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Actually, I think you have to go back further. My grandfather, a poor kid from west LA, went to UCLA and then UC Berkeley as an engineering student back in the
by tmsh 16y ago
Actually, I think you have to go back further. My grandfather, a poor kid from west LA, went to UCLA and then UC Berkeley as an engineering student back in the late 1930s / early 1940s.
He learned Latin in high school (think inner city kid learning Latin). Grew up with all the airfields in LA and mechanical engineering seemed like the thing, I guess. So despite being interned (he was a Japanese American) he went on to be a very successful engineer and eventually businessman (owned his own hydraulics company, etc.).
It's arguable that a lot of this happened because of a golden age in California's educational system. Same thing with my parents. I've met them and they're idiots -- but at least my father benefited greatly from UC Berkeley (he's a philosophy professor).
I think PG is right to question what exactly is going on. But there really was an extraordinary investment in higher education (for whatever reason) in the early- to mid- 20th century. And arguably, that affected a lot of things which we Californians take for granted.
I think what the OP is trying to say is that our attitude about public education has changed. It was irrational, the level of investment that was made into higher education pre-1980s (both raising and allocating funds). And today's set of challenges may require a different emphasis (e.g., charter schools, leaner campuses, more online learning, etc.) -- but that generous spirit that, afaik, built California into a great state -- that's not worth overlooking.
- Retric 16y agoIf you want to see how CA as fucked themselves look at spending on prisons, pensions, and personnel. Prisons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_timeline-clean.svg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_incarceration_timeline-... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Incarceration_rate_of_inmates_incarcerated_under_state_and_federal_jurisdiction_per_100,000_population_1925-2008.png http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Incarceration_rate_of_inma...) Just locking up all the bad people sounds like a great idea but it's also ridiculously expensive and provides little long term benefit. Pensions without appropriate savings represent a huge drain on the government that "suddenly appears" (after 30+ years). Personnel costs rise not just with inflation but with the completion from the local job market. Unfortunately for the state it can't reduce benefits when times get tough.
- igravious 16y agoPity you had to use such crude language while making your point. I'd like to see these figures per state. And then I'd like to see the percentage of the budget over time that is allocated to locking up citizens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_criminal_justice_cost_timeline.gif http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_criminal_justice_cost_t...
- c1sc0 16y agoFunny, I didn't notice that bad language at all until I re-read the comment.
- duairc 16y agoWow, I had to reread it at least 5 times before I noticed it. "Fucked" for some reason is much less offensive to me than other forms like "fucking"... not like that is extremely offensive either, but "fucked" doesn't even seem at all bad.
- mkr-hn 16y agoI think it's a safe bet that anyone who finds themselves this deep in a site like HN is either an adult, or a kid with parents who give him/her a lot of freedom.
- igravious 16y agosigh Totally unexpected down-modding :) At the time I left this remark the commenter had only like 3 or 4 points and I was afraid that his use of the word "fuck" was causing his pertinent info to get overlooked. So I was trying to steer people towards this salient info regarding incarceration rates. I am not in the slightest bit offended by the language :) I was afraid others might be and was trying to offset that behaviour and I get modded down to the flames of hell and those who reply to me get tons of karma. For fuck's sake, where's the justice? Anyway, the dudes now got over 30 points so maybe my heroic effort did not go in vain. On-topic: unjustly locking up a whole swathe of your citizen's has got to be a drain on resources. Compare US incarceration rates to most Western European countries and think about the consequences for a while.
- rwl 16y agobut that generous spirit that, afaik, built California into a great state -- that's not worth overlooking Exactly right; and that, not the numbers, is the point of the article.
- speleding 16y agoWhat's also missing from the picture is the comparative advantage that the US had in the fifties compared to the rest of the world (with Europe in shambles after WW II). Today it's a lot harder/more expensive to have the best educational system now that the others are doing a decent job again.