Why Little Johnny USA can’t read and Little Yuēhàny China can

Progressives never seem to tire of showing off why just because they can read doesn’t mean they have a lick of sense. Their recent love affair with everything Chinese is becoming almost laughable. The cartoon below that appeared in the Patriot News today is a perfect illustration of this absurd fixation with how much better things are in China than in America.

Source ^[[1]^]

Well now Mr. Smarty Pants cartoonist for a Philadelphia newspaper how about that Little Johnny USA’s test scores might be affected by the abject failure of the public education system in the U.S. over the past 40 years. A public education system driven into the dirt by one progressive dumb idea after another (don’t use red pens to grade papers) and the funneling of tax dollars into administrative staff and unions rather than things that might help Johnny read a little better.

Between 1990 and 2006 ^[[2]^]:

Overall public education spending increased by over 80% (based on 2006 dollars)
School district administrative staff increased over 65%
Instructional staff increased 38%
Other staff increased 35%
The student population increased just under 20%
The public high graduation rate in 1990 was 71.18% and in 2006 it was 68.6% (for the twelve year period 1995-2006 the graduation rate averaged 3% below the 1990 reference point rate)

Per student public education spending in Pennsylvania for school year 2003-2004 was $10,990 with a high school graduation rate yield of 78%. In your beloved Philadelphia school district an average of $13,498 per student was spent to yield a 49.6% graduation rate. ^[[3]^]

This data tells us nothing about the functional literacy of those that do graduate from the failing U.S. public school system. If the number of colleges that have to offer remedial math and English courses for the cream of the crop that do manage to graduate is any indication, what can we expect of the layers below the cream?

What happens when Little Johnny USA talks back to the teacher, doesn’t show up for school or does show up for school but in drug induced stupor? Not much. Now let’s consider Little Yuēhàny China’s ^[[4]^]public education circumstances. While we don’t have much hard data (remember China is still run by the Chicoms – Chinese Communists – and they aren’t real big on sharing information) it’s a pretty safe bet that Little Yuēhàny China isn’t likely to cut class or be doing drugs before school or in the school yard. Talking back to the teacher is probably not happening in China. Absent any hard data it is still reasonable to speculate that public education spending in China since 1990 has increased but that the increase didn’t go toward bloated school district administrative staff, teacher’s unions, and runaway retirement benefits programs.

As for New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s ^[[5]^] wondering why the America can no longer do big stuff like China does, as in building a brand new convention center in only nine months, get your head out of your rear end Tom. Once again absent any solid data let’s begin by considering a few things like the EPA (permits many needed), OSHA (inspections many needed), forcing builders to use union labor only, and completely insane zoning and building ordnances in the USA. It takes nine months to even think about thinking about building a building here in the USA. Tom you need look no further than the over regulating, over taxing nanny state that you and your Political Ruling Class friends have managed to foist upon America.

Progressives over played their hand before they were able to snuff out the last spark of American exceptionalism. If the resurgence of constitutional conservatism in general and the Tea Party in particular can sustain the initiative coming out of the November 2010 election cycle there remains hope that American exceptionalism can be nurtured back to what it once was.

It’s not that little Johnny can’t read because we haven’t been paying enough taxes. Little Johnny can’t read because those entrusted to maintain the system of public education have not done their job and have squandered enormous amounts of money.

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