11 ms·

I have several comments. 1. We're talking about literally 400 years between the height of Venetian power and the creation of the Libro d'Oro (1315) and its dec

I have several comments. 1. We're talking about literally 400 years between the height of Venetian power and the creation of the Libro d'Oro (1315) and its decline (17th to 18th century). Forgive me if I'm not quite ready to accept the author's core premise here. 2. This sentence made me LOL: "Public schools are starved of funding... This is the new Serrata". The premise of the statement, that public schools are starved of funding, is preposterous. NYC spends upwards of $20,000 per pupil per year. But even beyond that, comparing moderate variation in school funding levels to the creation of an ACTUAL OLIGARCHY is just, hack-city. That might be the kind of tortured analogy that gets you a favorable slot in the NY Times during election season, but it's sheer nonsense. Look, I can make any argument, on any part of the political spectrum, that way! "High income taxes ... this is the new Serrata." "Occupational licensing ... this is the new Serrata." "Immigration limits ... this is the new Serrata." "The Yankees spending $200m a year on their payroll ... this is the baseball Serrata."

stretchwithme 14y ago
The rapid increase in home prices also pushed up property taxes and still starved for funding.
- taf2 14y ago
  In CA at least there is prop 13 so unless you also have many new home buyers you have a percentage of the population still paying at 1970's tax rates... Slightly f'ed if you are correct about the spending increase - more detail here - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978) http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(19...
  - stretchwithme 14y ago
    Thee are many factors. There were a lot of new buyers. Those older owners had more incentive than ever to cash out during the housing bubble. There was enormous turnover in ownership. And for all of the old owners, their taxes can be increased by 2% every year. So they do eventually go up, even as values are dropping, until they reach a ceiling of 1%. Here's what the data looks like for the last 17 years: http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/state-taxes/california/property-tax/tax-revenue/2011/q3#graph http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/state-taxes/ca...
tsotha 14y ago
>Public schools are starved of funding.. That made me laugh, too. Somehow this has become received wisdom for the press, but not only is it false, it's very false. Here in CA we're spending twice what we spent per student in 1970 (in constant dollars), and if anything outcomes are worse.
- ChuckMcM 14y ago
  I point that out to people and it annoys them. I ask how is it we've doubled the funding per student and our results are so bad, maybe funding isn't the issue. It is a hard thing for folks to hear though. If the thing you are telling them means there isn't an "easy" (or even imaginable) solution to the problem they care deeply about, they really can't accept it. It feels like accepting defeat.
  - jeremymcanally 14y ago
    The problem isn't the amount we're spending, it's how it's being spent. Everyone I know who is a teacher has severe issues funding class activities and are usually told they have $0 for supplies for the entire year. That tells me the money is being used in largely unproductive ways. Where is the extra money going? Probably to pay for a bureaucrat to enforce the new standardized testing and feedback crap that isn't really helping all that much. Probably to fund more sports because sports, amirite? Probably paying for iPads that, while useful, aren't being use the way they're supposed to because of untrained teachers. Wherever it's going, it likely isn't going to fund classroom equipment that teachers actually need or quality textbooks for students.
    - keithpeter 14y ago
      Yup: UK we spent huge amounts of money on new school and college buildings which did not actually improve anything. Some College managements are so precious about their new buildings that they have regulations about putting things on walls. Yes, even art Colleges!
    - antidoh 14y ago
      I haven't looked into it. My speculation is that it's going to labor: pay and benefits. That's the largest cost in almost any endeavor.
piffey 14y ago
Just because we spend the money doesn't mean it makes it to the students.
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
MikeCapone 14y ago
After watching _Waiting for Superman_, it seems like one of the main problems with public schools in the US isn't not enough unions, but too much of them, creating a system where the teachers come first and children are a distant second.
tlear 14y ago
History is inconvenient? Just rewrite it.. it is embarrassing the posted garbage like this

stretchwithme 14y ago

The rapid increase in home prices also pushed up property taxes and still starved for funding.

taf2 14y ago
In CA at least there is prop 13 so unless you also have many new home buyers you have a percentage of the population still paying at 1970's tax rates... Slightly f'ed if you are correct about the spending increase - more detail here - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978) http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(19...
- stretchwithme 14y ago
  Thee are many factors. There were a lot of new buyers. Those older owners had more incentive than ever to cash out during the housing bubble. There was enormous turnover in ownership. And for all of the old owners, their taxes can be increased by 2% every year. So they do eventually go up, even as values are dropping, until they reach a ceiling of 1%. Here's what the data looks like for the last 17 years: http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/state-taxes/california/property-tax/tax-revenue/2011/q3#graph http://www.indexmundi.com/facts/united-states/state-taxes/ca...

tsotha 14y ago

>Public schools are starved of funding.. That made me laugh, too. Somehow this has become received wisdom for the press, but not only is it false, it's very false. Here in CA we're spending twice what we spent per student in 1970 (in constant dollars), and if anything outcomes are worse.

ChuckMcM 14y ago
I point that out to people and it annoys them. I ask how is it we've doubled the funding per student and our results are so bad, maybe funding isn't the issue. It is a hard thing for folks to hear though. If the thing you are telling them means there isn't an "easy" (or even imaginable) solution to the problem they care deeply about, they really can't accept it. It feels like accepting defeat.
- jeremymcanally 14y ago
  The problem isn't the amount we're spending, it's how it's being spent. Everyone I know who is a teacher has severe issues funding class activities and are usually told they have $0 for supplies for the entire year. That tells me the money is being used in largely unproductive ways. Where is the extra money going? Probably to pay for a bureaucrat to enforce the new standardized testing and feedback crap that isn't really helping all that much. Probably to fund more sports because sports, amirite? Probably paying for iPads that, while useful, aren't being use the way they're supposed to because of untrained teachers. Wherever it's going, it likely isn't going to fund classroom equipment that teachers actually need or quality textbooks for students.
  - keithpeter 14y ago
    Yup: UK we spent huge amounts of money on new school and college buildings which did not actually improve anything. Some College managements are so precious about their new buildings that they have regulations about putting things on walls. Yes, even art Colleges!
  - antidoh 14y ago
    I haven't looked into it. My speculation is that it's going to labor: pay and benefits. That's the largest cost in almost any endeavor.

piffey 14y ago

Just because we spend the money doesn't mean it makes it to the students.

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

MikeCapone 14y ago

After watching _Waiting for Superman_, it seems like one of the main problems with public schools in the US isn't not enough unions, but too much of them, creating a system where the teachers come first and children are a distant second.

tlear 14y ago

History is inconvenient? Just rewrite it.. it is embarrassing the posted garbage like this