Unemployment numbers: 1/3 Of Amercia NOT working

I don't like unions and I am not in one. Most teachers are forced to join except in right to work states. Unions are always the most costly sources of liability insurance and I've seen too many people dropped by unions when they needed real help. In addition the nepotism and favoritism in unions in big districts such as New York City and Chicago is legendary. In fact union activism prevents the firing of teachers who have no business in the profession due to illegal and immoral activities. There's an entire building to which these banned teachers must report and they get paid their full salary. Some of them have done this for years. Seems wrong to me, but if you like unions, then you probably like the waste they create. Comparison-to belong to TSTA-the Texas Branch of NEA would cost me five times as much as the organization I do belong to. That money would be better served lowering insurance premiums or providing daycare stipends, but instead goes to lobbyists and to largely Democrat candidates without any sort of polling of the rank and file. That's a fact.

I blame Obama for this economy because most schools recieve revenue based on property taxes. Lower property values mean less revenue. There's also the issue of millions of children of undocumented workers who use the system without paying taxes commeansurate with services recieved. When you have two or more families living in a single family home,and they all have kids, those kids are paid for by the portion of the rent that goes to property taxes. But these kids often are low income, so they get free breakfasts and lunches. They are often lacking medical care, so they get vouchers for that. They don't Speak English, so special programs are set up and paid for at every level. And because of their special status, their classes are smaller. Pity the kid of the average family stuck in classes with soaring numbers who can't get tutoring because everyone else is more concerned with the special kids.

As for Panem mirroring reality, consider that the coastal areas-especially urban areas-seems to be mainly "blue" whereas the interior areas are more designated as "red" Right now we are seeing a social war acted out against areas in the middle of the nation to exact revenue while urban centers absorb it with little or no change. Of course, this also figures into a large number of union workers who are not working because the economy is failing under the Geithner Obama regime.

What what what? There is a "social war acted out against areas in the middle of the nation to exact revenue for urban centers"? Geez Louise, lady. I hope you don't teach civics or human geography.

The RED states of the Union are the welfare guzzlers. Not the coastal urban centers where there is the most opportunity for employment, but the agricultural areas where manufacturing is shutting down and there is less opportunity for well-paid employment. Everyone knows southern states like Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, etc. take back around $1.80 in federal money for every $1 they send to the federal government in taxes. Those coastal blue states would be a hell of a lot better off without the backwater RED states sucking the fed dry.

And it's a good thing you don't like unions, because Texas doesn't give you the choice of joining one. So shut up with the belly aching about your job not being secure, that's what happens without a union.

I know Texas public schools are funded predominately through property taxes, I lived in Houston for over 10 years. If you're sick of the problems the illegals are causing, you need go no further than your own governor, Rick Perry. HE is the one who got booed by the Tea Party at the GOP candidate's debate by defending his state's practice of giving in-state tuition to the children of illegals. It's those kind of illegal friendly policies that serve as magnets to illegals and exacerbate the problem. That and illegal-friendly jobs bills that allow illegal housekeepers and lawn maintenance workers to be hired and their employers not fined if they are discovered. It doesn't matter how much border fence you put up, illegals will find a way in as long as your state is holding out those kind of carrots to them.

You also must not be aware that the real estate bubble began a slow leak in 2007--what President Bush then referred to as "a rough patch"--culminating in the real estate burst of 2008. Your property taxes zeroed out in 2008, THREE MONTHS BEFORE OBAMA TOOK OFFICE. You think ANY president can wave a wand and make the "magic of the free market" do his will?

It took nearly 15 years for Texas home values to recover after the Savings and Loan scandals of the late 70s. It's probably going to take a lot longer to recover this time, because this time it's nation wide. Blame whomever helps you sleep at night, but you'd better at least start with Bush and continue on through whomever is President over the next 10 years, because there is now a glut of available housing that will keep home prices low for far into the future.

P.S. You'd better take a look at how the Ryan budget will effect you and your state. It CUTS FUNDING FOR BORDER SECURITY, which is mind-boggling after all the screaming the border states have been doing about securing the borders under Obama. And the Ryan budget also guts federal funds for education to the states at a time when state revenues from sinking property taxes are at an all-time low. It also cuts funds for those federally subsidized school breakfasts and lunches. If you think those low-income illegals are hard to teach now, just wait until you have to teach them when they're hungry and malnourished.