Givers and takers
Regarding the present government shutdown, voters might be interested to know that the national debt during the Reagan Administration increased 189 percent; from $930 billion in 1980 to $2.7 trillion in 1988. George H.W. Bush, Republican, increased the debt to $4.2 trillion. William Jefferson Clinton, Democrat, reduced the budget deficit in every one of his eight years in office. G. H. W. Bush left office with an annual budget deficit of $290 billion. Bill Clinton reduced the annual budget deficit in each of his eight years in office: 1993 (-255B) 1994 (-203B) 1995 (-164B) 1996 (-107B) 1997 (-22B ) and, in 1998, 1999 and 2000, had surpluses of +69B, +126B and +236B. George W. Bush’s Conservative Republicans took over after Clinton, cut taxes and started two wars (borrowing money to pay for them). Republicans took Clinton’s surplus of $236 billion and left Barack Obama with a deficit of $1.4 trillion in his first year. Since his time in office, Barack Obama has cut the deficit nearly in half. Why is it that Conservative Republicans continue to blame Democrats for excessive spending when it is they who are the spenders?
During the last election, Romney Republicans labeled Democrats as “takers” while they considered themselves “givers.” In actuality, nearly all Republican states receive more federal dollars than they give in tax dollars while most Democratic states give more federal dollars than they receive. Of the states receiving the least federal tax dollars back for each tax dollar paid, 20 are blue states (Democrat) and five are red (Republican). Of the states receiving the most federal tax dollars back for each dollar paid, 18 are Republican and only seven are Democratic. Example – New Jersey, a Democratic state, receives $0.61 back from the federal government for each dollar it contributes. Kentucky, a Republican state, receives $1.50 back for each dollar it contributes. Who are the real “takers”?
Recent Republican politicians have made it clear that they will not allow the “fact checkers” to interfere with their campaigns. This is clearly true. Some examples of misinformation include telling voters that certain medical injections given to young girls can cause mental problems, telling supporters that you can’t get pregnant from rape, telling the nation that it is the Democrats who want to close down the government, and, most appalling, that Democrats are the big spenders and “takers” when the “facts” show otherwise.
Party loyalty often obscures truth. All in all, whether one is a Republican or a Democrat, if honest information is what you need to make a decision, politicians are the last people you should consult. Their facts are self-serving. They may or may not be true.
See taxfoundation.org and presidentialdebt.org for source information.
William Hayes
Saugerties
Heritage education for today’s students
Several modern day innovators in the digital realm presented a framework for heritage education Monday evening at the Saugerties Public Library in support of Ulster County Heritage Week.
The keynote to the program read:
“A hundred years ago students in Saugerties schools brought a lot of native knowledge to their education. In 1913 there were generations at home that had worked the river, worked the farms, worked the quarries, and worked the mills during the preceding half century, and more. Education about the many skills that sustained Saugerties began at home. Back then the democratization of access to this work environment set the priorities for what was expected of school.
Those same priorities are what the new Common Core Standards for Career and College Readiness are about today. Our youth encounter a vastly different sets of skills at home and have a native knowledge from a much broader world of influences then the past century had to offer. A Common Core education must formalize today’s native knowledge so our youth have the level of literacy skills expected in today’s competitive world of work.
Heritage literacy can support these educational priorities with incredibly powerful lessons. Our heritage community’s knowledge base is increasingly being found in the electronic form that is so much a part of our youth’s learning environment. Tonight our presenters will give examples of how education can again be focused on our youth’s home; Saugerties.”
The presenters on Monday evening were Josh Randall for the Historic Preservation Commission; Dan Lamb Jr. for the Lamb Center; Audrey Klinkenberg, Saugerties town historian; Richard Frisbie representing his nearly 20 years of Internet presence; Ariel Dedolph for the Saugerties Public Library local history room digital archive; Bob Chappelle representing his Saugerties veterans of past wars web site; and, Chester Hartwell for his I Like Saugerties Facebook page. All demonstrated resources that fit the exact digital research environment that is a vital component for supporting the new Common Core Standards in education.
The Historic Preservation Commission thanks all the presenters for their enlightening visuals and lively commentary. Thanks also go out to a great audience that involved itself thoroughly in the discussion.
Michael Sullivan Smith
Chair, Saugerties Historic Preservation Commission
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