Was the $5 Billion Worth It?

WSJ ^ | Julyk 23, 2011 | Jason L. Riley

[sinanju]

"...On the fraught issue of school choice, his foundation has been a strong advocate of charter schools, and Mr. Gates is particularly fond of the KIPP charter network and its focus on serving inner-city neighborhoods. "Whenever you get depressed about giving money in this area," he volunteers, "you can spend a day in a KIPP school and know that they are spending less money than the dropout factory down the road."

Mr. Gates is less enamored of school vouchers. "Some in the Walton family"—of Wal-Mart fame—"have been very big on vouchers," he begins. "And honestly, if we thought there would be broad acceptance in some locales and long-term commitment to do them, they have some very positive characteristics."

He praises the private school model for its efficiency vis-à-vis traditional public schools, noting that the "parochial school system, per dollar spent, is an excellent school system." But the politics, he says, are just too tough right now. "We haven't chosen to get behind [vouchers] in a big way, as we have with personnel systems or charters, because the negativity about them is very, very high..."

[sinanju]

[Portrait of a big, fat, rich, moral coward]

Submitted for your approval; Bill Gates, Jr., Multi-billionaire software magnate, almost the wealthiest man in the world. Having dedicated his remaining years to charitable endeavors, he discourses about what progress he has made in his ten-year, five billion dollar education reform project... The last lines are the kicker.

"The politics are just too tough right now"... "The negativity about them..." He all but admits he knows vouchers are the way to go but his liberal friends will drop him from their Christmas card list and the NYT might call him mean names if he goes in that direction. This man has more money than God and he's afraid of being disinvited to the Beverly Hills cocktail parties.

If this clown wanted a monumental memorial to his ego why didn't he just buy himself a mountain and have his face carved into it?

[freekitty]

Why is he even speaking about this? He is for zero population where there will be no kids to educate.

[tbw2]

Gates should look to Bill Crosby, with his personal willingness to fund the college education of young black men. Don’t set up endowments or fight for vouchers, just write the checks for a bunch of kids at private schools better than where they are. He could start with the KIPP waiting list or those who applied but didn’t make the KIPP lottery.
And if it would hurt his social life, just keep it quiet about 100K putting 20 kids in private schools. Or pay 100K for 10 disabled kids who are babysat in public but could learn to function in private (deaf, blind, etc).
Changing a few lives eventually impacts many.

[sarasmom]

Government certified Charter schools are forced to buy his products, since they are on the “approved” bid list.

A student based voucher system would allow parents to freely choose from a variety of public and private schools, including for profit and parochial schools, who would not be required to buy his products.

Have I answered your question about why he is speaking about this?

[Fee]

I remember reading about Gates at a college telling students that more of them should study computer sciences because Microsoft needed more computer scientists and software types and why aren’t young people responding. A student got up and told Gates that he would study computers and software if he will guarantee he would not ship such jobs overseas. Otherwise why study for something, graduate and not have a job because Microsoft spent money teaching the Chinese and Indian how to do it? Main Street Americans ain’t taking Wall Street and Corporate bullshit anymore.

[freekitty]

Yes; but the guy is zero population.

[sinanju]

I know what you’re talking about.

All I’ve been hearing since 1998 is that youngsters would be fools to study computer science since the H-1B’s get all the jobs working for indentured peanuts.

[Incorrigible]

Bump

[dennisw]

Bil Gates is an Asperger kind of guy. His ultra-liberal wife (worth 1.3 billion on her own via MS stock) is the brains behind this operation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Which BTW has the huge Millennium Scholarship Fund for college students but only if you are non-white. White boys and girls are excluded. If your white family has been here for generations, is poor, has fought in American’s wars, you can drop dead. While an African or Korean kid who arrived 5 years ago is in like Flynn.

[GeronL]

You mean like his private scholarships, largest on Earth, where no whites need apply?

[aruanan]

"We haven't chosen to get behind [vouchers] in a big way, as we have with personnel systems or charters, because the negativity about them is very, very high..."

In other words, "We've decided to go with perception over reality because to do otherwise would require of us a degree of moral courage we simply do not possess."