Lets wait and see

[Ethnic]

This package is a disaster and won't stop anything. Sorry I have no faith in any of this. Throwing money at insulation, public housing, classrooms and cash give-aways? Give me a break. Is this the best they can come up with? Sure there's money for some things that may help but fuck all. Fuck all investment for long-term growth, increased competitiveness and to make life a little easier for employers. This is just popularist politics, pure and simple. Rudd is no different from Howard. Howard didn't have a grip on reality and neither does Rudd. We will suffer financially for this for many years to come. Please Senate block this madness.

[Jovial Monk]

Sorry but you are wrong Celetina.

The first handout worked. And if schools improve & get more resources that will be the #1 driver of growth in the long term.

[skippy]

[quote="mantra"]I'm a bit concerned about this package. It allows for double dipping for students and couples with children both earning up to $100,000 pa each. According to the Greens it's about $2 billion out in its' calculations.

For all this money - don't you think half of it could have been used to begin some major infrastructure projects - eg building more water pipelines from state to state and encouraging farmers to resettle in areas where there is no shortage of water. Water and food production should be our major priority, not only does it provide jobs, but sustenance as well. We have no idea how hard this recession is going to hit us and Rudd did talk a lot about how "green" he was. Instead of non-means tested insulation, what about decent subsidies for water tanks and solar energy for those who can't afford it.

quote]

I agree with all of that mantra, but things like the building industry have come to a halt, the carry on of that is the suppliers are now closing down too, steel yards, gyprock suppliers, the two largest closed down in my closest town just this week, I think Rudd is trying to save jobs in affected industry rather than create new ones, at least targeting schools puts the money into worthwhile projects as well as lift the building industry.

[Ethnic]

The first handouts provided flash-in-the-pan benefits, nothing long term. The retail sector said it helped but it helped for a short time and they still plan to close stores and sack people. If Rudd has any clue, he would get away from his sickening cash handout addiction and provide investment and funding to areas where it is actually needed i.e infrastructure that benefits everyone and relief for employers. Gosh even France figured that out. New resources for schools will have limited benefits if the problems of student disinterest and truancy, as well as unis pumping out under-qualified teachers who learn more about gender-equality in PE than teaching kids to read, write and count, isn't addressed first.

[skippy]

The first handouts provided flash-in-the-pan benefits, nothing long term. The retail sector said it helped but it helped for a short time and they still plan to close stores and sack people. If Rudd has any clue, he would get away from his sickening cash handout addiction and provide investment and funding to areas where it is actually needed i.e infrastructure that benefits everyone and relief for employers. Gosh even France figured that out. New resources for schools will have limited benefits if the problems of student disinterest and truancy, as well as unis pumping out under-qualified teachers who learn more about gender-equality in PE than teaching kids to read, write and count, isn't addressed first.

So you dont think teachers are as well trained as in "your day" celli?
Without the first handouts many retail outlets wouldn't have seen xmas, many wont see next xmas, but sitting back and saying let it work itself out, as Turnbull and Bishop have said is akin to saying, sit back and sip the snaps while rome burns, we'll just let the neo cons who got us into this mess sort it out, Australia probably will go into recession, Rudds trying to keep it shallow.

[Jovial Monk]

Lieberals did nothing about infrastructure or education in the eleven years, good economic years that they were in power. Worse, they let education run down--we were the only nation to CUT spending on higher education.

Now Rudd is supposed to fix all this and in the middle of a recession. The mind boggles at the hypocrisy coming from Lieberal supporters and pollies!

[Ethnic]

I didn't say anything about relieving the Liberals of their fault in neglecting infrastructure and I don't expect Rudd to fix anything. I don't think he can fix any of this, no matter how much money he throws around.

Skippy "my day" was only a few years ago. I don't believe teachers are being produced at anywhere near the quality they were being produced during the 70s and 80s. The courses are now too theoretical, social-driven and neglect the critical basics. I posted a while ago on kevinruddsucks.com that in my final year at uni, there were final year teaching students, only a few months away from completion, that didn't know how to do fractions, algebra, construct text types or basic science. In fact most of them would have failed a year 7 maths test. After four years, they knew nothing about how and what to teach in a classroom. Teaching graduates of previous decades had no such problems. The courses focus way too much on gender inequality, racism, social unrest, instititional discrimination, ethics, failed ideologies like constructivist maths and other crap of no real use but nothing on the realities of the classroom. Julia Gillard needs to get on this asap if resource boosting is to have any impact.

[JW Frogen]

I didn't say anything about relieving the Liberals of their fault in neglecting infrastructure and I don't expect Rudd to fix anything. I don't think he can fix any of this, no matter how much money he throws around.

Skippy "my day" was only a few years ago. I don't believe teachers are being produced at anywhere near the quality they were being produced during the 70s and 80s. The courses are now too theoretical, social-driven and neglect the critical basics. I posted a while ago on kevinruddsucks.com that in my final year at uni, there were final year teaching students, only a few months away from completion, that didn't know how to do fractions, algebra, construct text types or basic science. In fact most of them would have failed a year 7 maths test. After four years, they knew nothing about how and what to teach in a classroom. Teaching graduates of previous decades had no such problems. The courses focus way too much on gender inequality, racism, social unrest, instititional discrimination, ethics, failed ideologies like constructivist maths and other crap of no real use but nothing on the realities of the classroom. Julia Gillard needs to get on this asap if resource boosting is to have any impact.

My wife is a teacher and she would totally agree.

She laments how public schools are used as constant ever changing theory-labs for the dreams of academics who never actually teach or to fulfill the ambitions of politicians who have never taught anything. And don't even get her started on the bureaucracy, the mindless paperwork required!

*Gwen would make a great educational theorist.*