In June of 2009, the Greene County Democratic Executive Committee voted to endorse the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R.800).

The purpose of this resolution is to amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide a more equitable system for employees to unite in negotiating for wages and benefits.  It also sets a reasonable time-table for those negotiations and provides for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts.

Historically, organized labor has joined with other progressives in advocating for human rights.  Together, Democrats and unions have stood for a wide variety of issues ranging for child-labor laws and woman’s suffrage to workplace safety and environmental issues.  Since the corporatists, under the Bush administration,   gained the upper hand at the National Labor Relations Board it has become increasingly difficult to get decisions favorable to workers in their struggle for representation.   The Employee Free Choice Act will help to level the playing field and allow employees much greater freedom to stand together in the work place.

for a more  in-depth  explanation, LINK TO:

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/03/pdf/efca_101.pdf

Greene Dem Party Endorsement Statement for  Single Payer
On June 18, 2009, the Greene County Democratic Party (GCDP) voted to endorse Single Payer for All as our nation’s health plan.  Single Payer is favored by the majority of physicians and nurses, as well as the general public.  Experts agree that it would be the most economical and effective way to provide comprehensive coverage for all Americans.  U.S. longevity is lower and infant mortality higher than all other industrial nations while we spend 80% to 150% more on health care per capita than any of those nations.  All other industrialized nations use Single Payer systems.  Single Payer opposition is lead by the private health insurance companies it would displace.  The resultant cost savings in employee health care for businesses would make them more competitive and improve our economy.  Some have cited that advocating the perfect (Single Payer) may lessen the prospects of the more politically achievable (public option).  The GCDP contends that strong public support for Single Payer will improve our chances of getting at least the good public option plan currently promoted by President Obama.

Links: HR 676 Single Payer Bill Summary

Congressman John Conyers (Bill originator site) Single Payer information.

Statement by Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch

Physicians for a National Health Plan single Payer Information

President Obama’s personal physician favors Single Payer – See video

The following Information was presented by Bill Conner at the July 8th Greene County Democrats Club Meeting:

Interactive, Diagnostic, Student Paced Computer Aided Instruction

K through 12

There should be a federal program to develop computer aided instruction for elementary and secondary schools.  Programs would be developed in specific subjects at all grade levels.  These programs would provide student paced instruction automatically tailored to the specific capabilities of the student. These programs would be capable of identifying areas of student weaknesses and providing remedial learning. They should also be capable of taking the student well beyond the grade level if his or her capabilities warrant.   For the teacher, these programs should provide documentation and analysis of the student effort and progress.  Use of these programs should not be mandated.  Rather, they should prove their own worth and be bought/applied by schools at their option.  They should be available to parents, particularly those who home school their children.  After a low cost initial development period, the program should be entirely funded by small fees (typically $1) charged to schools and parents for downloading the programs.

Most federal software programs become wasteful boondoggles profitable to large software companies and often cancelled with no usable results when the appropriated money is spent.    It doesn’t have to be that way.   Large software companies should be excluded.   At least during the initial phase of the program, development should take place at universities and it should be a research and development program.

Legislation should create a small office to manage the effort.  This office would establish relationships with universities which have Education and Computer Science departments.  At these universities, teams of students would select development projects as their theses.  A team would consist of one or two Education majors with a like number of Computer Science majors.  The staff would encourage, facilitate, monitor, and support the university teams.  The staff would identify and disseminate best practices developed among the many projects.  The staff would identify sufficiently mature projects and arrange for their testing at selected public schools.  The program should be provided limited funding for internships and expenses associated with these developments.

This office should be staffed by  people with education and computer skills.  Salaries should not be high.  People should be there because it is a calling, not a place to go through the motions at high salaries.  The office should not be located in Washington D.C. or any other high cost area.  As a software developer working from my home, I interface with my employer only by phone and internet and we find that face to face meetings are completely unnecessary.  (Our user community is world wide.) Therefore, I say with conviction that the staff of this office need not be housed in a single office, but can have people located around the country.

After, successful initial testing, programs developed would be made available to a larger test group of public schools and eventually released to all schools in the nation.

This should be a very active and open program seeking new ideas from all reasonable sources.  These sources would include active and retired teachers and others who come forward.

The program should never be turned over to a managing contractor because the objective would then become the justification of higher cost and profit.   Care should be exercised to prevent the office from becoming too large.  Largeness is the enemy of effectiveness in software.  Small (and very small) software development companies could be contracted to develop individual programs after the initial development period.

The following Information was presented by Bill Conner at the July 8th Greene County Democrats Club Meeting:

Federally Developed and Administered Home Study College Courses for Credit at $10 per Credit Hour

College tuition costs have escalated to the point that a college education (even at public institutions) is beyond the means of many people. College courses through at least the first two years of technical degree programs are standard across universities and supported by very good text books.

We should create a national program to allow students to get credit for courses by home study and passing locally proctored tests. This credit should be recognized by all state universities. After a short period of initial program development, the cost of the program should be borne by the fees charged to the students. The course development costs would be minimal (a few cents) when spread over the large student group. Test development would be a little more (a dollar or two per student). Where multiple choice tests are appropriate, tests would be optical scan machine graded at minimal cost. The largest cost would be for tests which must be hand graded.

Some courses require a student/instructor interaction and would not be amenable to home study.  Other courses may be supported by recorded lectures.  In a given course, some students may thrive in a home study environment while others may need the traditional classroom setting.  The idea is for the student to use the home study approach where it works for him and thereby cut the cost of his education.

Other organizations may offer tutoring and/or organized classroom support for these programs.  The total cost could still be a fraction of the cost of a course at a state university.

If properly administered, credits obtained from this program will likely be better regarded than credits from colleges where the standards are uncertain.

More detailed thoughts:

1. A very detailed synopsis would be developed for each course. It would include a list of recommended textbooks which cover all of the course material.

2. As with a typical university course, there would be two or three interim tests and a comprehensive final.

3. A course grade would be assigned (A, A-, B+, …)

4. Certified volunteer proctors would be sought to administer the tests in local high schools, community colleges, civic centers, etc.

5. Qualified volunteer tutors would be sought.

6. Target cost would be $10 per credit hour.

7. Materials would typically be emailed to the student.

8. Sample problems with solutions would be provided for technical courses (like Schaum’s Outline).

9. Tests would not be released to the student to preclude the building of test files.

10. Recorded lectures may be valuable to some courses.

A college instructor told me that he wouldn’t support me because of this proposal.  He said that a young person needs instructors and the “College Experience”.  This program is not designed for those who want and can afford four or more years of the “College Experience”.  It is for those who can not get a college education otherwise or want to avoid oppressive education loans.   It will allow them to avoid the high tuition for one third to one half of a college degree.  It will, in all likelihood, increase the demand for the traditional university courses because more students will pursue degrees.  It will help us meet the national need for a more educated workforce.