What should government be obliged to do for the poor? | Public Agenda

Friday 9 January 2009

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ON THE AGENDA

Squaring Off On Standards

Paul Gasbarra
Jan 8, 2009

The Pittsburgh public school administrators have made it mandatory for teachers to give their students, regardless of how poorly they perform, a minimum grade of 50 on homework, tests and grading periods. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, some students have said that they'd rather take the 50 than do any work.

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Uh-Oh: China Cuts Back On U.S. Debt

Scott Bittle
Jan 8, 2009

Everyone occasionally has spit-take moments over the morning news. For some people, the New York Times story, "China Losing Taste for Debt From U.S.," is one of them. But for many more, that headline probably didn't even register. It is, after all, kind of dull on its face.

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FACING UP TO THE
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What should government be obliged to do for the poor?

PERSPECTIVE

Redefining What's Expected from America's Poor

QUESTION

What should government be obliged to do for the poor?

ANSWER

Government assistance to the able-bodied poor is justified for short periods of time, as long as it encourages behavior that in the long run leads to self-sufficiency.

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Tags: charities, Children, day care, employment, health care, low-income, poor, Poverty, public school, single-parent, Unemployment, wages, Welfare, working poor

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Homework For The New Administration And The 111th Congress

Entering a new era in Washington is a good time for many things, including a good hard look at what needs to be done to improve our education system, from pre-kindergarten all the way up through college. With that in mind, we've put together an education reform "to do" list for the president-elect and members of the 111th Congress. We invite you to check out the list and then log on to our site to discuss the education issues you feel should be priorities in 2009.

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