$15/hr minimum wage

[Benton]

(08-08-2018, 08:01 AM)Belsnickel Wrote: The correlation between market deregulation and growing income inequality (thus more difficulty in upward mobility) leads me to believe that the market will not bare out. Leaving the market to do things on its own has resulted in things getting worse.


I've talked about this, but Germany actually does something like this. It is criticized because they don't always get it right, but overall it does a pretty good job of figuring out the best path for a student. Teachers evaluate students the entire time they have them, directing them to trade, professional, or academic paths depending upon how they perform. It isn't just a standardized test, but a judgement (based on criteria to an extent) from someone that spends a lot of time with the student on a daily basis. When they get done with 5th or 6th grade, they move on to a secondary school that prepares them for the next step based on that evaluation.

Here is the problem with this in the United States, well, problems.

The other major issue would be that the concept is going to be antithetical to many Americans. The American dream, albeit unrealistic today, is still something many people believe in. The idea that a child's path is going to be directed for them at such a young age like this is going to cause quite a stir. While a student could switch between schools if something changes, it is going to be seen as the government restricting freedoms and being overreaching, as the government knowing better than the student and their family.

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It may not be that hard to swallow. A lot of the American dream is less than a century old and largely marketing to sell cars, houses and kitchen utensils. I think the heart of it (private business ownership) is disappearing unrelated to student education.

Used to, a lot of what you’re mentioning here was done by the family unit, they just aren’t doing that any more for a variety of reasons (lack of involvement, belief that everyone has to go get a degree, etc).

I think if the education system involved parents (the ones that want to participate anyway) in the process, it might go over.