Tyson J
48th in the Nation
Shut Down the Strip for Education
This was the Shut Down the Strip for Education protest/march that was held Sunday March 6th in Las Vegas. Our governor, Brian Sandoval, a typical politician who does more for himself and big business than the people, is proposing a massive budget cut for education in the state of Nevada. Nevada is sadly ranked 48th in the nation for education.
I was there taking pictures, exercising civil disobedience, and rejoicing in our right to free speech. I am posting this collage as a type of contrary form of reporting, since it has always been the case that the corporate media uses the tactic of under-estimating the numbers that turn out for such events. The media whether it was print or television, whether it was left or right, or whether it was big or small had the same soundbites and small under-reported story about the event. The same goes true for the protesters in Wisconsin right now and the same goes for all popular movements of the people throughout history.
When you hear the president of the United States or any local politician use the term "spending freeze" it is another word or euphemism for "tax." Spending freezes are a hidden tax and budget cuts are always at the expense of the many. These education budget cuts for Nevada will mean a reduction in programs, the laying off of teachers and faculty, the closure of facilities, and a drastic increase in costs for tuition. The aim of cutting the budgets to higher education is to force students to fund their way through school with private loans so they can go into debt before they enter a career. It is keep them so busy and burdened with debt that they don't have time to be activists, so they don't have time to think for themselves, so they can support the status quo, and so they have no other choice but to maintain the agendas of big business.
The educational system of America was modeled after the school system of Prussia, and their agenda with public education was to produce an individual who was just smart enough and disciplined enough to create labor power and not pose as a threat to the owning class. When I hear people talk about how poor the education system is and how it needs to be changed or improved I realize that they don't know it is doing exactly what it was meant to do. Public education in this country was designed to suck. It was meant to leave the student without a firm understanding of economics, finance, government, history, and ability to write. If a person schooled in these things from a public school truly had a grasp on the working of these subjects they would be on a more level playing field with the owning class. You see, one always hear about competition in this country but the truth is that people and companies at the top hate competition. The system is rigged. As technology improves, creating more advanced machines and operations that replace humans, and as more and more labor and services are outsourced there is less of a need for you and so that means social programs like education will continue to be cut and eliminated. The Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule can be applied. If 80 percent of productivity, profits, or whatever come from 20 percent of the employees, customers, or whatever that leaves room to eliminate. The education situation in Nevada and the issues that are sweeping the nation involve more than just budgets. There are deeper concerns. I could be wrong about all of this and that is why I encourage you to find out for yourself. Save education; start by educating yourself.
48th in the Nation
Shut Down the Strip for Education
This was the Shut Down the Strip for Education protest/march that was held Sunday March 6th in Las Vegas. Our governor, Brian Sandoval, a typical politician who does more for himself and big business than the people, is proposing a massive budget cut for education in the state of Nevada. Nevada is sadly ranked 48th in the nation for education.
I was there taking pictures, exercising civil disobedience, and rejoicing in our right to free speech. I am posting this collage as a type of contrary form of reporting, since it has always been the case that the corporate media uses the tactic of under-estimating the numbers that turn out for such events. The media whether it was print or television, whether it was left or right, or whether it was big or small had the same soundbites and small under-reported story about the event. The same goes true for the protesters in Wisconsin right now and the same goes for all popular movements of the people throughout history.
When you hear the president of the United States or any local politician use the term "spending freeze" it is another word or euphemism for "tax." Spending freezes are a hidden tax and budget cuts are always at the expense of the many. These education budget cuts for Nevada will mean a reduction in programs, the laying off of teachers and faculty, the closure of facilities, and a drastic increase in costs for tuition. The aim of cutting the budgets to higher education is to force students to fund their way through school with private loans so they can go into debt before they enter a career. It is keep them so busy and burdened with debt that they don't have time to be activists, so they don't have time to think for themselves, so they can support the status quo, and so they have no other choice but to maintain the agendas of big business.
The educational system of America was modeled after the school system of Prussia, and their agenda with public education was to produce an individual who was just smart enough and disciplined enough to create labor power and not pose as a threat to the owning class. When I hear people talk about how poor the education system is and how it needs to be changed or improved I realize that they don't know it is doing exactly what it was meant to do. Public education in this country was designed to suck. It was meant to leave the student without a firm understanding of economics, finance, government, history, and ability to write. If a person schooled in these things from a public school truly had a grasp on the working of these subjects they would be on a more level playing field with the owning class. You see, one always hear about competition in this country but the truth is that people and companies at the top hate competition. The system is rigged. As technology improves, creating more advanced machines and operations that replace humans, and as more and more labor and services are outsourced there is less of a need for you and so that means social programs like education will continue to be cut and eliminated. The Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule can be applied. If 80 percent of productivity, profits, or whatever come from 20 percent of the employees, customers, or whatever that leaves room to eliminate. The education situation in Nevada and the issues that are sweeping the nation involve more than just budgets. There are deeper concerns. I could be wrong about all of this and that is why I encourage you to find out for yourself. Save education; start by educating yourself.