RW> David Brooks, the right's most hated conservative, wrote in   
    ...   
    RW> "Decades ago, college-graduate parents and high   
    RW> school-graduate parents invested similarly in their   
    RW> children.  Recently, more affluent parents have invested   
    RW> much more time and money in their childrens' futures while   
    RW> less affluent parents have not." HE goes on to site facts   
    RW> and figures, and continues:   
      
    RW> "As a result, behavior gaps are opening up.  In 1972 kids   
    RW> from the bottom quartile of earners participated in roughly   
    RW> the same number of activities as the kids from the top   
    RW> quartile.    Today, it's a chasm."   
      
    Wonder how much Pay to Play has to do with that. OTOH, when I   
    went to school I never had a school that wasn't within walking   
    distance. Now days they ship them all over. It's hard to do   
    after school groups if you have to take a bus home.   
      
    RW> YOu can probably find this piece on the web, but it's his   
    RW> statements toward the end that I wholeheartedly endorse.   
    RW> HE says:   
      
    RW> "IF America really wants to take advantage of all its human   
    RW> capital rather than just the most privileged two-thirds of   
    RW> it, then people are going to have to make some   
    RW> uncomfortable decisions.   
      
    Decisions that will cost money.   
      
    RW> "LIberals are going to have to be willing to champion norms   
    RW> that say marriage should come before child rearing and be   
    RW> morally tough about it.   
      
    That one is both ignorant and arrogant. Just what does "morally   
    tought" mean?   
      
    RW> "Conservatives are going to have to be willing to accept   
    RW> tax increases or benefit cuts so that more can be spent on   
    RW> the earned- income tax credit and other programs that   
    RW> benefit the working class."   
      
    A truly stupid thing for him to say. Conservatives don't have to   
    be willing to accept benefit cuts, conservatives salivate at the   
    thought of benefit cuts. Conservatives will have to accept that   
    benefits must be supported, and even increased.   
      
    RW> "Political candidates will have to spend less time trying   
    RW> to exploit class divisions and more time trying to remedy   
    RW> them--less time calling their opponents out of touch   
    RW> elitists, and more time coming up with agendas that   
    RW> comprehensively address the problem."   
      
    That is the purest of empty rhetoric. Calling on politicians to   
    remedy problems is like calling on the spirits to bring you the   
    truth. Chose a side and support it. Decide what must be done and   
    support politicians who will do that.   
      
    Look at every issue from the view point of how does it hurt or   
    help the most vunerable.   
      
    RW> IF you're a politician and you really want my vote, what I   
    RW> want to hear from you is about how you're going to provide   
    RW> a future for our young people, and your plan to bolster our   
    RW> aging infrastructure, otherwise, except the one finger   
    RW> salute as I vote libertarian.  iF you're not going to fix   
    RW> it, then every man for himself is the best we can hope to   
    RW> get.   
      
    All solutions that improve the infrastructure and reduce   
    unemployment and provide a future for our young people cost the   
    rich, and especially the financial sector, a lot of their wealth   
    and income. Sorry, that's just how it works.   
      
    RW> A United states governed by wing nuts and/or whiners   
    RW> doesn't deserve to survive, it's that simple!  We've had   
    RW> enough hand wringing and finger pointing, it's time to get   
    RW> America back to work!   
      
    Yes, and that is the key to solving all our major problems, get   
    people back to work.   
      
      
   BOB KLAHN bob.klahn@sev.org   http://home.toltbbs.com/bobklahn   
      
   ... Careful, I'm liable to attack with my nitpick...and that hurts!   
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