Posted on 08/04/2011 9:25:01 AM PDT by freespirited
A nonprofit backed by U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) spent more than $2 million in federal funds to provide environmental education to Philadelphia high school students - including trips to a resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For three years, the Caribbean-American Mission for Research, Education, and Action ran an exchange program for students at Overbrook High School and two island high schools.
The Philadelphia students and their adult chaperones stayed at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef beachfront resort, on what the hotel website calls a "luminous white sand beach framed with the majestic turquoise waters of the Caribbean."
Fattah's longtime friend James P. Baker Jr. was paid as much as $142,000 annually to run the organization, far more than usual for charities of that size. One federal audit said students on one trip spent "less than half" their time learning about the environment.
It’s all that “white priviledge” that I hear about. Some folks just get doors opened for them and gifts distributed. When I was growing up, I didn’t get any of that. Probably has a lot to do with where I am today.
This is obviously outrageous but it raises a bigger point. You will never — never — stop corruption and waste and nonsense spending like this. If the government budget is as huge as it is, a big chunk will be wasted or stolen or spent on the wrong things. The answer isn’t to “stop waste and fraud.” We will never be able to do that. The answer is to simply stop the spending. Less spending = less money for this kind of nonsense.
80% of the population on St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix receive some sort of U.S. Government entitlement.
Millions have been dumped into the islands from the Obama “stimulus” program in 2010. Projects that are underway but never finished.
There is a million dollar bridge to no where at the Bovani section 8 housing project (again a US taxpayer project)that was completed but drops into an open gut at the horse racing track (another US taxpayer project).
Why can't we get these folks off the dole? Including all the takers in Puerto Rico?
We get nothing in return to the best of my knowledge.
Give the islands their independence like the Europeans did 20 years ago and start using our taxpayer dollars prudently. Lived there and seen it!
Not really related, but right around the time I left Philly back in 1988, there was huge local news story about some local millionaire who had chosen a city school with a mostly minority student body and had made a public committment that he would pay for the college education of every child then in that school.
That was 23 years ago. I wonder how that worked out?
When I was in school, a trip to Greenfield village or the Kellog’s factory in Battle Creek was what we called a field trip.
we went to Corning Glass works....
The point is that WE PAID FOR THESE TRIPS!!!!!!!!! IT IS AN OUTRAGE!~!!!!!! I am SICK of THESE LEECHES!!! SICK!
I never got to go to the glass works. The father of a friend worked at Corning in Albion Mi before they shipped out. He made TV screens and windshields.
After working since the age of 14, both my wife and I are considering quitting our jobs and just living off the government, partly due to things like this. Why work so hard when we can live off the dole and our standard of living goes down only a little.
WHY do I work, only to pay for luxuries for deadbeat government theives?
President Narcissist is making my working standard of living and my quit-my-job standard of living mirror each other closer every day, which, I think is one of his main goals. I’m just feeding the beast...
My point is that my school field trips were usually little more than 30 miles down the road and only cost the parents a couple bucks.
I remember that. Don’t know how it worked out in the end, but believe only about half the kids finished high school.
It is not so much about education, it is more about transfering taxfunds to the new priveleged class, minoritys special schools madrassas and suchlike
I know the feeling. For us it was a visit to a local dairy farm.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.