a methhead the keys to the meth lab. |
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NetAdmin
CCNA
join:2008-05-22
| reply to stevephl
said by stevephl :AIf a school needs a technology upgrade then put a measure so stating this and why on the local school district ballot and let the people decide if they want to fund this project. That would work if EVERY school district had funding parity. What your idea does is create an issue where districts with poorer citizens, ergo smaller tax bases, would be left at a huge disadvantage. This idea has already been tried and creates more problems than it solves, key among them is that poorer communities get poorer educations due to less or complete inadequate funding.
Do not automatically steal the money from people for supposed school or library upgrades. Stealing? Talk about hyperbole.
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Drilling for more oil is akin to giving a methhead the keys to the meth lab. |
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Zen6
@rr.com
 from:
TKJunkMail
| reply to TKJunkMail
I agree, the USF is now just a cash cow for the telco's. The infrastructure for broadband for schools has been in place for years, and it's cost was negligible. |
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wifi4milez
Big Russ, 1918 to 2008. Rest in Peace
join:2004-08-07
New York, NY
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| reply to nitzan
said by nitzan :said by TKJunkMail :The fund should be abolished all together. Agreed. The USF has so many things wrong with it that we should just get rid of it altogether! Yes, it has been a complete disaster. The whole E-Rate program was so abused that it lost all credibility years ago. The USF money hasnt gone to the people it was intended to for a long time, and has only been a burden on consumers who pay into it each month.
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Комитет государственной безопасности
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wildcat man
join:2007-11-03
Kansas City, MO
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| reply to NetAdmin
I think the questions raised here are good, but you both fail to understand the key issue: defining what is rural and what is poor. Re: many/ most of the schools in the inner city have plenty of fiber and copper nearby - the issue is permitting costs to get into the school (!). Not all of the funds are being used for the noble purposes intended (I agree with the previous viewer that government passes stuff and frequently mismanages the follow up). Many of the rural areas are able to fund most of the sites (take Fraser, CO where I have a home: they qualify for eRate - so does Eagle which is the airport serving Vail and Aspen - it's crazy). I agree with the need to build a more technologically literate society, but doing it through the current structure is extremely inefficient and unnecessary. There are much better ways. |
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NetAdmin
CCNA
join:2008-05-22
| reply to wifi4milez
said by wifi4milez :The whole E-Rate program was so abused that it lost all credibility years ago. That was because there were no rules when it started, but that has changed and the new rules make it much harder for you to cheat the system.
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Drilling for more oil is akin to giving a methhead the keys to the meth lab. |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| reply to NetAdmin
said by NetAdmin :Nothing? I'm pretty sure giving kids a basic understanding of computers and how to use the internet is pretty important to the education process. In a country where the kids leaving school aren't as competitive with other nations in technology, science and math, it seems pretty obvious that technology needs to be part of the curriculum. Nothing like a 500 student middle school with 4 computer labs and 100 PCs that are used by the honors class 3 times a year, and otherwise are open before school for 30 minutes, and available with a teacher referral afterschool for 45 mins 2 days a week. There was 1 afterschool computer club, I don't remember for what, that met twice a week. No computer courses existed at this school. The white keyboards look brand new (no wear on keys, very clean keyboards) yet the computers are 3 years old. Pork, nothing more. This was circa 2004. School had a 155 mbit connection yet bandwidth never went above 15 mbit, about 5 mbit overnight (this was in a study the school paid for on how to get any kind of usage out of their computers in 2006, only 20% of teachers knew what a file was, 40% could use email, only 5% of teachers heard of powerpoint).
I once saw a storage room with a field of computer projectors (~25), all dust free and scratchless, never used.
An ultra elite private school actually had a mandatory laptops in every classroom program, everyone carried them like their binder, 2 years later, I ask the kids what happened to the laptops?, they told me "yeah we still have them, but only in 2 classes we sometimes use them, teacher tells us to bring them in when she wants us to use them". This was late 1990s/early 2000s.
In college, same thing, ethernet ports for every chair, my friend told me, he doesn't know his english teacher's name, he never looked up from watching anime the whole semester. Next semester, I happen to get that teacher, and on day 1 she hands out a 3 page photo copy of a higher education instructor industry magazine of why laptops are wrong in the classroom, one of the issues was students watching porn during class (in a mainly male major, nobody will protest, but the eyes and grin give it away).
Most people don't have the discipline to not misuse computers in the classroom, nuff said. And schools which have no clue, and union teachers who couldn't care less, are a waste to spend a cent on technology if top to bottom none of the staff wants to let anyone near that new fangeled calculators. |
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| reply to NetAdmin
said by NetAdmin :That would work if EVERY school district had funding parity. What your idea does is create an issue where districts with poorer citizens, ergo smaller tax bases, would be left at a huge disadvantage. This idea has already been tried and creates more problems than it solves, key among them is that poorer communities get poorer educations due to less or complete inadequate funding. If the parents won't vote in politicians who will raise taxes to pay for public schools, its their fault. You reap what you sow. I've seen rural schools in rural farm-ish towns with endless empty retail and abandoned and arsoned buildings exceed budgets for private schools, where the school is demolished and rebuilt constantly (new wing created, oldest wing torn down every 10 years, so no part is more than 25 years old). Public school district is $13K per student per year, private school is cheaper. The school complex is the best and newest looking building in town.
The government has power to collect infinite taxes from the public, subject to election of politicians. If the people refuse to raise taxes for their public schools, their fault alone. |
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NetAdmin
CCNA
join:2008-05-22
| said by patcat88 :The government has power to collect infinite taxes from the public, subject to election of politicians. If the people refuse to raise taxes for their public schools, their fault alone. Yeah, they could do that, but then again, these are areas with low property values and low wages already. You can't tax blood out of a stone. The current system of local funding creates problems where poorer towns and counties are at a disadvantage, period. You can't raises taxes when there isn't enough money to fund schools, roads and still allow people to live.
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Drilling for more oil is akin to giving a methhead the keys to the meth lab. |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
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Tulsa, OK
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| reply to stevephl
said by stevephl :I agree with you 100%; with a Marxist administration about to be coroneted in January we can look forward to further expansion of wealth re-distribution programs. Stockpiling in Colorado Don't step on your own landmine.
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"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY
| reply to NetAdmin
said by NetAdmin :Yeah, they could do that, but then again, these are areas with low property values and low wages already. You can't tax blood out of a stone. The current system of local funding creates problems where poorer towns and counties are at a disadvantage, period. You can't raises taxes when there isn't enough money to fund schools, roads and still allow people to live. Then tax until you get rid of the poor. Less people means less govt expenditure. More seizure and more charges for tax evasion. |
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