The 7 Most Important Eminent Domain Cases

The 7 Most Important Eminent Domain Cases Eminent domain is the act of taking private property for public use. Enumerated in the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it gives states and the federal government the right to seize property for public use in exchange for just compensation (based on fair market value for a piece of land). The concept of eminent domain is connected to the functionality of the government, because the government needs to acquire property for infrastructure and services like public schools, public utilities, parks, and transit operations. Seven key court cases throughout the 19th and 20th centuries allowed the judiciary to define eminent domain. Most eminent domain challenges focus on whether the lands were taken for a purpose that qualifies as â€Å"public use† and whether the compensation provided was â€Å"just. Kohl v. United States Kohl v. United States (1875) was the first Supreme Court case to assess the federal government’s eminent domain powers. The federal government seized a portion of the petitioner’s lands without compensation for the purpose of building a post office, customs office, and other government facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio. The petitioners alleged that the court did not have jurisdiction, the government could not acquire the land without proper legislation, and that the government should accept an independent assessment of the value of the land before compensating. In a decision delivered by Justice Strong, the court ruled in favor of the government. According to the majority opinion, eminent domain is a core and essential power afforded to the government through the Constitution. The government may develop legislation to further define eminent domain, but the legislation is not required in order to the use of the power. In the majority opinion, Justice Strong wrote: â€Å"If the right of eminent domain exists in the federal government, it is a right which may be exercised within the states, so far as is necessary to the enjoyment of the powers conferred upon it by the Constitution.† United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railroad Company In United States v. Gettysburg Electric Railroad Company (1896), Congress used eminent domain to condemn the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. The Gettysburg Railroad Company, who owned land in the condemned area, sued the government, alleging that the condemnation violated their Fifth Amendment right. The majority ruled that as long as the railroad company was paid fair market value for the land, the condemnation was lawful. In terms of public use, Justice Peckham, on behalf of the majority wrote, â€Å"No narrow view of the character of this proposed use should be taken. Its national character and importance, we think, are plain.† Furthermore, the court held that the amount of land needed in any eminent domain seizure is for the legislature to determine, not the court. Chicago, Burlington Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago Chicago, Burlington Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago (1897) incorporated the Fifth Amendment takings clause using the Fourteenth Amendment. Prior to this case, states had used eminent domain powers un-regulated by the Fifth Amendment. This means that states may have seized property for public use without just compensation. In the 1890s, the city of Chicago aimed to connect a stretch of road, even though it meant cutting through private property. The city condemned the land through a court petition and paid just compensation to the property owners. Quincy Railroad Corporation owned part of the condemned land and was awarded one dollar for the taking. The railroad appealed the judgment. In a 7-1 decision delivered by Justice Harlan, the court ruled that the state could take land under eminent domain if the original owners were awarded just compensation. The taking of the Railroad Company’s land had not deprived the company of its use. The street only bisected the railroad tracts and did not cause the tracts to be removed. Therefore, one dollar was just compensation for the taking. Berman v. Parker In 1945, Congress established the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency to authorize the seizure of â€Å"blighted† housing districts for rebuilding. Berman owned a department store in the area slated for redevelopment and did not want his property to be seized along with the â€Å"blighted† area. In Berman v. Parker (1954), Berman sued on the basis that the District of Columbia Redevelopment Act  and its seizure of his land violated his right to due process. In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Douglas, the court found that the seizure of Berman’s property was not a violation of his Fifth Amendment right. The Fifth Amendment does not specify what the land must be used for outside of â€Å"public use. Congress has the power to decide what this use might be and the goal of turning the land into housing, specifically low-income housing, fit the general definition of the takings clause. The majority opinion by Justice Douglas read: â€Å"Once the question of the public purpose has been decided, the amount and character of land to be taken for the project and the need for a particular tract to complete the integrated plan rests in the discretion of the legislative branch.† Penn Central Transportation v. New York City Penn Central Transportation v. New York City (1978) asked the court to decide whether a Landmark Preservation Law, which restricted Penn Station from building a 50-story building above it, was constitutional. Penn Station argued that preventing the construction of the building amounted to an illegal taking of the airspace by the City of New York, violating the Fifth Amendment. The court ruled in a 6-3 decision that the Landmarks Law was not a violation of the Fifth Amendment because restricting the construction of a 50-story building did not constitute a taking of the airspace. The Landmarks Law was more closely related to a zoning ordinance than eminent domain, and New York had a right to restrict construction in the public interest of protecting the â€Å"general welfare† of the surrounding area. Penn Central Transportation could not prove that New York had meaningfully â€Å"taken† the property simply because they had lowered the economic capacity and interfered with the property rights. Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff Hawaii’s Land Reform Act of 1967 sought to tackle the issue of unequal land ownership on the island. Only 72 private landowners possessed 47 percent of the land. Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff (1984) asked the court to determine whether the state of Hawaii could enact a law that would use eminent domain to take lands from lessors (property owners) and redistribute them to lessees (property renters). In a 7-1 decision, the court ruled that the Land Reform Act was constitutional. Hawaii sought to use eminent domain to prevent a concentration of private ownership, a purpose generally associated with good democratic governance. Additionally, the state legislature has just as much power to make this determination as Congress. The fact that the property was transferred from one private party to another did not defeat the public nature of the exchange. Kelo v. City of New London In Kelo v. City of New London (2005), the plaintiff, Kelo, sued the city of New London, Connecticut for seizing her property under eminent domain and transferring it to New London Development Corporation. Susette Kelo, along with other property owners in the area, had refused to sell their private property, and the city had condemned it to force the owners to accept just compensation. Kelo alleged that the seizure of her property was a violation of the â€Å"public use† element of the Fifth Amendment takings clause because the land would be used for economic development which is not solely public. Kelo’s property was not â€Å"blighted† and it would be transferred to a private firm for economic development. In a 5-4 decision delivered by Justice Stevens, the Court upheld aspects of its ruling in Berman v. Parker and Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff. Redistributing the land was part of a detailed economic plan. The court ruled that this plan constituted a public use. Even though the transfer of land was from one private party to another, the goal of that transfer – economic development – served a definitive public purpose. In this case, the court further defined â€Å"public use† by explaining that it was not confined to literal usage by the public. Public use could mean public benefit or general welfare. Sources Kohl v. United States, 91 U.S. 367 (1875).Kelo v. New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005).United States v. Gettysburg Elec. Ry. Co., 160 U.S. 668 (1896).Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978).Hawaii Housing Auth. v. Midkiff, 467 U.S. 229 (1984).Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954).Chicago, B. Q. R. Co. v. Chicago, 166 U.S. 226 (1897).Somin, Ilya. â€Å"The Story behind Kelo v. City of New London.†Ã‚  The Washington Post, The Washington Post, 29 May 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/05/29/the-story-behind-the-kelo-case-how-an-obscure-takings-case-came-to-shock-the-conscience-of-the-nation/?utm_term.c6ecd7fb2fce.â€Å"History of the Federal Use of Eminent Domain.†Ã‚  The United States Department of Justice, 15 May 2015, www.justice.gov/enrd/history-federal-use-eminent-domain.â€Å"Constitutional Law. Federal Power of Eminent Domain.†Ã‚  The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 7, no. 1, 1939, pp. 166–169.  JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1596535.â€Å"Annotation 14 - Fifth Amendment.†Ã‚  Findlaw, constitution.findlaw.com/amendment5/annotation14.html#f170.

Charles Darwins Finches and the Theory of Evolution

Charles Darwins Finches and the Theory of Evolution Charles Darwin is known as the father of evolution. When he was a young man, Darwin set out on a voyage on the HMS Beagle. The ship sailed from England in late December of 1831 with Charles Darwin aboard as the crews naturalist. The voyage was to take the ship around South America with many stops along the way. It was Darwins job to study the local flora and fauna, collecting samples and making observations he could take back to Europe with him of such a diverse and tropical location. The crew made it to South America in a few short months, after a brief stop in the Canary Islands. Darwin spent most of his time on land collecting data. They stayed for more than three years on the continent of South America before venturing on to other locations. The next celebrated stop for the HMS Beagle was the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. Galapagos Islands Charles Darwin and the rest of the HMS Beagle crew spent only five weeks in the Galapagos Islands, but the research performed there and the species Darwin brought back to England were instrumental in the formation of a core part of the original theory of evolution and Darwins ideas on natural selection which he published in his first book . Darwin studied the geology of the region along with giant tortoises that were indigenous to the area. Perhaps the best known of Darwins species he collected while on the Galapagos Islands were what are now called Darwins Finches. In reality, these birds are not really part of the finch family and are thought to probably actually be some sort of blackbird or mockingbird. However, Darwin was not very familiar with birds, so he killed and preserved the specimens to take back to England with him where he could collaborate with an ornithologist. Finches and Evolution The HMS Beagle continued to sail on to as far away lands as New Zealand before returning to England in 1836. It was back in Europe when he enlisted in the help of John Gould, a celebrated ornithologist in England. Gould was surprised to see the differences in the beaks of the birds and identified the 14 different specimens as actual different species - 12 of which were brand new species. He had not seen these species anywhere else before and concluded they were unique to the Galapagos Islands. The other, similar, birds Darwin had brought back from the South American mainland were much more common but different than the new Galapagos species. Charles Darwin did not come up with the Theory of Evolution on this voyage. As a matter of fact, his grandfather Erasmus Darwin had already instilled the idea that species change through time in Charles. However, the Galapagos finches helped Darwin solidify his idea of natural selection. The favorable adaptations of Darwins Finches beaks were selected for over generations until they all branched out to make new species. These birds, although nearly identical in all other ways to mainland finches, had different beaks. Their beaks had adapted to the type of food they ate in order to fill different niches on the Galapagos Islands. Their isolation on the islands over long periods of time made them undergo speciation. Charles Darwin then began to disregard the previous thoughts on evolution put forth by Jean Baptiste Lamarck who claimed species spontaneously generated from nothingness. Darwin wrote about his travels in the book The Voyage of the Beagle and fully explored the information he gained from the Galapagos Finches in his most famous book On the Origin of Species. It was in that publication that he first discussed how species changed over time, including divergent evolution, or adaptive radiation, of the Galapagos finches.

Interview on perceptions of a product or service and ways of Assignment

Interview on perceptions of a product or service and ways of motivating customers and increasing customer satisfaction - Assignment Example The product is intended to be utilised as a night and day-wearing product, wearable under make-up as an all-day moisturizer, designed to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The Time Zone line contains a blend of antioxidants, Vitamin C and exclusive Cell Vector technology that assist in not only skin hydration, but to repair cellular damage. The product’s trademarked Tri-HA Cell Signalling Complex is included in the product in order to motivate skin to increase production of the natural hyaluronic acid that plumps up skin and reverse the signs of normal aging (Estee Lauder 2013). The product retails between ?70 and ?105 for a 48.19 gram product and 70.87 gram portion, respectively. This product is positioned as a luxury product on the market, backed by 67 years of competitive branding and promotion and is therefore targeted to the high resource buyer. 2. Perception, motivation and satisfaction – A review of literature Perceptions of product value impacts consumer satisfaction (Tam 2004). However, what is considered to be valuable is unique to different consumer segments based on their lifestyles, beliefs, resource availability, and assessment of how the product can provide meaning or self-expansion to the consumer. When consumers attempt to interpret marketing communications and product value, they often rely on stereotypes and the halo effect, which is where perceived value of one product offered by the marketer extends into other product brands. The halo effect involves pre-established trust in a branded product that translates into consumer perceptions that other products by the same manufacturer will be equally valuable (Schiffman and Kanuk 2010; BBC News 2005); a form of brand trust leading to brand loyalty. Estee Lauder products have been positioned as luxury products since the 1950s, with some of the first contracts for distribution established with U.S.-based high-end retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue. Celebrity endorsemen ts have been utilised for decades illustrating endorsers sharing aspirational characteristics relevant to consumers that are motivated by credible and attractive famous figures. Thus, Estee Lauder products are generational and the brand has been a common household name in beauty enhancement, with considerable brand awareness and loyalty with certain target markets. Escalas and Bettman (2005) state that brands become symbolic especially when they are tied to celebrity involvement; taking on perceived characteristics of glitz, aspiration and charm when consumers compare the ability of the product to enhance their self-image. When attempting to understand perception, it is necessary to highlight the aspirational opportunities of certain luxury brands, especially those that influence advancement of the consumers’ social status and reference group affiliation (Kim, Forsythe, Gu and Moon 2002). In fact, O’Cass and McEwen (2004) identify the phenomenon of status consumption, in which buyers of a product select the brand as a means of showing their social status in order to achieve some form of psychological satisfaction. This is where stereotypes come into play for marketers since many luxury consumers are very concerned about their role in affiliation with important reference group figures. Estee Lauder has been able to create an aspirational brand that is perceived by many consumer segments as being viable for improving their social lives

Questions on Global Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Questions on Global Issues - Essay Example egitimacy as a source of national identity, will open doors for other mediums such as religion and culture to fill the void for nationalism and further threaten the state. This struggle is reminiscent of what Samuel Huntington wrote in his book The Clash of Civilization, he notes that in the post-Cold War era, wars and conflicts will be fought not because of economic or ideological reasons, but because of cultural phenomenon brought about by clashes among civilizations. He argues that Western instruments of modernity will create conflicts with the non-Western world due to the isolation and aggression that it will create. With globalization bringing nations and cultures together, non-Western cultures may feel isolated and threatened. In order to protect themselves, and with no apparent formal channel to do so under the nation-state, religion –being inextricably linked and identified with culture, becomes a crucial refuge and a powerful tool to fight back. However, due to the changes in today’s world – deeper integration between nations and economies, rapid developments in communications and technology (including instruments of war), blurring of national borders, and a growing animosity towards the Western world due to the spread of information among different nations and cultures; conflict, including those propelled by religious beliefs, have taken a new and more complicated face. Religious warfare, unlike the traditional conduct of war, has become more complicated to address because, as Mark Juergensmeyer notes, religious struggle (1) gives the moral authority for extremists to embark on â€Å"catastrophic acts with biblical proportions,† (2) takes generations to succeed, and (3) provide both a personal and symbolic redemption for its perpetrators. By elevating their struggles to a cosmic war, religious extremists not only elevate their fight to be one of good against evil, they also impact public consciousness, bringing awareness, and at times sympathy, to

Distinguishing the Arts and Crafts in Books

Distinguishing the Arts and Crafts in Books OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC This dissertation examines the craft of the book and its distinction between Art and Craft. Is it considered an art form†¦ a fine art if you will, or simply a traditional craft? The intended, original purpose of the book, was to be used as a means of recording information, but soon developed to become a piece of literature used for education or to contain novels of drama, fantasy, crime and other assorted genres, eventually developing further into aesthetically pleasing objects of art. In this digital era our daily lives have become disengaged from touch and so the craft of the book is taken for granted, with no thought taken into how books are made, whether it is by means of machine or by hand. REASONS FOR INVESTIGATION The tactile nature and this production method of books†¦ the traditional handmade method to be more precise is what drew me to this subject. I myself am an obsessive bookbinder, producing handcrafted books on a daily basis; there is a concrete sense of satisfaction felt in transforming sheets of paper or other media into a book. I am fascinated with this traditional craft and the aesthetic qualities the book possess, with the use of fine quality materials used and the traditional techniques and methods. However, more recently, there are now other uses for the traditionally bound book, one being the function as an artists medium, an art object known today as Artists Books. Having just recently discovered this art form, I feel more investigation is needed to distinguish what sets it apart from the traditionally crafted book. Is this genre of book art considered an art or craft? KEY AIMS AND OBJECTIVES There will be a number of key aims and objectives to this exploration of the craft of the book. However the primary objective of this study will be to determine the art and craft aspects of this handmade production of books, determining their distinctions. William Morris, a well-known figure in the Arts Crafts movement, will be a vital key thinker in studying the traditional craft aspect of the book. Morris, going back to the traditional methods of the 15th century, produces books â€Å"†¦with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [1] At the other end of the scale, Johanna Drucker, a scholarly writer in the book arts, will be a vital key thinker in exploring the art aspect of the book, more specifically the subject of Artists Books. Her book, The Century of Artists Books explores the Artists Book and its development in form and concept. She comments that Artists Books â€Å"†¦did not exist in their current form before the 20th century†.[2] That being the case, there is a possible transformation of the book from a traditional craft, to an expressive art form, which will be explored in the coming chapters, along with further exploration to discover the of moment of liberation for the book designer and the Artists Book. STRUCTURE The first chapter examines the historical significance of the book and its perceived appearance as a work of art. It will begin by reviewing the history of the book as a container of information, as a means of recording the past, touching on the various methods, techniques and technologies that were paramount in the craft of book production. Key thinkers involved will be Lucien Febvre and Henri-Jean Martin, in particular their highly credited book, The Coming of the Book. Along with other key thinkers in this field of study, they will assist in examining the development of the book and print culture, exploring the historical importance and emergence of the codex book that we are familiar with today. The first chapter will also consider the work of William Morris, a leader in the Arts Crafts Movement, and his interest in the craft of the book and the traditional methods of book production he used. Morriss greatest achievement, the influential Kelmscott Press, will set the scene to explore the growth of the private press of the twentieth century. Does the private press of today meet the standards of early traditional book production? Can the handmade qualities of the private press be compared to the machine made? As David Pye comments on his theories in workmanship, the effects of the finish and the aspects of the handmade, â€Å"Some materials promise far more than others but only the workman can bring out what they promise†.[3] The second chapter however, will be concerned with the book in relation to art, or to be more specific†¦ the Artists Book. Here the referencing of Johanna Drucker, a key thinker and scholarly writer on the subject, will be useful as it will introduce the early forms of the Artists Book, focusing more on the development of the book as an object of art. As well as a select few artists that were paramount in the development of the Artists Book, the work of William Blake, Ed Ruscha and Dieter Roth will be explored along with the relationship between text and image, artist and author. The third and final chapter offers a study of Fine Bindings being produced today, focusing on the work of Shepherds Bookbinders of London as great examples of contemporary bindings. The books in particular are a set of hand crafted, limited edition Ian Fleming novels†¦ the James Bond series to be more precise. They are of high quality craftsmanship, although with aesthetic qualities that would consider them to be works of art. Compared to their paperback counterparts, the study of these books will aid in understanding whether the handcrafted books of today are considered art or craft. The study will review numerous definitions of art and craft, which I shall discuss in the conclusion. Will a definitive distinction between art and craft be achieved? Will the craft of the book fit into either one of these categories, or even its own category yet to be named? The answers to these questions and more will be discovered in the coming chapters of this investigation. Sources [1] Ruari McLean, Modern Book Design: from William Morris to the present day, Faber Faber, London, 1958, p.11 [2] Johanna Drucker, The Century of Artists Books, Granary Books, New York, 2004, p.1 [3] David Pye, The Nature Art of Workmanship, University Press, Cambridge, 1968, p.2

School will Improve Education in America

School choice will improve education in America. Public schools are grossly inefficient, and are not educating many of America's youths adequately. Schools that are run independent from local government bureaucracy provide better education at lower cost. School choice would allow more students to attend better schools. School choice is a potent educational reform that is far more effective than increased spending. The fears of opponents of school choice are factually unfounded. School choice is necessary to improve American education. Through allowing more parental choice in education, school choice forces education into a free market environment. As it is now, parents send children to the nearest school, assigned to them by the school district. If a family is wealthy enough and chooses to do so, parents can send children to private schools. However, this family then pays twice for one education. They still pay their taxes, and they pay the tuition for the private school. Under a school choice plan, any parent who decides to send their child to a private school will receive a scholarship from the government, redeemable for tuition at scholarship accepting private schools. The scholarship dollar amount is far below that of the average cost per student per year at public schools, but would allow millions of parents who cannot presently afford private tuition to do so. If a school performed poorly, parents would choose to remove their children, and then send to them to better schools. If a school began losing all its students, and therefore all its funding, the school would desire to improve. Under the current system, government schools get your money whether they are doing a good job or not. Milton Friedman was one of the first people to propose a school choice plan. Since he did so over a quarter century ago, support has expanded rapidly. However, few plans for school choice have actually been enacted. The city of Milwaukee enacted a program designed by future choice icon Polly Williams. She asked the simple yet brilliant question, â€Å"Why not allow tax dollars to go to the schools that are working? † (Harmer, 162) The plan does not allow religious schools to participate, and allows only low-income children to take part. Schools that participate can have no more than 49% of their students are scholarship receiving students. The extremely limited scale demonstration has had little effect on Milwaukee public schools, but has enabled many students to attend better schools. The number of students in the choice program has grown every year, in 1990 there were 341, in 1994 there were 846. (McGroarty, 36) In California in 1993, the Parental Choice in Education Initiative was placed on the ballot. The initiative was defeated by more than 2 to 1. However, proponents were outspent by a factor of 4 to 1. Unions such as the AFL-CIO, Nation Education Association, and California Teachers association raised over $17 million. Proponents raised only $4. 1 million, and were left with only $2. 5 million once they got the initiative on the ballot. (Harmer, 147) Demonstrators attempted to physically prevent people from signing the petitions to get the initiative on the ballot. People deliberately signed the petition multiple times to hamper school choice efforts. One person signed 23 times. Principles and teachers sent home anti-school choice information with children. School boards, such as that of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), illegally used public funds and forums to send an anti-choice message. From the standpoint of well to do Washington, D. C. suburbs, a school choice plan may seem unnecessary. Choice plans are not designed to help the upper-middle or upper class children. David Harmer wrote, â€Å"In my travels as president of the Excellence through Choice in Education League (ExCEL), I rarely met rich white suburban Republicans who were desperate for alternative schools. † (Harmer, 114) They already get a good education from government schools. However, rural poor and inner-city children do not have that luxury. For example, in the city of Milwaukee, only 40% of freshman will eventually graduate from high school, and the average GPA for students is a D+. (McGroarty, 30) School choice plans would help these students the most. The people most involved in the education system are the ones who most easily realize the problems of government schools. The Wall Street Journal wrote that, â€Å"The California State Census Data Center, after analyzing the 1990 Census, found that about 18. 2% of the state's public school teachers send their children to private schools. That's nearly twice the statewide average for all households, which is 9. 7%† (Harmer, 28) College entrance exam scores have been dropping across the board, and the US often ranks dead last in international comparisons among industrialized nations. From 1960 to 1992, the average SAT score dropped 76 points. If one were to include the reenterings of the SAT test, scores would drop even further. (Harmer, 19) The landmark study by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at Risk, claimed, â€Å"Each generation of Americans has outstripped its parents in education, in literacy, and in economic attainment. For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach, those of their parents. † (Harmer, 25) In addition academic failure, public schools are failing to produce good citizens. According to a Tulane study, 20% of suburban high schooler's condoned shooting someone who had stolen something of theirs. (Harmer, 29) The answer, contrary to what many education reformers claim, is not to throw more money into schools. Only one nation in the entire world spends more money per student, per year than the US, Switzerland. Japan, whose schools consistently outperform those of the US, spends only half as much money per student. Accounting for inflation, per student expenditure has increased 40 percent since 1982, and has tripled since 1960. (Harmer, 38) The image of the â€Å"criminally-underfunded† public school is false. Class size has also failed to improve education. The pupil teacher ratio declined from 25. 8:1 in 1960 to 17. 3:1 in 1991. Even in urban public schools, the ratio is as low as 17. 9:1. (McGroarty, 16) The image of the over crowded inner city school is also false. There is no relationship between spending and educational achievement in grade schools. A recent comparison of per student expenditure and scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests by Forbes and Right Data Associates found the correlation coefficient for a linear relationship between spending and test scores to be 0. 12. (This value could range from -1 to 1, the closer the absolute value of the correlation coefficient is to 1, the stronger the relationship. ) (Brimelow, 52) Where does all the money go? In the LAUSD only 36 % of school funding is spent on teacher salaries, textbooks, and supplies. Thirty-one people are paid over $100,000 a year, only one of which is a teacher. Statewide in California, only 44 percent of the people employed by the school system are teachers. In the independent schools in California, 86 percent of school employees are teachers. (Harmer, 41-43) The situation is the same nationwide. Researcher Michael Fisher found that only 25. 7% of funds reach the classroom in Milwaukee schools. (McGroarty, 21) It is plain to see that throwing more money at schools and calling it reform won't help the situation. Leaders of the National Education Association and its statewide affiliates have done much of the campaigning against proposed school choice plans. They represent the only people who are set to lose because of school choice: the education bureaucrats. Their jobs will no longer be guaranteed by a government monopoly. Many people fear that schools supported by the new choice movements would be fly-by-night institutions that are out to make a profit, teach racial and religious discrimination, and condone violent behavior. However, legislative school choice efforts have placed regulations on independent schools. The Parental Choice in Education initiative in California contained the following items: (1) No school, which discriminates on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, may redeem scholarships. (2) To the extent permitted by this Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. The State shall prevent from redeeming scholarships any school which advocates unlawful behavior; teaches hatred of any person or group on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, or gender; or deliberately provides false or misleading information respecting the school. 3) No school with fewer than 25 students may redeem scholarships, unless the Legislature provides otherwise. These measures would prevent fraud and discrimination. School choice does not condone discrimination. Government already regulates private schools to some degree, and this would definitely not decrease with the use of vouchers. Too many people are under the opinion that private schools are all elite academies or preppy boarding schools, both of which charge admission the price of a college education. However, 95 percent of Catholic schools, and 88 percent of Protestant schools charge tuition under $2,500 a year. Robert Genetski said, â€Å"Average cost data for public and private education indicate that in 1990 the operating cost per student for kindergarten through grade 12 in public schools was $4,841, compared with private school costs of $1,902. † (Harmer, 76) The truth is that even the poorest of parents would be able to afford a private education with a school choice plan. In legislative efforts for choice in California, parents would receive a voucher for half the cost of public schools, which would completely cover the costs of many adequate private schools. It is true that the government would lose money by giving scholarships to students already attending private schools. However, the government gains money by losing new students to private schools, since only half of a students tax money follows the student. The students that leave after school choice is enacted would provide a pool of money that would more than cover current private school attendees. Furthermore, David Harmer, author of the Parental Choice in Education initiative and School Choice: Why You Need It, How You Get It, said that if he had to rewrite the initiative, he would include a measure that would phase in school choice. Each year one new grade would be allowed to participate, starting at Kindergarten, and ending with grade 12. No students currently in private schools would benefit from school choice. (Harmer, 178) Opponents of school choice fear that children with special needs would be left out in the cold, since private schools would deny them admission. However, special education is already dealt with by a voucher type system. Public schools cannot meet the needs of many children, so the government sends these children with special needs to private contractors, such as the local School for Contemporary Education. Children who have special needs are guaranteed an equivalent education by many state laws, and this would not change under a school choice plan. Edd Doerr wrote that, â€Å"Despite repeated and misleading claims to the contrary, vouchers are merely the latest in a long line of attempts by sectarian special interests to channel public money to church-related education institutions. (Doerr, et al, 37) He conjures up images of â€Å"government funded religious schools† that, horror of horrors, teach religion. However, the GI Bill is constitutional! If a student decides to spend money from the government on a religious education, it does not mean that the wall between church and state has come tumbling down. Today students use money from the GI Bill and Pell Grants at religious colleges without any problem. Voucher plans are the exact same thing, except with younger kids. George Bush even called his school choice plan the â€Å"GI Bill for Kids. To say that vouchers fund religious schools is to say that food stamps are government funding of supermarkets. As to cultural balkanization, school choice would not effect this at all. Religious or racial discrimination is not allowed. The claim that society is held together by a â€Å"common school experience† is a faulty argument. Schools exist to teach, not for the sake of existing. Americans respect diversity and freedom of opinion, but somehow a diversity of ideas in education seems anathema. Private schools send a higher percentage of students to college than do public schools. Their students perform better on standardized tests. They operate more cost efficiently. They are directly responsible to the parents of their students, while public schools pay more attention to school boards and administrators. Government schools have had a monopoly on children for far too long. Thanks to their efforts, one third of American seventeen-year-olds cannot locate France on a map of the world. Only one in ten can write a reasonable paragraph or do pre-college mathematics. Every citizen in America deserves a decent education. School choice can make it happen.

Personal Narrative The Lightning Of The Woods - 965 Words

June 17, 2012 was the date, and some storms were rolling into the area. I have storm chased many times in my life so this was not much different than other storms. The real difference was that this was in my neck of the woods. Radar indicated a particularly strong bow echo headed into the area, with straight line winds ranging from 50-70mph. I had decided to drive out just really to see the lightning storm from a distance, not terribly far from my home at the time, just south of Atwater, MN. I convinced my partner at the time to join me, as we both like watching lightning filled clouds. This being later in the evening we failed to take into account how rapidly the skies can darken. Nevertheless, we stayed out watching the approaching storms. We took our truck out to a high hill in the area to watch and enjoyed a pretty decent show, but we then decided to move further north to a more active cluster. We headed a few miles north highway 12 here in Kandiyohi County and parked, waiting an d watching, as we really didn’t expect this storm to be really serious. Mother Nature had other plans. As we sat there in the vehicle and listened to the radio, we heard the news. Funnel clouds spotted, radar indicating powerful winds. Just then we received a call from one of our friends who knew we were out watching. The message, get to safety. According to my friend, there were other spotters chatting on radio about other rotating clouds near our location. Just as I was going to ask for moreShow MoreRelatedThe Theme Of Fire And Ice In Frankenstein1243 Words   |  5 Pagesuse of fire† (Griffin 53), abandoning her past self. In the beginning of Frankenstein, Walton is literally traveling into polar regions. 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