XPost: talk.politics.crypto, alt.society.liberalism, alt.flame.rednecks   
   From: GlennR@teranews.com   
      
   hey, this is good for the rest of us, when the corporations in these   
   red,hillbilly, and confederate states find that   
   their employees are nothing but a bunch of  chicken choking monkeys, they'll   
   be heading back north to find brains   
   and talent   
      
   I could have told the dumbasses what would happen   
   "The Facts"  wrote in message   
   news:Xns9E72D8D9CC52Efdsa@195.67.212.194...   
   > Poverty, dropout rates bode grim future for state   
   > Forecast shows incomes plunging if nothing is done   
   > By GARY SCHARRER   
   > AUSTIN BUREAU   
   > June 21, 2010, 8:12AM   
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   >   
   > AUSTIN - The demographer who warned a decade ago about Texas' unhappy mix   
   > of dismal education achievement and high poverty is more concerned than   
   > ever. Actually, he's frightened.   
   >   
   > Also getting restless are growing numbers of Texas business executives.   
   > Some don't see much leadership from politicians or the private sector in   
   > attacking the trend line that demographer Steve Murdock says will result   
   > in three of every 10 workers not having a high school education by 2040.   
   >   
   > "I don't see business rearing up, and I sure don't see the state   
   > Legislature, with an $18 billion problem, saying, 'Man, we really need to   
   > muscle this thing up.' I think the thing that's going to change it is   
   > going to be another lawsuit," said Jack Lowe, chairman of Dallas-based TDI   
   > Industries and a board member of the Texas Business and Education   
   > Coalition.   
   >   
   > The state's public schools have more and more low-income kids and   
   > persistently high dropout rates - and unless that changes, the future of   
   > Texas will contain more long-term unemployment and poverty - and more   
   > folks depending on food stamps, Medicaid and CHIP, Murdock said. Higher   
   > incarceration rates also can be expected.   
   >   
   > "Clearly, with the dismal levels that we have in terms of education right   
   > now, that's clearly where we're headed," Murdock said.   
   >   
   > The trend line also is clear: School districts with large numbers of low-   
   > income students have higher dropout rates. Large school districts where   
   > low-income students make up at least 80 percent of the enrollment have   
   > dropout/attrition rates of 50 percent or more.   
   >   
   > Murdock, a sociology professor at Rice University who headed the U.S.   
   > Census Bureau in the recent Bush administration, said Texas' large, young   
   > population would give the state a competitive advantage if educated and   
   > trained for the work force. Increasing the college graduation rate of   
   > Hispanics and African-Americans to that of whites could mean about $300   
   > billion a year in additional income for Texans, he said.   
   >   
   > "Every kid deserves to be educated, and we're going to figure out what it   
   > takes and do it," said Bill Hammond, president and CEO of the Texas   
   > Association of Business. "The only way we will turn around public   
   > education in Texas is for the business community to realize that their   
   > future is at stake."   
   >   
   > If nothing changes, average Texas household incomes will be about $6,500   
   > lower in 30 years than they were in 2000, according to Murdock's   
   > projections. That number is not adjusted for inflation, so it would be   
   > worse than it appears.   
   >   
   > "It frightens me because it makes it difficult for Texas to achieve the   
   > things that all Texans want to achieve - that is, to be very competitive,   
   > to be an economic leader in the country and world," Murdock said.   
   > Solutions offered   
   >   
   > He sees only two solutions: Texas must do more to prepare preschoolers and   
   > must boost grants to provide financial help for college.   
   >   
   > "The data seems to show that if a kid walks into a learning situation for   
   > the first time when they are 5 or 6, that's probably too late," he said.   
   >   
   > The exact extent of the dropout problem is unknown. But each year, more   
   > than 130,000 Texas students who entered high school as 9th-graders do not   
   > graduate with their class, costing Texans $377 million every year in   
   > Medicaid, prison expenses and lost tax revenues, according to a 2007   
   > report by The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation.   
   >   
   > Some work force experts say schools must work more closely with employers   
   > to include more career and technology pathways.   
   >   
   > "If it is proven that relevant, hands-on education keeps them in school   
   > and they have lower dropout rates, then we have got to acclimate those   
   > students to a relevant education," said Terri Patterson, director of   
   > Workforce Development for the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and a   
   > member of the Texas Business and Education Coalition.   
   >   
   > Murdock said it's critical for Texans to understand "that our future is   
   > tied to these kids' future."   
   >   
   > Hammond, head of the Texas business group, noted that much of the state's   
   > leadership looks like him - Anglo - and said they "do not understand that   
   > in 20 years time, their children are going to face a bleak future in spite   
   > of the fact that they have a college education because there are not going   
   > to be enough educated workers to move the economy ahead."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)