It is interesting and perhaps understandable that Bill Gates is in favor of an educational reform in our country.  As you probably know, Bill Gates is no longer at the helm of Microsoft.  The baton since January 2000 in the hands of Steve Ballmer, but the issues that affect the USA sooner or later will (and have) affect Microsoft.  By affecting Microsoft, its stock may plummet and most of the wealth of Mr. Gates might go up in smoke.  Please note that hundreds of thousands Naïve Americans own some shares in Microsoft.  The debacle of Microsoft will definitely affect a large number of Naïve Americans.

Life is not simple; as a matter of fact it is quite complex.  Naïve Americans should always take with a grain of salt opinions (specially coming from paid experts) and statements even if some type of study backs the claims.  As we might know, scientists with different backgrounds have come up with conclusions that coffee is good for humans.  On the same subject of coffee, other scientists have concluded that coffee is not good for you.  So what is the right answer?  There is no right answer.  It all depends in the individual genetics, current and childhood nutrition, life style, where you live, amount consumed, etc, etc, etc.  So what is best is to look for quality and reputable scientific papers, look at yourself, and decide how much and when and if you will consume coffee (or products that contain caffeine).  One way or the other, you will know that you did the best you could given your ability to get to and analyze available facts.

This past week my wife and I were strolling in the Target store in Apple Valley, Minnesota.  In general the book selection at Target is not my cup of tea, but I am interested in the Blu-ray and DVD section.  To me there is nothing like a movie to wind down from the long and busy workweek.  My wife called my attention to a book and DVD combo.  The title of the book:  “FREAKONOMICS” by Steven Levitt (University of Chicago economist) and Stephen Dubner (New York Times journalist).  I did not pay more attention due to the fact that when the book came out around about five years ago, I purchased and read it and recommended it to many people.  I lost the book.  A few years ago my wife and I had as a guest for dinner, the CEO at the time, of a company in the Twin Cities who lives in California.  The book contains some references to how radiology study reads are done on the other side of the world (primarily in India) during the night, having the reports available in the USA the next day.  Please note the impact of such behavior in 2005.  Radiologists in India cannot be considered blue-collar (factory) workers, they are professionals with similar (in some case better) education as radiologists in the USA and they are also licensed.  I would say that most Naïve Americans would consider a radiologist a white-collar worker.  So already back in 2005 the USA was outsourcing talent, not just repetitive factory worker type jobs.

The reason that FREAKONOMICS might be back on the shelves is that there is a chapter that deals with education.  The protests by K-12 union teachers are still in full swing in Wisconsin.  All types of union members from several parts of the USA are providing support.  This is reasonable (for them) due to the fact that if a union goes down the rest will follow and union members used to work as little as possible yet paid as much as the employers can afford do not want to loose their artificial and inflated quality of life.  We are all Naïve Americans, but when it touches my way of life, I no longer care about the USA, yet I drive around with bumper stickers and American flags.  What a joke!

During the past year I watched on television a show (i.e., 20/20, 60 Minutes) that interviewed Bill Gates and his wife.  Apparently the couple is relatively shy on what type of charities they fund.  Well after the TV program that is over.  The Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation has funded over US$33 billion as of the end of 2009.  Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett are the trustees.  The show on TV dealt with an effort to eradicate some type of disease in Africa that affects millions of children leading them to death.  When I watched the show I could not believe that money and efforts were put towards the children which  (i) is the effect of a problem  (ii) that will cause a larger and more serious issue in the next decade or so.   

The issue is not that children are dying in Africa.  The actual issue is that adults (some in their teens) are having children out of wedlock with many different fathers.  That is the problem that needs to be addressed.  By preventing males and females to reproduce out of control the immediate problem with the kids having life threatening diseases would be at least an order of magnitude smaller and probably could be under control by the local governments.  The second and more serious issue is that if more children make it to their teens they will start reproducing and adding to the problem.  Education and jobs in Africa would be the next set of issues to address.  If they are addressed, then more and more jobs could be outsourced to Africa, at least for a while labor costs are very inexpensive.  When they go up, Africa would probably follow the steps of several Central American countries that manufactured tennis shoes using cheap and young labor.  The Naïve American was quite displeased with the actions of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but we are free in the USA to make as much money as we can as long as the laws permit it, even if it is not morally correct or while the laws allow it.  If not the laws have, are and will be changed to protect capitalism at the expense of Naïve Americans.

If Naïve Americans are not prepared to perform all types of jobs, they will be outsourced.  The demand for technical jobs is growing and apparently they will not be able to be filled with USA workers.  I guess this is why Bill Gates is in favor of the K-12 education system revamp.  The Naïve American applauds the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for their interest and support in K-12 education and their funding in small innovative businesses.  K-12, higher education and small businesses are the only means by which the USA might stop the fall into the abyss that was started in the 1950s and has been accelerated in the past two decades.

If you, as a reader do not agree with this blog, I would strongly recommend for starters watching “Waiting for Superman” and reading “FREAKONOMICS”.  As I said, get informed and then make an educated decision.  Time is running out for the USA and the Naïve American way of life we have been used to.

The Naïve American

Before we take sides on the issue I would like to suggest you viewing the movie “Waiting for Superman” which was released last week on DVD.  When the movie hit theaters a few months ago, for some unknown reason, the film was shown on very few theaters and for very short periods of time.

I do not wish to spoil the ending (ha ha ha) so I am not going to go into details on the film.  If you are a Naïve American that is considering starting a family or already have sons and daughters in the K-12 school system, this movie is a must.  It shows how inept teachers represented by unions have and are destroying the future of America.

You can say that a film is a film.  There are some standardize tests taken by kids all over the world.  The results tell the same story the film does.  The film does not make reference to such tests.  If you are interested in one of such tests read a previous Naïve American blog titled “US Students Show Significant Gains in Math, Science Results”.  Then follow the link to read the results.  Our proud Naïve American youth is in the lower percentile in science, math and reading.

My wife and I were lucky to attend private schools.  My wife and I made the effort to put our two kids through private school.  My oldest son has his two girls in private school and my youngest is about to put his first kid in one.  The other is still too young.

You could say that we do not have experience with the K-12 education system.  As a matter of fact we do.  Our two sons attended the public school system in several states until they graduated from elementary school.  Based on what our experience with our sons when they were exposed to the public school system, my wife and I decided to bite the bullet, cut corners and put our kids in a catholic – military school.  That was one of our best decisions as far as education is concerned.

The USA is the country that spends the most in education, most of it goes to salaries and pensions of mediocre teachers.  The buildings, sport facilities and transportation take a relative smaller part.  If the USA spends so much in education, why is it that we are ranked 25th out of 35 countries?  You do not need to answer.  Something is drastically wrong and has been wrong since the mid 1950’s.  The issue is that the teachers unions have lobbied to get more and more funds to pay incompetent teachers that have no idea or interest in educating young Naïve Americans.  You might be a Democrat or associated with teachers and do not wish to accept the overwhelming facts.  You might think that such approach is fine.  The problem is that in K-12 education the US is already behind all developed countries (e.g., Spain).  As our economy continues to sink our kids will not stand a chance to compete with their peers for good jobs that would tend to somewhat balance our lack and capacity to manufacture goods.

One more thing to consider, do you happen to know that the USA owes China about 1.5 trillion dollars?  Do you happen to know which country is number one in K-12 education?  Yes it is also CHINA!!!

So given the facts you might wish to contact your local politicians in an effort to disband unions.

The Naive American

Allow me to start with teachers.  As we all know the governor of Wisconsin is in a pickle.  His state, as well as all other states in the Union, is experiencing a windfall in revenues.  Most are quite broke.  Wisconsin has suggested to allow teachers in their state to just get their cost of living raise but the teachers union is up in arms.  I ask Naïve Americans to stop for a few seconds (minutes are not required) and think about what is going on.  As you might already know and probably do not wish to accept, the US is in the lower tier in K-12 education.  The decay started in the 1950’s.  This means that for at least the past two (2) generations of educators (30 years per generation) K-12 teachers have done a very poor job, yet the costs in education top what any other country ahead of the US is spending.  We have a serious problem and the teachers and unions that are responsible DEMAND a pay increase!!!  Dear fellow Naïve Americans we are living in La La Land.  What should be done is ban all unions in the USA.  Labor laws have superseded the need for unions and the problems they cause in our country.

In a previous blob I made a comment on General Aviation (GA).  The comment is still valid but as always there are very few exceptions.  My comment was that airplane manufacturers are importing planes and assembling and selling them in our country.  The fact that slowly the USA is loosing its engineering and manufacturing capabilities is not acceptable.  It is bad for the millions of Naïve Americans that have and will continue to be affected by the lack of sustainable good paying jobs and bas for national security.  During the Second World War most manufacturing plants were converted to produce the much needed war equipment from guns and ammunition to airplanes and ships.  As our manufacturing capability disappears, we will be left at the mercy of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) China to allow us to defend our land.

The exception to the trend in GA is the Kestrel airplane.  This is a relatively new company whose founder Alan Klapmeier started Cirrus in Duluth, MN a few decades ago.  Today Klapmeier is putting together his new company to start manufacturing the Kestrel in a new plant in Brunswick, Maine.  I do not blame him for fleeing the political and economical chaos in Minnesota led by the new Democratic governor Mark Dayton.  Dayton is planning on raising taxes to the few companies and people that produce to be able to raise the wages of K-12 teachers among other union members.  Good luck Alan Klapmeier in your new business venture.  Naïve Americans wish you the best !!!

The last item from the title is food.  While K-12 educators and union representatives are fighting to continue to receive pay raises for extremely poor performance, in the real world the prices of food are going up.  This is a very serious issue, which sooner or later directly or indirectly will affect us in America.  We can go around beating the bushes like the teachers are doing in Wisconsin proclaiming that it is the principle and not their pockets that will be affected by eliminating some of their perks.  It is the opinion of the Naïve American that unions in general should be disbanded.  Labor laws in this country protect workers.  Unions just take more that what they deserve.  Sooner or later the unions in our country will have to go.

The main issue with food prices going up worldwide is the USA.  The issue has to do with the Democratic government of Obama that somehow believes that the US Mint can print money as it pleases to pay bureaucrats that do not produce.  The problem is that the US currency is devaluating and it reflects on the prices of food and oil.  Not sure if you have checked lately the prices at the pump, but they are going up and will not go down due to the devaluation of the Dollar.  One of these days the rest of the world might consider changing the Dollar as the main currency for worldwide transactions.  When that occurs our country will enter a recession that the world has not seen yet.

Dear American Royalty and union members.  You both are pulling the US in opposite directions.  One of these days, in the not distant future all Naïve Americans are going to experience the results of your actions.  We will all be affected.  Perhaps we can start making changes to prevent the US falling into the abyss once and forever.

The Naïve American

The title “U.S. Students Show Significant Gains in Math, Science Results” tends to indicate that our K-12 system is starting to improve.  I read the article and came to the conclusion that nothing has changed.  The wording used by Dave Nagel, author of the article, appear to indicate that this is the case when it is not.  Allow me to elaborate.   

The article is based on test results from 15-year-olds administered by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) headquartered in Paris, France.  The OECD survey is known as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The overall results indicate that Math and Science scores have gone up while reading has stayed flat.  One should keep in mind that the last test was conducted in 2006.  The first test ever by OEDC was conducted in 2000.  The idea is that the tests are administered every three years.  If this is the case then tests were administered in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2009 (not 2010).  One should assume that the article refers to results from the past year.  So far so good.

The article indicates that U.S. students are now ranked 19^th out of 33 countries.  This puts us in the lower side of the average curve.  Not sure is there is much to celebrate especially when we compare the amount of funds invested in the K-12 school system (i.e., teacher salaries, teacher pension funds, teacher benefits, school buildings, school busses and salaries for their drivers and support personnel, etc, etc, etc) in our country.  We are number one spender in K-12 education yet we are ranked 19^th in accomplishments.  Something is definitely wrong.  Naïve Americans should stop for a few seconds and think what should be done in an effort to improve the chances that our kids will play any leadership role in the future of our country, our way of life and the world overall.

A year or two ago, one of my wife’s nice spent a year in South Korea.  Her niece has two girls around ten years old.  They both attended school there.  What a difference on what they both learned.  Back home they took the next school year quite easy due to the fact that they (who are not ace students) already knew most of the material covered by their piers in the U.S.A.

As was already mentioned the PISA survey covers math, science and reading and the U.S. ranked 19^th overall.  In reading (English is our native language) our K-12 students were ranked 7^th out of 33.  This implies that the math and science scores, which are more important that being able to read and write (basically not being illiterate) had to be much lower than 19^th out of 33!!!  Quite sad in my opinion.  By the way, South Korea was ranked 1^st in math.

I took a look at the raw data.  It appears that China is not only the largest economy in the planet but K-12 kids outperform the rest of the world in reading, math and science.  I would like to ask any semi intelligent Naïve American (including career politicians) to explain how is the USA going to improve if China is current leader and their youth is getting ready to rule the world.

I urge Naïve Americans to read the original article and associated references.  It casts a dark shadow on the future of our country.  We need to wake up and evaluate the way we spend money in the K-12 education system.  How can it be possible that 18 other countries perform better with less?  Something is wrong with our approach.  Perhaps it is time to update it.

The Naïve American.

There were some points that called my attention and want to bring them up on this blog.

Apparently Mr. Pawlenty wants to cut some budgets, which will force to layoff some government workers.  The logic behind this is that if there are not enough funds to go around, individuals, companies and the government need to do the same.  People would stop buying some items and companies would layoff workers.  There are politicians (mostly Democrats) and affected government workers (as expected) that do not want this to happen.  What is so special about government workers and elected officials?  The answer is nothing.  If regular Naive Americans are being laid off then any individual with some basic common sense should understand that government worker and politicians should also follow suit if the economy requires it.  My strong support for the Governor of Minnesota!

Apparently the proposed budget cuts are not going to affect benefits received by US Veterans.  I am 50-50 on this idea.  The reason is that we in the USA do not have a mandatory military draft.  If a Naive American wishes to join the armed forces so be it.  Joining the military for a few years or as a career is a personal choice which one way or another will have an impact in the lives of the individuals and their families.  The same is true for any individual that enrolls in an accredited university and completes a bachelor, master or PhD.  Educated people have better chances of success in life.  If a member of the military is injured it is just a result of their (poor or good) own choice.  I am OK with the decision of Mr. Pawlenty.

The last point that called my attention was the fact that the budget for our illustrious child daycare better known to us, as K-12 would not be affected.  Everyone knows that the K-12 education system in the USA ranks fourteenth (14^th) in the world.  Ask a teacher if he or she can recite fourteen (14) countries and their capitals that have better education than in the USA.  Yet the teachers union lobby and advertise threatening politicians that they are 70,000 strong.  In other words our poor end incompetent K-12 group of teachers will continue to get raises and will not be laid off.  If it were up to me I would fire all teachers and will start fresh without unions.  Perhaps because of natural selection and free economic process our K-12 system might regain its position of decades ago.  Completely disagree with the choice of Mr. Pawlenty!

In the past few days Fox channel 9 in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota has been advertising an event that you and your administration might consider taking note of.

As we all know the public education system in the USA is collapsing.  Currently their results (Naive American kids graduating from K-12) rank 18^th worldwide.  Our universities are following suit at an alarming rate.  Many young Naive Americans graduating from our public school system are not pursuing degrees in colleges and universities.  Most of the ones that do, decide pursuing two and some four-year degrees in liberal arts.  Most of them chase an education in some profession that they believe would be easy (little work and effort) and make a good living.  I have interacted with kids in Minnesota (Minnesotans have this incorrect believe that our public K-12 education system is above the rest) graduating from our public education system that have a hard time reasoning simple arithmetic problems.

Our public education system (K-12 and most universities and colleges) is producing graduates on fields and disciplines that our country does not need.  Sooner than later the US is going to be a country of lawyers, accountants, marketing and sales people without any manufacturing.  The US will not be able to produce goods and services desirable by other countries.

I was looking at some statistics that show that about 35% of the goods we purchased in the US 10 years ago were manufactured in a foreign country.  Today the number is about 45%.  What this means:  a larger trade deficit.  The economy will sooner or later collapse and there will be no way to solve the problem.  What we have seen in recent past is just a shadow of what the future will bring unless there is a CHANGE (remember your elections slogan)?

The only way to solve this serious problem is to get kids involved and interested in pursuing careers in science and engineering.  Mathematics, Physics and Science are not that difficult to learn.  The problem resides in our inadequate school system that starts in elementary school and ends in 12^th grade.

Different administrations, democrats and republicans have come up with some nonsensical idea to improve on the education system.  None has worked and as long as we continue doing more of the same things will just get worse.  A radical CHANGE is needed.  The current administration does not appear to understand much of anything (foreign wars, healthcare, banking, car manufacturers, etc).  None of the approaches that Mr. Obama has implemented, is implementing and is thinking of implemented will probably work.  The reason is that they are all based on protecting the American Royalty, which pays off politicians via lobbyist.  As long as the health insurance companies do not undergo a CHANGE, our healthcare system will just continue to collapse and cost more and more money until it collapses.  I believe we already have a simple example called Social Security.

Mr. Obama and the American Royalty believe that they can continue to fool most of Naive Americans.  As the saying goes, sooner or later, they will not be able to fool all Naive Americans all of the time.  Hopefully a CHANGE will occur in a timely manner in such a way that the US will be able to start recovering from the collapse that started almost sixty years ago.  In that time many presidents, democrats (some of them Nobel price winners) and republicans have been in power and nothing has changed.  As a matter of fact things are just getting worse.

Dear Naive Americans, if you have children attending K-12, I encourage you to motivate them to develop a taste for science and engineering.  The few that succeed and are able to get university degrees in such disciplines will be the ones that will be in demand when they graduate.  Perhaps not in the USA but on other countries that may offer a better way of life.

Mr. Obama please prove me wrong!!!

The Naive American

Hope this blog finds you and your family is great health.  Yesterday was the presidential inauguration.  Due to my workload I was not able to watch the event on the web from a computer or television set while in progress.  Watched the highlights on the 10:00 PM news.  Would like to congratulate you on your new position.  Hopefully you will bring some CHANGE as promised during your campaign.

I fully understand the prestige of becoming the first African American president of the USA.  Your name will be recorded and remembered by history.  I do have a hard time understanding how an individual would spend so much time and so much money (in campaign donations) to get such a tough job that pays $200,000 US Dollars a year.  Most Naive Americans believe or want to believe on promises.  I rather stick to the facts.  The honeymoon will be over sooner than later due to the huge amount of issues our country is currently experiencing.  The economy is in shambles, and so far, the Naive American has not learned of a reasonable plan to improve it.  Perhaps you have a few aces hidden up your sleeve.

During the past fifty years or so, there have been so many issues, situations, decisions and conditions that have taken our economy to were it is today.  Unless there is a dramatic set of CHANGES induced and enforced during the next few decades, there is little hope for success.  Please mark my words today Wednesday January 21, 2009 so in four years this Naive American will not take the excuse that “hindsight is 20 / 20″.

Yesterday, evening I was watching NOVA on the local public television station.  They showed a rerun.  The title was “Dimming the Sun” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/.  When a group of scientists from different disciplines come up with corroborating theories and facts then there is little that politicians, preachers, actors or newscaster can say against it.  In America we are all entitled to opinions, but the facts will always prevail.  We have a serious climate condition / situation at hand, which might cause the extinction of civilization (including all Naive Americans) as we know it in less than 100 years.  Chances are that you and I will not be around to see it (so should we care?), but your kids and my grandkids might experience it.  Global warming and pollution are issues that need to be addressed and solved in the very near future before they reach the point of no return.

Yesterday on the news I watched you and your wife saying farewell to President Bush and his wife Laura from the White House.  They were boarding a helicopter on their way to their home in Texas.  It struck me that after eight years Mr. Bush just took of like nothing happened.  Could you imagine what could and should be going through his mind?  Because of the decisions of his administration, which include all the decisions made by him, his cabinet, Congress, Senate, and the rest of active politicians, how many Naive American lives were lost due to wars, how many Naive Americans were injured, how much money had been lost due to embezzlements by companies managed by Naive Americans and just Naive Americans, how many Naive Americans lost their homes, … etc, etc, etc.  By the way Mr. President Obama, you were part of the problem because you were a Senator in the State of Illinois during the Bush administration.

To top it all, the Teachers Union in the State of Minnesota has been running an ad on TV.  It came on while I was watching the news.  As every Naive American knows, all states in the union are pretty much broke.  Cuts in the budgets must be made at all levels in an attempt to reduce or eliminate deficits.  The spoke person (I believe it is the Teachers Union president) in this ad goes about making the statement that in order to maintain the “top quality education levels” in our state, we need to let our representatives know how important is education for all of us.  As the ad comes to a close it displays that such union is 70,000 strong.  Now, why do you think the ad would provide such information?

If you take 70,000 teachers, most of them married and with families, this union might represent between 140,000 to 600,000 votes.  Given that career politicians want to be reelected, the ad is threatening them (not the Naive Americans who have no real power) to get them what they want.  K-12 education in our country has been collapsing for decades.  Statistics show that the US is ranked 14^th in the world.  This Naive American would like to know if teachers would be able to recite the names of the 14 developed countries that are ahead of us.  Nets time you visit a school, ask at random any teacher.  They might not be able to recite the names of all 50 states.

In conclusion, the US has deep and serious problems.  Words are not going to change a thing.  We have economic problems, Naive Americans are stealing money right and left, Naive Americans have become lazy, and we have problems with the climate. Naive Americans do not want to study, Naive Americans do not wish to put a full hard day at work, American industry is almost gone, etc, etc. etc.  We are in need of a CHANGE.  This Naive American would like to know how in the world are you going to CHANGE Americans?

Yours truly;

The Naive American