Good Intentions 1of3 Introduction and Public Schools with Walter Williams

[OnlyAPawn1970]

I like Williams.I read his columns.Very intelligent.

[AndroidPolitician]

Walter William's logic of welfare causing poverty is ridiculous. Poverty has never been as high as it was in the 50s because of what limited welfare we have and "dependence" is largely a myth.

Obviously everyone will claim they know someone or blacks in the inner city but the median time on welfare when it was the most liberal was just 3 years.

What destroyed African Americans? It was deregulation which allowed for mass outsourcing.

Read William Julius Wilson instead of this clown.

[Ravengaurd6]

@AndroidPolitician regardless of the longevity of any given welfare program, the civil society of the impoverished class has collapsed into chronic violence and cultural degradation, due to a horrible educational system, a horrible justice system and horrible oversight of markets. the government has stepped all over the poor.

The public sector sits on top of them and cuts them off from the private sector. if your neither in the public or private you have been deprived.

[AndroidPolitician]

@Ravengaurd6

Nope that was literally because of outsourcing and deregulation and markets that lead to chronic joblessness and a destroyed community.

Wilson actually talks about this, while poverty was always prevalent in inner-cities chronic joblessness was not and if you recall inner-city ghettos became an issue during the Reagan years.

[Ravengaurd6]

@AndroidPolitician deregulation didn't come into effect until after Reagan was out of office. regulations actually increased by about 20,000 while Reagan was in office. The federal index states this. This is broader than the inner city. poverty was present, but the social nature has become far worse.

[AndroidPolitician]

@Ravengaurd6

The Federal Register is not a measure of regulations it's a measure of laws and regulations ON government (ie Census data can't be used by the CIA etc.) and the deregulation I'm talking about began in the 70s with things like:

- Ending Bretton Woods in the 70s, allowing for capital movement and outsourcing

- Deregulating the banks in 1979 etc.

- Lowering corporate taxes in the 80s

Basically all these things made jobs leave inner-cities and destroyed the place.

[Ravengaurd6]

@AndroidPolitician That at it's best is weak economic structuring. The problem with that is controls of capital were always weak to market fluctuations and were made necessary by the Keynesian market bubble. (it's ironic how all of his system play into each others faults). You can't successfully condemn any given sector of a populace to a specific economic structure through force because markets shift too much for an agency to appropriate actions. the issue is how growth comes to the city.

[AndroidPolitician]

@Ravengaurd6

True it was built on an unsound system but the effects of capital restrictions were spectacular and there's no reason why it can't be done again.

Well growth and prosperity in cities was historically done in a time when capital movement was non-existent but now that it's faster than ever that would be the cause of the problems of joblessness.

[Ravengaurd6]

@AndroidPolitician capital control can be done, as long as it is reasonably done. these type of things can be easily corrupted,

[IBloodSweatTears]

@AndroidPolitician And continued into the 90's with horrible trade agreements like NAFTA.

Repeal of Glass-Steagall

Not to mention the huge business income tax's & personal income tax's.

[AndroidPolitician]

@IBloodSweatTears

Yeah Obana was recently talking about "insourcing" through incentives which is kind of silly because the biggest incentive for capital is having a massive low wage workforce.

[IBloodSweatTears]

@AndroidPolitician Mmmmm, I disagree on that point. During WWII & Post WWII, The U.S had the highest wages in the world & was producing the most high quality & cheapest stuff. So I wouldn't say the biggest incentive for capital is low wages.

I think you you had a competitive regulatory & tax code, those are the biggest incentives to invite capitol into a country.

But Obama has run out of idea's, I saw him up there talking about insourcing, but he is just putting on a show like he has a plan...

[AndroidPolitician]

@IBloodSweatTears

I think that's the point, capital had to stay in the US after WWII because of Bretton Woods, incentives were irrelevant because it just forced to stay.

[IBloodSweatTears]

@AndroidPolitician Well... That's false. We were on the standard during the depression..... You can't force capital to stay in 1 place in a free market economy. So thats untrue.

[AndroidPolitician]

@IBloodSweatTears

I'm not sure about prior but from the 50s to the 70s capital was forced to stay in the country because of Bretton Woods.

[housecry]

When I was in college I read an interesting and disheartening book entitled The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler. I recommend it to everyone. Government is very much part of the problem but it is not the only problem.

[TheCaliCapitalist]

Most people on the right speak about welfare obiviously know zero about it and obiviously do zero research on it but repeat right wing talking points and call it research.

[Phil727ck]

@TheCaliCapitalist I'm politically on the right and I can tell you emphatically what it is like to be poor and on welfare as a child. I hated food stamps and resented my mother for making me use them. I also knew the feel of hunger pangs. As I felt embarrassed, many now feel entitled. Collect the welfare but feel the shame of public assistance. Only then can you get out of it...

[SFConifer]

Students are using a Commodore PET computer

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

The only way you could ever think that "welfare keeps people in poverty" is if you think people are so stupid and greedy that they can't invest welfare for a better future and the actual evidence shows that you're wrong.

Yeah politicians didn't but ENIAC, Project SCORE, GPS, the Internet etc. were invented by NASA and the military not the private sector.

[Illyrien]

@AndroidPolitician

Was Android invented by politicians, how about google, facebook, wikipedia, skype? Anything that makes the Internet worthwhile was invented by private people. Furthermore, can you really say that the Internet would not have come to be if not the the US military connected earlier computers, or if not that guy at CERN made html?

[AndroidPolitician]

@Illyrien

Well none of those things would have existed without the former and yes, the internet, GPS, Satellites etc. were extremely costly and had no application whatsoever let alone profit.

No company is going to invest billions into something that won't yield anything.

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

What the fuck are you talking about? No one is forcing that community to get welfare it just so happens that if they didn't they would all die off because of years of literal genocide leaving them unable to do anything.

And no, poverty is measured relative to the time and wouldn't of been 30-50% had we had welfare.

What's more, it was the government that invented computers, satellites, GPS, the internet etc. so we would of been much slower without it.

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

Uh you do realize they were basically forced into a concentration camp and as a result live on hand outs? If they weren't put into that situation (aka genocided and lived under years of oppression) they wouldn't have to live on welfare and would be worse off had the government not provided welfare in their circumstance.

Just look at US history, in the 1800s prior to any government aid we had 30-50% of people in poverty, post-LBJ it's never come close to the 1950s.

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

Were 0% of Native Americans in poverty prior to welfare?

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

What the fuck do Native Americans have to do with this?

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

If welfare made things worse then why has poverty never come close to what it was in the 50s? That side, the "incentive" argument only works if you think people are too stupid and greedy to invest their welfare for a better future and the evidence proves it's not true.

To this day, poverty is still the lowest in the countries with the most generous welfare and we've never been near the poverty of the 50s or 1800s.

[AndroidPolitician]

@ninjashade411

The studies are cited and you can read them in full and what the "free market" did (which were basically tax incentives to outsource) was put massive amounts of blacks into poverty and there's a huge literature and studies on that.

Interestingly, poverty has never gone as high as it was during the 50s and nowhere near what it was in the 1800s because of all this evil welfare.

[AndroidPolitician]

This video is complete bullshit,

Welfare has been empirically proven to reduce poverty the most in the countries with the most generous welfare.

moourl(.)com/zrv7d

The reason why blacks in 1982 were living in miserable poverty was because of massive outsourcing of manufacturing jobs.

[FRSFreeStateNow]

Money that we spend on education, other Social Insurance Programs and all other programs. Shouldn't just be judged by the "Good Intentions" of them and the amount of money thats spent on them. But the results that we get from the money that we spend on them. If we did that, we would see a lot of positive reform in these areas.

[tulceaujcm]

my name is DR walter williams LOL so his name is Doctor?

[ShadowSandy]

@tulceaujcm If you dont understand what a title is you might want to consider returning to grade school.

[ynot69it]

"Free at Last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" I really would've loved to hear MLK's thoughts on these videos. MLK, Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell are true advocates for the poor and minorities. Sharpton, Jackson, Rangel, are second raters.

[Goodatconnect4]

I love how you see him at first in a shirt and tie, and next thing you know, he's in a jump suit with a sweatband dunking a basket.

[KenMacMillan]

Reminds me of waiting for superman.

[skinnyman1423]

public education was started to create factory workers, it is repetitive and perfectly suited for someone with down syndrome, the no child left behind act has furthered the retardation of Americans in the lower and middle class socioeconomic sectors. Dr. Williams makes many good points but focuses primarily on African American youths when it is all races that suffer for the incompetence of the public education system

[dusenberg]

what is the song at 3:03?

[dkbarton7]

@dusenberg "Freedom" by Richie Havens

[theberean94]

"They say, the road to hell is paid with good intentions." economist Walter Williams

[edwardwills]

DAMN, what are the numbers now!!!! If it was that bad back then!

[jjmdirector]

3:15 Walters got some hops

[dusenberg]

what is the song at 3:02?

[god0fgod]

@cbennett714 Why do you find it funny? I'd want to punch them in the face.

[YoungDreezee]

i remember the richard allen projects, it was crazy. anyway,this is why charter schools do so much better than the public schools.

[fdny9682]

@YoungDreezee where are the richard allen projects

[YoungDreezee]

@YoungDreezee - Richard Allen projects was at 10 and girard, in north philly.

[clintnorthwoods]

Walter Williams is one of my favorite people in the history of the world. reading or listening to him ( and his good friend Thomas Sowell ), you not only learn alot, but its very enjoyable learning,...it makes one`s mind work like like a super-charged engine.

[demammoet]

The supply and demand theory is rather dead since forever.

Ever since the earlier times of state capitalism couples of hundreds of years ago up till now.

They had less regulations no minimum wages, and people were treated like the slaves we are today.

The only thing thats different now is some protection from corporations/state, even though in actuality it means we are still powerless just less susceptible to direct mass subjugation.

[rosihantu1]

Walter Williams knocks racism out of me but then I saw Wu Tang Clan on you tube, I'm back to being a racist again.

[oterj0]

@cbennett714

One other thing about min wage. Because employers looking for min wage work often produce consumable goods, the cost of the min wage is born disproportionately by those just above the min wage. The cost of consumer goods goes up, the poor bear the highest % burden of it all to give rich kids a pay raise. Poor kids are less likely to get min wage jobs than their rich peers. It's a case of ignorance being bliss. You think it does something, therefore you do in spite of reality.

[11Grayfox11]

Too many beureucrats and qwangos ruin the education system.

[watup2342]

nigga

[oterj0]

Wow! Some 25 odd years later and this documentary is still as true now as it was then. The stats on black illegitimacy and illiteracy are worse. How can Democrats, with a straight face, say they care about minorities and the poor when surely they can objectively see that the pendulum is not swinging in the right direction? For that matter, how can blacks keeps voting for the same politicians that have been destroying their communities for the last 40 years? I don't get it.

[Thisisnotmyrealname8]

Walter Williams is a smart guy, but the main culprit is not the government, but Democrat policies.

[TwiztedAnimator]

@Thisisnotmyrealname8 It's not just Democrat policies as much as it is Socialist / Progressive policies. The Republicans, within the last 40 Years, are to blame as much as the Democrats. They both maintain Socialist / Progressive policies and they both are only in it for Money and Power.

[Thisisnotmyrealname8]

@TwiztedAnimator I agree, but I'm just trying to put a hex on Democrats until the elections. Right now, they are the ones embracing the NWO.

[TwiztedAnimator]

@Thisisnotmyrealname8 You're right about that, a good Majority of people on the "Left" are falling into the hands of the NWO. Obama has got them thinking that the Government cares about them, but when Bush was President, they loved talking about how the Government is out to get us. I have known that the Government was out to control us most of my life. No matter who the President is, there is always someone pulling the strings.

[OrangeCoolius2]

maybe the people who comment on this should do a little more research on public schools. going to one does not count.

[cpblackangel88]

Well I go to a private school and it's far better than the public schools near me. Now I'll admit that there are some good public schools,but often times there not as good as private schools in that area.

[prayfertrey]

The common denominator in all the stories of successful kids is that they come from stable, supportive homes. They have parents who are not primitives. Secondarily, private schools can kick out kids who create an atmosphere of fear and violence. Public schools aren't allowed to do that. Public school forces you to be around monsters, an affront to dignity we would never suffer as adults.

[cpblackangel88]

A voucher system will give these kids a chance to succeed. The public schools in the slums the children are forced to go to,because parents can't afford to send them to better schools. If they had a voucher system they can afford to send them to a school with a better crowd and will teach them the way they want. Or better yet they can just take that money and go to a class filled with 10 people and learn twice as much and it makes them happy.

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

People shouldn't have to send their children away to school with better crowds. What does that really mean anyway? The fact is, the biggest enemy to public school education is the Amer, Federation of Teachers. When you have educators who wish to improve their schools via curriculum improvement, uniforms, etc. its that union who serves as the biggest impediment. Brooklyn Boys and Girls HS with Frank Mickens was stressed to no end by the union while he only wanted to improve his school.

[cpblackangel88]

Well you do realize that under a voucher system that parents could pretty much afford to send them to schools with any crowd. Now I believe if you want to fix the public schools you need to get rid of the teachers unions which keep on jacking up the price. Also we should get rid of the Department of Education to make it so we get rid of the mandates on public schools. This would make it so local government runs it and they can teach job skills best. Yet competition is good and vouchers work.

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

again, if the existing schools were brought up to a high standard, no need to send the children away. There is a component that is very rarely discussed, and that is the curriculum itself. Garbage in, Garbage out.

[cpblackangel88]

Public schools in America today are awful. You say high standards,but I see low quality education. I go to a private high school,because I can afford to. Now I see parents who'd love to send there kids to private school,but they simple can't afford it.I see kids from my grade school start out as good kids and when they go to public school they become bad. The public schools have an unfair advantage over private. If there's a product and your forced to pay for it why would you by another product.

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

We already agree that the existing schools are awful. The solution is not to send everyone to schools that are working, but rather, bring those failing schools up to par with the successful ones. Its really not that difficult.

[cpblackangel88]

Well I agree with you that we should be making are public schools better,but it can not be done by what we are currently doing.If history in business has taught us anything it's that competition is good.Competition creates lower prices and better quality for the consumer.The problem is that under the current way public schools are run your forced to pay for a worse product and they can tell the competitor how to run there school.We need more competition and that will get everyone what they want.

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

when we start to treat schools like a commodity, you end up with what we have today. We shouldn't be having "competitions" with schools. There should be one standard (a very high one) and whoever can't maintain that standard, is either revamped (new administrators etc.) or shut down if necessary. I agree with your viewpoint on creating competition, but that should be kept in the world of business, in my opinion.

[cpblackangel88]

Well are public schools should be at a very high standard,but the problem is you never make people happy. There are going to be some kids and parents who will wont be happy with there public school. I was talking to a friend who goes to a public school near me. And he says there's this girl who's in 10th grade has 2 kids and is pregnant again. How the hell could a parent send there daughter to a school like that? The only way to fix education is to let people choose the best for themselves.

[fdny9682]

@BlacksAreBeautiful pipe dream

[fdny9682]

@BlacksAreBeautiful If you want the schools better dont give the schools money, give it to the kids and let the parents choose

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

Exactly, where did I suggest the schools should get more money? I'm saying, if you're going to have a "standard" school system, then set the bar high, then make sure that ALL schools meet that standard. If not, keep bringing in new admin until you find someone who can get the job done.

[Myndir]

@BlacksAreBeautiful Setting high standards means nothing if there are no incentives and discincentives to encourage staff to meet them. In fact, high standards without an incentive system is a problem in itself.

Firing admin only makes sense if you can break the power of the teaching unions, which would be a benefit of giving more power of choice to poor parents.

[BlacksAreBeautiful]

Well, if you have and maintain a high standard, it should go without saying there are incentives and/or disincentives.  But the incentive should be merely to keep your job. Why should people be given bonuses when they do an excellent job? An excellent job is what all those on staff should be doing, and those who can't or won't are out. I agree with you 100% about either breaking up the teachers union, or restructuring it so they don't have so much damn leverage!

[HandyMan101]

@BlacksAreBeautiful The desire to be rewarded for achievement is part of the human condition.

If you ran schools like every other business model, it would be a far better off than what it is now.

Saying ... "this is what you should be doing" isn't enough for most people.

higher salary is a powerful motivator.

[Myndir]

@cpblackangel88 Great comment. People go on and on about equality of opportunity, yet dislike a voucher system because of an irrational hatred of private education. I don't care about equality of opportunity, but I do care about poverty and ignorance in a society. If you want to give power to the people, give them CHOICE, not dependency.

[damaniblues]

Just to think how TRULY liberal and cutting-edge (not prog-commie and banal) PBS was back in the 80's...

Now it truly sucks.

[evramos70]

I stand with Ron Paul

[bravo0105]

I imagine that at least one of those death threats aimed at Dr. Williams came from Bill Moyers. To think that PBS actually aired a show about the failure of the Great Society, and hosted by none other than the great Dr. Walter E. Williams! Talk about having a weak moment; Moyers must have been chewing on a rug and climbing up a drape (like another famous Leftist from history).

[classicallady]

Well with education being on a downhill road since Nixon and money imposing itself more and more as means of buying "commodities" like health insurance and education combined with an intolerable out of control population as we have now around the world, quality will be replaced by quantity.Teachers in this country lately can hardly point geographic points on an Atlas.Overpopulation is the very chaos and the very reason for all the system going downhill

[senorfarqueso]

please. as population increases, the resources of the world increase. gaining population is a good thing, provided that you have a free society. lets put the blame where it belongs. overpopulation is not the issue, it merely points out the issue.

[guster123]

Well then help us out and end yourself classicallady.

[classicallady]

Fact is I have money, help several charities and don't polute the planet .That being said I am not a welfare leech. I I will yield to you demented mind gusters sewer

[AshillaBeige]

Increases in population have a generally neutral effect. An increasing population means an increase in the labour force. One of the few ways for a country to increase its potential GDP (i.e. the level it could work at) is with an increase in the quantity of the factors of production; however, this does not increase GDP per capita (being a measure of living standards). Only with a lack of technological innovation is there a problem if ONLY labour increases (because the law of diminishing returns)

[AshillaBeige]

Essentially, you're wrong. There's plenty of room for development in the US, but because of regulations and the welfare state, there is no way to expand or innovate. And giving to charity does not necessarily make you a good person if you're just giving to make yourself feel like a self-righteous wad.

Another reason for the failing quality of teachers as you mentioned is because of the teachers union. It is nearly impossible to fire a teacher for incompetence, or even sexual harassment.

[DanzHanzen]

Lyndon Johnson didn't do well with any of his "wars"

[senorfarqueso]

the school system needs to be privatized, as with everything else of course.

[stealthswimmer]

as Walter Block would say "If it moves, privatize it. If it doesn't move, privatize it"

:D

[wjweigand]

Dr. Williams makes my top 10 list of great Americans. I'm white ... he's black... and I don't care because of his brains and his character. He is a brilliant man.

[Runesocesius]

@wjweigand Look for Thomas Sowell. He is second only to Friedman.

[HandyMan101]

@wjweigand Amen

[gregryf]

@wjweigand You don't care for the wrong reasons. You shouldn't care because it's unimportant.

[LambChowder1]

@wjweigand hahah would you care otherwise? yikes

[AshillaBeige]

@wjweigand Sooo... if a black person doesn't have fantastic brains and/or character, would you hate him/her then as a black person... would you hate him or her as much as a white person with the same attributes?

Sorry, dude, but this sorta comment reveals a lot. Like black people have to prove themselves to be accepted by you. That's pretty fucked up.

[wjweigand]

@AshillaBeige ... I admit that was poorly worded and since it was a year ago that I posted that comment, I can't remember the circumstances. It was obviously a short post; so I don't think I had spent much time composing it, nor did I elaborate. I don't "hate" anyone based on their lack of brains. I do feel in some ways sorry for people (of any race) who are trapped by a socialist system that trains them to be less than they can be.

BTW, what do you think of this video & Dr. Williams?

[AFRIKTODAY]

Get the government out of our lives!!!!! Blacks, white, green, blue we all have a common enemy; the politicians since the eave of the time who have sought to impose on society their visions regardless of their effectiveness or consequences on the broad society. Government intervention is the enemy of all. Government have always been in bed with the financiers and the exploiters, the military and the fanatics( Religious dogmas as opposed to spiritual). We all have a common enemy, the STATE!

[classicallady]

Afrik...time to move to Somalia then...you will be happy. Nogovernment, no rules...just WILD

[AFRIKTODAY]

You are so smart! Fail!!

[LambChowder1]

@AFRIKTODAY the eave of time you say

[CoombesKidd]

a negatve income tax at the state levels would be the greatest economic asset instead of a welfare state

[tbcass]

I've followed Walter Williams for years. He is a clear thinking logical individual with no political agenda.

[54nomore]

As a Hispanic male growing up in the inner city of New York. I was fortunate enough by an act of luck to be taken out of the city to a private Catholic school in Rockland County New York. It was the best thing to happen to me, and thousands of inner city boys. About 90% of us boys of Hispanic and African American ethnicity. Went on to college. Became Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers, Engineers and businessmen. The success rate at this school was due to it's great curriculum, and its teachers.

[SuaveSavant]

I'm happy for you; I wonder where Obama stands on this education issue. If there's one place where I don't mind the gov't spending my money, it's education. But, it has to be spent well. Does Obama want simply more money pumped into the system or to better channel it through sound incentivization.

[54nomore]

I would like my tax dollars to be spent towards giving parents school choice. If these inner city parents were to be given school choice, you will most definitely see an exodus out of these failing government (Public) schools.

[hrosemd]

What a great find.

You've done a real service to all by posting this.

I thank you.

[girlyoudontknow2]

Thank you for posting this. Very timely.

[akira2577]

Amazing how relevant this still is, thanks for posting!

[SuaveSavant]

And it forever will be. I sure hope more and more blacks break through this final, psychological frontier and as many poor folks as possible.

[torchiest]

At 6:09 that's some sweet old school BASIC code.

[champthom]

Awesome, post more stuff like this!

[LeGioNoFZioN]

thanks for sharing this video, greatly appreciated.