Test gap

Back in the 1970’s and 80’s the schools began to deemphasize the importance of using phonics to teach reading in favor of something called the whole language method. Mississippi, a state that ranked last in reading skills went back to phonics in 2013. They had a special two-year training program for K-3 teachers and passed legislation that students who could not pass the reading test given to third graders would be held back. They would then be giving one on one training by specially trained teachers. The result is that Mississippi students now rank number three. Should this system be tried in other states? Should some states use AI for individual one on one teaching. The income gap and the test score gaps are two of the biggest problems facing the country. The test gap is particularly harmful since it impacts minority students the most.

GDP

The trade imbalance effects the GDP. The GDP combines the personal consumption, private domestic investment, government expenditures and net exports. Net exports are imports minus exports. For 2024 the situation looks like: Personal consumption $19.9 trillion Private domestic investments $5.3 trillion Government expenditures $6.8 trillion Exports $2.0 trillion Imports $4.1 trillion Total $19.9 plus $5.3 plus $6.8 plus $2.0 minus $4.1 equals $29.9 trillion. This shows how the negative balance of trade effects the GDP. If exports equal imports the GDP would be 19.9 plus $5.3 plus $6.8 equals $32 trillion. The US GDP per capita in 2024 was $85.810. If exports and imports were equal the GDP per capita would be $91.515. This is why the government is using tariffs to equalize imports and exports. US manufacturing is increasing in all areas. For example, GE appliances invested a historic $3 billion and Samsung and LG have expanded their US based plants in items like washing machines and refrigerators. This is all part of bringing manufacturing jobs back home.

AI teacher

Ask Google does smaller class size improve learning and you get Yes, fewer students per class generally leads to improved student learning and achievement, with the most significant benefits seen when class sizes are reduced substantially in the earliest grades and for disadvantaged students. Smaller classes allow for more individualized attention, increased student engagement, improved academic performance, and reduced achievement gaps. However, benefits are most pronounced with large reductions in class size (e.g., fewer than 20 students), and the effectiveness depends on maintaining teacher quality. This opens the door to AI teacher. All students have individual computers and the powers to be get together and taking the best parts from the best teachers devise the AI teacher. It will be designed to teach students how to thing not what to think. Every class, every lesson can be immediately analyzed with feed back and grading. Parents can be kept abreast on a daily basis. It will be two-way communication from student to the AI teacher. It is one on one education. There will still be a need for the classroom teacher especially in the lower grades but the teacher will have time to spend on things other than the fundamentals.

New jobs

In the recent past the US trade deficits have increased dramatically and today stands at $1.2 trillion. Up until the 1960 the US normally had a trade surplus but this changed as globalization became the new world economic system. The result was the decline in manufacturing and the rise of the financial industry. This meant stagnant wages for working people and high profits for big business and the executives that worked in these businesses. The income gap soared based not on productivity but on favoring the financial sector and this was not based on merit. While a specific average CEO salary for 1950 is not readily available, the average CEO's pay was about 20 times the salary of the average worker during that era. This was a period of lower income disparity between CEOs and employees, with CEO compensation increasing to more than 600 times the average worker's pay by 2020. It is not reasonable to assume that today’s CEOs are 30 times more productive than those in the 1950’s. The country and indeed the Western world is now reversing this trend and the US will once again become a manufacturing power house. A recent poll said that 25% of respondents feel they would be better off working in a factory. This would be a three-fold increase over the 8% who now are factory workers. These new factories will be using the latest technology and AI to increase productivity which means higher wages and benefits. High schools and tech colleges along with on-the-job training will increase the value of the employees and add to the efficiency of the operation.

Type of racism

The origin of modern eugenics (late 19th century) Francis Galton coined the term meaning good birth. Galton believed that human society was hindering natural selection by protecting the weak. He argued that selective breeding should be applied to humans to improve the race. Historical eugenicists used a range of methods to eliminate "undesirables," primarily by curtailing reproduction and, in the most extreme cases, through extermination. These practices, which were based on the pseudoscientific belief that complex human traits could be bred in or out of the population, disproportionately targeted marginalized groups, such as people with disabilities, immigrants, and racial minorities. Less than 4% of the population is represented by Black females of child bearing age and they have 40% of all abortions. Some might consider this a type of eugenics.

Murders

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson was elected on April 2023. In 2024, Black Chicagoans were disproportionately affected by homicides, making up 78% of the victims despite being 29% of the population and 22 times more likely to be killed than White residents. Hispanic residents were also disproportionately impacted, making up 18% of homicide victims and being about 5 times more likely to be killed than White residents. White victims were the smallest group, representing the baseline for these disparities. This means that less than 4% of murder victims were White. This doesn’t seem to alarm anyone and could or should be considered racism.

Catch 22

Over-policing vs. Under-policing: North Minneapolis faces the paradox of historical over-policing, which can inflate crime data, alongside a reality of being under-protected and underserved by adequate police resources, notes the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the Department of Justice. Here is the dilemma. A new police chief is hired because crime is out of control. He finds out that 80% of the crime happens in 20% of the city so he assigns more police in that area. Over time crime decreases and the citizens are satisfied. A few years later some enterprising report does and in debt study which shows that disproportionate number of minorities are being arrested and convicted. This awakens groups like the ACLU and demands that changes be made so the police are moved to other parts of the city. In time crime increases in the minority areas and citizens demand that the police do something. It’s a catch 22.