Have we really been throwing money at teachers? Teacher salaries have remained fairly constant in inflation-adjusted terms over the past few decades. W have definitely been throwing money at schools. With NCLB testing and gee-whiz-bang "let's give everyone a tablet" initiatives, and insanely overpaid administrators, we're spending way more, but we aren't seeing any results... hm...

Um, citation needed? Yes, some charter schools are great, but even more are worse.

Because tying pay raises to test performance doesn't give anyone an incentive to cheat. It would never happen.

I'm all for at-will employment, but let's be honest, if school systems could get away with paying teachers minimum wage, they would. After all, if all you need is demonstrated knowledge of a subject, why don't the 1st graders teach kindergarten? Too far? OK, well, certainly a high school dropout should be OK. After all, they know their colors and how to read "See Spot Run." I'm sure you wouldn't mind handing over your kids to a burnout stoner, right?

Actually, in most states, traffic violations are considered "infractions," which still falls under the criminal court system. However, since the punishment is typically less than six months in jail, you do not usually have the right to a jury trial. The standards of evidence on the other hand still rise to "beyond a reasonable doubt."

That said, it's typically not hard to get to "beyond a reasonable doubt," because officers are trained on how to answer the prosecution's questions in traffic court, because they have to do it so often. A typical example could be:

Prosecutor: How did you know the defendant was speeding?
Officer: I visually esitimated his speed at X, then used my RADAR/LIDAR equipment to get a speed reading of Y (close to X).
Defendant: Are you sure? I wasn't looking at my speedometer, but I know I wasn't speeding!
Officer: I was certified in the use of the equipment on [DATE], and it was last calibrated on [DATE]. Yeah, you were speeding
Judge: Guilty! Next!

Just because it's routine, doesn't mean you don't have rights. Keep in mind that less than 5% of criminal trials actually make it to trial, and those that do nearly always result in conviction.

See, in the US, we like to have this whole "Innocent until PROVEN guilty." We like it so much, it's actually in our constitution!

The idea behind that is the government can't extract any revenue from you unless they have proven (beyond a reasonable doubt, no less) that you have committed the offense. Before you pay for a speeding ticket, you can get in front of a judge and state your case. Heck, you can even say you were speeding, but you have a really good reason for doing so.

Our system isn't perfect; a lot of traffic courts are little more than kangaroo courts, but there's at least an illusion of a chance. If you have to pay a fine up front to challenge the accusation, it isn't fair. Granted, if you are legitimately convicted, you can be made to pay the cost of the court's time, but you take that chance when you challenge .. it's just like a plea bargain vs. going to trial; you have to weigh the risk vs. reward.

In summary, asking for a fine or "administrative charge" before a conviction is unconstitutional.

And who is there to prevent the administrators from ripping off the children? After all, since they own the copyright, it's theirs to sell, and of course, we know that kids make stupid decisions with money, so the school will just keep that money and spend it "wisely" (those conferences in Hawaii don't grow on trees!). Better than the kid wasting it on candy or something, right?

It seems like everyone wants a cheap, easy buck off of someone else's work now. What ever happened to earning a living through an honest day's work?

Let's just say you want to get a 4-year degree and take 4 years, and you're getting in-state tuition. Each year, tuition and mandatory fees are just shy of $16,000. Oh, you actually want to live and eat? OK, room + board (on campus with cheapest meal plan) will run you $8500/year. Total over 4 years: $98,000! Throw in a trip home here, pizza there, and you've got a $100,000 education at a land-grant public university! Oh, and how are you going to pay for that? Work, you say? OK, let's assume that you pay no income or payroll tax (HA!); where can you find a part-time job that requires no experience and pays $25k/year (that's $12/hr for full-time work)? Realistically, if you want to do it without taking on debt, you'd need a job that pays closer to $40k/yr. Some people don't even make that WITH a degree.

Now, if a student wants to get a 4-yr degree, the rule of thumb is that they should borrow as much as they make in their first year out of school. Thus, this school (which awards almost 9,000 undergrad degrees each year) should be churning out people with $100k salaries, right? I've got an MS and almost 10 yrs experience, and I still don't make that!

It's not just the "luxury schools" that have the incredible bills. Many places, if you want to get a degree that is nationally recognized, you'll have to spend a lot of money. If mommy and daddy aren't footing the bill, it's either unaffordable or will burden you with non-dischargeable debt for the rest of your life. Congrats, for your hard work and dedication to "getting a degree," so you can "get a job," you get to be a slave to the finance companies so you'll never get out of debt.