District 48 Taxpayers Fed Up With Spending
Here is another example of a school district cutting programs and then spending money on other things. They are even under investigation by the State’s Attorney. For those of you who don’t know who that is, it’s Joe Birkett. He is running for Governor and promoting the 65% Solution. It’ll be interesting to watch how he handles this case while making the run.
The basics of the article are that kids programs were cut because of a failed referendum. The district has restored some. Imagine that, they found the money after the referendum was voted down. I wonder how that happened.
They are also spending money to to repair schools because of safety issues. The problem with that is they are spending excessively for a district that is supposedly in financial trouble. These are putting in rubberized flooring, new windows, and possibly replacing the “heating, air-conditioning and ventilation equipment.” Before the referendum the school threatened, “the repairs, which are mandated by the state, would be done in phases. And if the referendum failed and work couldn’t be done, the state could come in and shut down the schools.” Sounds like blackmail to me. But hey, it’s all for the kids, right?
How many stories of school districts playing money games before referendums have to take place before everyone realizes that this is a problem with the system? Big Ed uses these tactics everywhere. They blackmail parents with threats from the following list:
- state takeovers
- loss of extra curricular programs
- loss of gifted programs
- cuts in special education
- loss of good teachers
- loss of administration
- shortened school days
- cuts in transportation
I’m sure there are others I am missing, so please share those I’ve forgotten or haven’t heard of yet. I know several items in that list took place here in District 46 over the last couple of years during our referendums.
These tactics are an issue in virtually every district. As Ms. Hord, Carl and others have mentioned on another site that we should not lump District 46 in with other districts because we are different. I’m sorry, but we are not. Big Ed has been in control of District 46 as well as all other districts in the state. Visit Ron Gidwitz’ “Students First” website and read their news. Better yet, sign up for their e-mail list and receive the stories every day in your inbox. There is news almost daily about big salaries, big payouts, and funding shortages that disappear a few weeks after the referndums are voted down. Are they all by accident? NO! They are explained that way though. And besides, it’s all for the Kids, right?
I ask you Ms. Hord, Carl and anyone else who wishes to answer, how many districts have to be revealed as financial tricksters before you realize it is a system wide problem? I really would like an answer.
|
Residents rally against Dist. 48 spending
Friday, July 15, 2005 By Kathryn Grondin Some Salt Creek District 48 taxpayers are tired of perceived flip-flopping of their school board with regard to finances. “They’re talking out of both sides of their mouths,” Comments25 Responses to “District 48 Taxpayers Fed Up With Spending” |
Karen Hord from D46.info wrote in response to this article, “Wow… what a surprise! Lennie found another school district to use as an example. Of course, Lennie found a school district that again cannot be compared to D46. I used to live near D48, a rich district… ie Oak Brook shopping center. A district with 550 or so students with spending of over $12,000 per year. We don’t have those dollars available. We have hardly any commercial/industrial dollars available.
Lennie… To use those comparisons does a disservice to the students in our district. Each component of each similar issue in a district would have to be compared for any comparisons to have validity. The residents of our town should simply be making their decisions about how far they will support the schools based on what we have as our financial base. The state set up going after extra money by referendum in part because they are cowards when it comes to actually addressing the inequities with school funding in the State of Illinois. You want to simply tout wasteful spending elsewhere without giving a valid comparison to wasteful spending here. Many times you have been asked to show us where our district is making those same mistakes you keep touting. Make your comparisons apples to apples instead of apples to oranges. Our children really deserve better!!!!”
I never tried to compare the size of the district. I was talking about the financial shenanigans taking place before and after a referendum. This happens regardless of district size or revenue of businesses. From your response that this is a rich district, I would have to ask why do they need the referendum in the first place? It’s the same financial trickery prevalent throughout Big Ed.
Now, for a minute, let’s entertain the notion that you can only compare the same size district. What does that entail to you? Please answer the following questions in regards to that?
Does that mean only the student population or a certain variance?
What is that variance?
Does it mean the same number of schools?
How about teachers and their experience?
Is it only the revenue they get?
Is it only based on the per student expenditures?
What comparisons will you use next to eliminate a comparison to another district?
BTW, you still never answered my other question, “I ask you Ms. Hord, Carl and anyone else who wishes to answer, how many districts have to be revealed as financial tricksters before you realize it is a system wide problem? I really would like an answer.”
Where will you draw the line?
You have brought up some good points in your other post as well. I quote it below.
—————- Begin Quote —————
“The problem with Bruno’s post and with Shawn Oakley’s fight is that they are going after education “bureaucracy”. We in Grayslake are going after a much more basic problem within in our town and how it affects the educational opportunities of our children within.
Our kids may have art, music & gym back next year. I am happy that they are getting something, but… they are not the full programs our kids deserve. The major benefit in getting these “gut reaction” programs back is that it gives our kids some chances during the school day to be restimulated by getting up and moving somewhere. My child is not into the athletics of gym. He has always enjoyed the arts. In years past we had wonderful programs. Now, we have reduced programs due to limited funding.
Our district still has absolutely no ability to bring down class sizes. I have been a volunteer in many classrooms over the years. I have seen first hand the difference in the quality of education delivered in a classroom with less kids. Our kids are getting shortchanged with 30 kids in a room.
Last night, Ed Schroeder really made me mad. He had the audacity to ask the board to continue their path of fiscal responsibility. His example was to ask them to reexamine why D46 has so many kids in the Pre-K program. Why has our district been reduced to this level? Doesn’t every child who deserves the additional early learning help deserve it?
All of these issues are not the result of educational bureaucracy. We are in trouble because of how the state funds us. We don’t need the Bruno’s of the world trying to lump us in with everyone else. We don’t need to have super programs, but our kids deserve a much better opportunity than they are being afforded. The taxpayers in this district need to look at where we really stand, and even with some programs back, it is not a pretty sight.”
Your last statement says it all. I wouldn’t object to funding to the district as long as the funds were equally distributed throughout the state, or at least like county areas where cost of living is the same. In our district, that is not the case because of the way that the state funds education. Our kids deserve an equal educational opportunity. All of our kids should have opportunities to have art, music and gym programs. My child may like art & music, but he needs gym for physical fitness. If he was only into athletics, I would want him exposed to art and music, as well. To complain about the pre-k program, a mandated program, is ridiculous. Your complaints need to be against the state. Until you (or we because we are certainly crying out for state change) can get the state to make the changes that they need to, don’t attack our programs and our expenditures, especially on mandated levels. Don’t lump us with the districts that have money to waste. We don’t because there isn’t anything to waste. Until you can pinpoint an exact problem in D46, stop attacking D46 as if it’s the problem.
Karen said, “I wouldn’t object to funding to the district as long as the funds were equally distributed throughout the state”.
Good, we can agree on this point. If every child in the state is appropriated an equal amount of money no matter where they live in the state and could use to attend the school of the parents choosing, that would be an acceptable funding solution, correct?
Karen said, “All of our kids should have opportunities to have art, music and gym programs.”
I can agree with this point as well. My question though, is should every taxpayer be required to pay for this activity or should it be the responsibility of the parent to choose and pay for the programs they want their child to attend?
Karen said, “To complain about the pre-k program, a mandated program, is ridiculous. Your complaints need to be against the state. Until you (or we because we are certainly crying out for state change) can get the state to make the changes that they need to, don’t attack our programs and our expenditures, especially on mandated levels. Don’t lump us with the districts that have money to waste. We don’t because there isn’t anything to waste. Until you can pinpoint an exact problem in D46, stop attacking D46 as if it’s the problem.”
On this we disagree. The mandated programs affect D46 and every other district in the State. My focus has to be on this as well because if the parents in D46 and all other districts stood and and said enough is enough to both Big Ed and the State you would see changes at the State level. There has to be an outrage by enough parents to force this change. Until parents stand up to Big Ed and tell the State to stop passing these unfunded mandates, btw that are moslty introduced and supported by Big Ed, then they won’t.
If all the parents focus on is passing referendums and getting huge tax increases passed, the State has no reason to change. Status quo is good for them because they don’t have to make the hard choices. If want the mandates stopped, let’s work together. Both the yes and no voters coming together can force a change. You’ll see if Big Ed is really for the kids or themselves. Try it, talk to one of them about funding the child and watch their reaction.
As for attacking D46. I have already pointed out many things wrong here. I will continue to do so until those issues are resolved and no longer occur.
To say we have to “start” attacking the problems at the state level is ridiculous. I have worked on committees since the early 1990′s doing just that. Grayslake D46 has struggled for years because of the inequities. You tell us that if enough people complain, something will change. What a crock! Many of us have been screaming out for years about the problem, especially in our district. Change is needed, but not a given. Our lawmakers tend to be cowards on the issue of taxation, and this is a basic taxation problem. Until the needed change takes place, we have kids to educate. We must not turn our backs on them because it will cost us money. The majority of people that now reside in our district have lived here for less than 15 years. All of these problems were in place when they moved in. By moving in, shouldn’t they have accepted that their support was going to be needed to fund education? My chld and the children he attends schools with do not deserve to be penalized while the community argues like children and the state plays chicken. We will continue to fight for change at the state level. We accept that we must do that. While we wage our battle, we are willing to walk the talk of providing good education by supporting it with our tax dollars as necessary.
As for the comments about whether the community should fund art, music & gym… without question. These programs are an integral part of learning. They help to stimulate the brain for the learning of the basics as well. Step inside a school that has a “full” program of specials and you see kids excited about the educational process in so many different ways. The arts & gym are ways of getting children hooked on school. That filters into the classroom for all of the basics as well… the good old reading, writing & arithmetic.
Karen said, “Change is needed, but not a given. Our lawmakers tend to be cowards on the issue of taxation, and this is a basic taxation problem.”
And therein lies the problem. You have been screaming for money at the State level and the only way you see to do that is to raise taxes. I have made a suggestion that solves the equity problem, gives D46 the money to educate all the kids, and all without a tax increase. If you can’t get the State to raise taxes after 15 years, wouldn’t it make more sense to provide a solution that does not cause a tax increase and fixes the problems? Of course it does. That is what I am suggesting and you revert back to “we need more taxes.”
This is the reaction I would have expected from an entrenched Administrator or Union Rep.
It is not necessarily a matter of raising taxes, but of distributing them so that parity exists. Since the majority of districts do not face our financial difficulties, they would fight giving us a bigger slice of the pot. Redistribution of commercial and industrial taxes into an equally divided pot would be nice, but again the have’s aren’t going to willingly give up the fight. You want us to stop asking for more money, but our finances are in a desperate state because of issues that are not in the control of our school district. If you think that changing the system is easy, state your plan. But… remember… my kid and all others deserve an equal education now… not when legislation gets changed… but now! Until such changes are instituted, I will continue to support what is necessary to bring that about. It may take a bigger chunk of the pie than I am happy with. I will continue to understand that there are those who really cannot support education financially, while I continue to believe that most of them do value education itself. I just accept that we do not have a choice. If we want a workforce who will be our support in later years, we better educate them now.
As for the entrenched administrator or union rep comment… yeah, right. Proviso West High School class of 1971. As Cheryl Greenman would say, I don’t have what it takes to be the admin and I’ve never worked in a union shop or field. Supporting education for education’s sake… that’s me.
Karen said, “We must not turn our backs on them because it will cost us money. As for the comments about whether the community should fund art, music & gym”
Karen Quote 1: “Our lawmakers tend to be cowards on the issue of taxation, and this is a basic taxation problem.”
Karen Quote 2: “It is not necessarily a matter of raising taxes”
So which is statement is correct? Again, I gave you a suggestion that does not raise taxes and you said id was a taxation problem. I talk about it again and you so it/s not necessarily about raising taxes. You can’t have it both ways.
Let’s look at your argument, “Since the majority of districts do not face our financial difficulties, they would fight giving us a bigger slice of the pot”. Before the referendum, I kept hearing how 80% of the districts had the exact same problem as we did. I’ll have to try and find out who, but it was prevalent on the message board. Now, you’re saying it’s only a few. I ask, which is it, a few or the majority that face the same problems we do?
I really think you are confusing subjects here. I am not talking about property tax redistribution. I am talking about the State funding. If a district wants to supplement with property taxes, that is their right in a democracy. The State allocates money to each district now and according to many arguments before the referendum, it was stated over and over again the current distribution hurts fast growing districts. Funding the child fixes that because the money goes with the child directly to whatever school they are in. The so called “rich districts” should love this plan too, It would mean more money for them. Why you ask? Well, since their schools are so desirable, they would attract more students and thus more money.
The people that will fight this the most will be those who work for the Governemnt/Education complex. The higher up, the harder they will fight.
Karen,
I’m sorry about being so direct. I just thought it was the best and fastest approach to get the discussion moving toward an agreement that can be worked on.
I am also sorry about the Admin/Union line. I had gone back and removed it, but then you posted about it. So, I thought I should put it back to make sure everyone and you knew what was said.
Lennie
One last post… Yes, many districts are starting to get into financial trouble because of how the state funds education. When I said that most districts do not face our difficulties, I meant it. D46 is in extreme difficulty because of its lack of commercial/industrial to help offset the cost to the residents. Most districts are not facing our difficulties.
As for the funding/taxation issue… it is somewhat one & the same. To get change at the state level, which is needed, is going to take courage by our state lawmakers. Our local lawmaker, Rep. Churchill, is one of the biggest cowards. It is incomprehensible that he refuses to acknowledge that the problem in D46 begins at the state level.
As for the arts in school… They are not extras to be paid for separately by individuals. They are part of a well rounded education that most definitely belong in the curriculum. They were part of the school day back in the 50′s and 60′s for me. I stand by my statement that they are an integral part of the school day. What’s with the idea of putting in extra recess time? That’s really educational isn’t it? For many of us, art/music are things we have supplemented in our kids lives. Talk to a member of the band boosters, or parents of students in band/orchestra programs, and find out just how great a positive impact the programs had on their kids.
I repeat… I will continue to support public education to a full level. I will continue to fight for public education to be funded equally across the board. I know that we are fortunate as a family to be able to give extra assistance to our kid, but I have seen the negative impact on too many children who are not receiving the help they need at school to offset what they are not getting in support at home. I feel it is my obligation as a resident of this earth to see that all children are treated equally with mine. I have been at the bottom financially recently. We had 2+ years of unempolyment to deal with. Sacrificing education never was an acceptable issue in house then, you won’t convince me that it’s ok now.
Noone is trying to convince you to sacrifice education. That seems to be the crux of the problem in relationships here in D46. One side says, “if you don’t pay more for public schools, then are against the kids.” The other side, is saying, “wait a minute, we need fiscal repsonsibility. There is a way we can all get the kids educated without forcing everyone to pay for it.” The negativity and divisiveness in this community will continue until everyone can finally see that both sides are trying help education, and not sacrifice the needs of the children.
As for Rep. Churchill, I don’t believe he is a coward. He is a politician who represents the entire district. When the district overwhelmingly defeats the candidates for BOE that supported a tax increase and defeats 4 straight referndums, he is voting according to what he says as the meesage coming from the people of this district. That is, “No new taxes!” When we give him a solution that does not require a tax increase, I feel fairly confident that he would support that.
Karen said: “What’s with the idea of putting in extra recess time?”
There are already kids who can’t participate in the band program because they can’t afford it. Is that right? There are kids who are denied the opportunity because they can’t afford it. Our whole D46 community does not live in an affluent town. There are parts of our district where the housing is dirt cheap compared to a lot of Lake County. We do have families sharing housing in our district to save money. All kids deserve the equal rights.
One thing I think you are misreading about me is that I am saying that it has to be a taxed solution. The reason I call Rep. Churchill a coward is that he is not looking for a solution to help the children in his district that does not require going to referendum. Remember, that is what the state has given us… the need to go for referendum. Getting mad at us for asking for referendum after referendum is not the answer. Again… it is the choice that the state has given us. Something has to change. We both agree on that. The change has to take place at the state level. That is Mr. Churchill’s turf… yes, he needs to start working for us. Until then, and remember I have worked on committees begging for a change for years, I will support the referedums as needed. The state has given us no other choice.
One additional point was made earlier that I didn’t respond to… The one about getting our programs back without referedum. Don’t you think the money saved last year without the programs was combined with funds due the next year to come up with enough. The staff and many parents are still very legitimately concerned about the sustainability of these programs. Having the programs come and go is not the answer. Class size was mentioned, also. If only we could bring down the class sizes. I have been complaining of that issue for a few years now. Class sizes are way too big. Kids are getting left behind specifically because class sizes are negatively impacting how well teachers can respond to so many more kids with so many more needs. I am not the only one asking for change on this issue. Unfortunately, class size is an expensive need. At least 1 more teacher would be needed per grade level per K-4 building. MS, Frederick and probably Prairieview, too, would probably need at least 2 more teachers per grade level. The other problem would be actual classroom space to accomodate all these additional teachers. Right now, this board is nickel and dimeing everything. The Woodview addition is in danger. Unfortunately, we will need the space before Madronna is ready. Of course, we don’t even have any guarantees that we will be able to fund Madronna anyways, do we? Our problems are massive. We do not have the tax base to support the student population we now have, much less in the next year or two. Until you come up with workable answers to the districts total financial needs, don’t simply highlight what little they can do. The sale of Lakeview may have given a little time, and a few more options, but all of our kids needs are not being met. The needs will not be met as things stand. I don’t care how much micro managing this board does. They will not be able to put our kids on that equal footing they deserve.
Karen said: “There are already kids who can’t participate in the band program because they can’t afford it. Is that right?”
I deal in realities, not trances. Sometimes you make really ridiculous statements. Number one… I am not living with the past board in mind. I have lived here for 18 years and I have 18 years of experience that I base my decisions on. The need for smaller class sizes is not overblown. I have been in the classrooms and I know what a major difference it makes to keep the class sizes down. We may have lived in the same era… I don’t know. I do know that, yes, we got by. I do know that getting by meant not striving to be the best. It meant large classes and teachers who only taught to part of the classes because of it. I have witnessed first hand on a weekly basis what a smaller class can do and what a larger class cannot. I have seen kids in 3rd grade who could not read a math story problem on their own to take a test. I saw too many kids not getting their homework in. We do not live in an ideal world where all children have attentive parents at home. There are many kids dependent on the extra help in the classroom. Extra kids makes the extra help not as readily available. I have been in classrooms where there are student teachers. The student teachers and parent volunteers did not stop the need for “Johnny, please sit. Suzy, do this. Sarah, do that.” So much extra wasted time. Wasted time that should be spent simply teaching.
When you think that I am not giving the new board credit… get real. I am happy that some things are back, but they are partial some things. You cannot dismiss the fact that if the last board had spent money last year on these programs, the current board wouldn’t have it available this year. The two boards are tied by history if nothing else. I will continue to be concerned with what I see. I will continue to be concerned with whether or not anything is sustainable. History teaches us to be cautious. History of this district and this state tells us to be concerned.
I don’t believe that Blagojevich is the problem. The problem with the state and educational funding has been there for years. The problem partially lies in the questions put forth to the populace. Sen. Geo-Karis stated that her constituents are not for educational reform at this time… Hey, Adeline… We are your constinuents, and we are crying out for change! Our reps need to ask whether or not we feel that education should be funded more equitably. Maybe the answer would be different from the question they always ask. You know… the one about whether or not we should raise taxes to do so. It is our reps responsibility to find out how to bring about the equality.
Karen, I am asking the same questions Lisa asked last night.
1. What are this past year’s class size at each of the schools?
2. What is the expected class size this upcoming year?
3. What student/teacher ratio would satisfy you? 25 to 1? 20 to 1? 15 to 1? 10 to 1? maybe even 2 to 1 or 1 to 1? Oh wait, sorry that’s called homeschooling.
4. Should the class size be the same for all grades or graduated up each year?
Until you can provide some context here your argument is meaningless Edu-Babble.
Karen said, “Sen. Geo-Karis stated that her constituents are not for educational reform at this time”
If the current funds are reallocated it is funding reform, not necessarily tax reform. You just want to accuse someone of the wrong things.
Class sizes last year were too high. Period. Woodview’s 4th grade was fortunate that its classes were comprised of 24=- kids, though 2/3′s of each class has been boys for the last couple of years and that made 24 seem higher. The class sizes in the other schools at the 4th grade level were a minimum of 29. The lower grades at Woodview were also 28+. The word out of the Middle School from a student there is that she was in some classes of 35. As for optimal size… a ratio of 20-1 tops for K-1. 2-4… 22 kids. 5-6… 25 kids. 7-8… 28 kids. And those are by no means ideal class sizes. Sometimes the makeup of an individual class at these ratios is still to high. My grandson’s 3rd grade class of 16 boys and 8 girls was out of control. I watched too many kids struggle for most of the year. Kids sat all kinds of ways in their chairs, a good portion of them paying no real attention. It took a new teacher and a couple of reading specialists on a fairly constant basis to restore control. That took over a month to start and 2 months to more fully accomplish. By then it was March. How much educational time was lost for all because of constant disruptions. It was the one classroom I have ever volunteered in where I was part of the discipline process during the school day. Does a smaller class size automatically mean that a teacher without control would be helped? Not necessarily, but having one extra section does mean that the kids that do need a little “closer” control are spread out a little thinner. It is an unfortunate fact that a lot of kids are not getting set the expectations at home that they are to behave a certain way at school. They are not getting homework turned in. No one at home is seeing that they do it. The kids are struggling. The teachers are stretched thin and they are either not putting the effort (often during their evenings) into contacting the homes. It becomes a circle that has a negative impact on every child in a class like that.
Are there many teachers who still get much more out of all their kids yes? Are they too being pushed too far these days in our district? Yes. Ask them. I get the feeling from the posts questioning me that you haven’t set foot in the schools as often as I have. Unfortunately, even if you were to do it today… you would not have previous experience from a few years ago when class sizes were smaller to compare it to.
Karen said, “If the current funds are reallocated it is funding reform, not necessarily tax reform. You just want to accuse someone of the wrong things.”
I am not sure what exactly you are getting at here. I think it was the funding reform comment I made about Geo-Karis. If I am wrong please correct me. If I am right, then HB 750 was a net tax increase even after the swap with the property taxes.
Thank you for the class size numbers.
Karen said: “I get the feeling from the posts questioning me that you haven’t set foot in the schools as often as I have.”
The discipline problems get mulitplied as the class sizes go up, interruptions to the learning process, so to speak. Sure the parents should step in, but though it has been talked about for years, the parents who need to are not getting the message. One of the other hot topics of discussion during the past year has been teacher mentoring. How criticial this is to the discipline problems as well. But, alas, a money issue again. Strong education begets a strong community. It “takes a village” to raise a child and help the education process along. You want to attack the system. I would rather do what I have to with what the system is giving us while I fight for change. Simply stating that things are wrong over and over doesn’t help the kids now. Especially since I don’t see that you have found a solution that the state is willing to take on either. I repeat, our children need our support now.
I’ve only been working on a solution for a few weeks. Since the end of March I ahve been working to expose the truth to all who will listen. You’ve had a 18 year headstart on the legislation end. Now, again I will repeat by question:
1. If a solution is provided that will provide each child the same funding from the state, without a tax increase, would you work to support this change?
2. Would you convince others to do the same?
These questions can be answered regardless of whether you or I are currently working on a local solution here and now. We must do both, not one or the other.
One more questions, at anytime during your lobbying the State has a plan not included a tax increase?
I would support any method that changed funding to be more euqitable. It’s doesn’t have to mean a tax increase if it can be done that way. I don’t believe that will happen. One thing that cannot be dismissed is that as rich a state as Illinois is, it ranks 48 or 49 in school funding. As for convincing others… If it was a plan worthy of my support, yes I would try to convince others.
Your question about about the lobbying… My basic job when I went down there was to let my voice be heard about the inequities. I wanted to legislature to hear the growing ranks that think what is happening to the schools in Illinois is unacceptable. When I went with the group to Springfield in May, it was to go with a group trying to be big enough and loud enough to be heard when we said that something has to be changed. I do find it heartening that our ranks are swelling. Yet, I also find it disheartening. Why? Because our ranks are swelling because many more districts in Illinois are starting to struggle, too.
One item I had failed to comment on earlier. The discipline problem and the mention of word principal. This is part of why it has to be acknowledged that our administrators are getting stretched thin, too. Fortunately, the assistant prinicipal position was approved at Prairieview, but what was it like this past year? Who can effectively oversee the teachers when stretched so thin. How many times must a principal step in to discipline a child? How many children? Every cutback has ramifications.
Karen said: “The discipline problems get mulitplied as the class sizes go up, interruptions to the learning process, so to speak. Sure the parents should step in, but though it has been talked about for years, the parents who need to are not getting the message.”
Socialism? Germany? Why can’t you just take an interest in what’s happening here without comparing our problems to everything else in the world? You’re not looking for solutions. You really appear to be looking at ways to avoid the system we do have to work with. We need to deal with the realities of what actually is happening here. Over and out!
Karen said: “Socialism? Germany? Why can’t you just take an interest in what’s happening here without comparing our problems to everything else in the world?”