What do you think the biggest threat to quality of life over the next 4 years is?

Serious question, not trying to fear monger.

Frankly I don't think much will change with the way I live my life. I'm pretty sure about that. But there are some threats there that I don't think would be there if a regular left or right politician were taking office. I would hope both sides could agree on that.

-If you believe in science, could some of the environmental policies Trump has vowed to roll back bite us in the ass? (source - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/21/us/politics/what-trump-wants-to-do-in-his-first-100-days-and-how-difficult-each-will-be.html - 1st column) Probably not in our lives, but maybe in my kids' or their kids' lifetimes? This seems the most plausible.
-Lack of experience with foreign policy. I don't know shit about foreign policy so I think that makes Trump and I roughly equals. Kidding. But with all of the Russia shit it's clear that he is not savvy yet. I'm sure he will get coached up. Could his naivete and lack of experience here get us into hot water somehow? What are the biggest threats?
-Factions within. This seems far fetched but I'm not sure it's completely out of the realm of possibility. The alt right is a thing, and they're gaining in numbers and feel vindicated and empowered. This is not something that would be Trump sponsored, obviously, and I'm sure he would officially do what he could to quash it but I'm not sure how much that would help. We know there have been some hate crimes but it's impossible to say if there have been more of these, or if they're just being more publicized right now because of the sensitivity of the election and some of DT's campaign rhetoric. Is it possible that in highly diverse areas, like Detroit, or Chicago or San Antonio, that if this type of behavior and rhetoric continues to gain steam, that minorities decide to fight back and increasingly target the white population, leading to even more division and a de facto race war? Am I nuts for thinking this is a realistic (albeit slim) possibility?

Sincere replies appreciated from those more well versed in politics.

I try to be pretty rational and don't encourage "freaking out". I have to talk my wife down a lot. hell my wife wants to go get passports for the kids just in case "the shit hits the fan". I've been talking her down since the spring, when I assured her there was zero chance that Trump would win the nominee, let alone become President. Fucking Nate Silver.

Public education in Michigan will be chartered by for profit companies inside a decade. That will effect your kids. Research dollars on embryos might be cut back. I do t know what the science vs religion will be like. It will be interesting.

Don't know if tariff wars will happen either. I'm thinking no. I think, honestly teachers will be greatly discouraged. We will see that industry radically changed. That might touch your kids directly. Other than that, I don't think any president radically changes white middle class families lives. I'm not too worried either way. Too old and fixed to be radically effected by anything myself.

I would post my opinion, but my e-stalker will just pick them apart without giving his/her true thoughts.

DWags wrote:Public education in Michigan will be chartered by for profit companies inside a decade. That will effect your kids. Research dollars on embryos might be cut back.  I do t know what the science vs religion will be like. It will be interesting.

Don't know if tariff wars will happen either. I'm thinking no. I think, honestly teachers will be greatly discouraged. We will see that industry radically changed.  That might touch your kids directly. Other than that, I don't think any president radically changes white middle class families lives. I'm not too worried either way. Too old and fixed to be radically effected by anything myself.

Please explain this in more detail. My wife is a public school teacher and the plan, for now is to stay in public schools with the kids. Daughter not in school system yet but we like our school a lot so far based on 2 years of my son being there.

BTW crazy how many colleagues my wife knows (mostly female) who stumped for Trump.

I think the climate change stuff is overblown. Sure the climate is changing, always has - always will. Anyone that pumps out that "warmest year ever" crap is a purveyor of fake news. They really mean sort of the warmest year in the last 125 or so since we kept records. They know it was a lot warmer during the medieval warm period.

I agree with Wags that how much any average person is directly affected by the government is usually overblown.

I think the R's will try to improve the health insurance market, whether they succeed or not is up for question. But no matter who won fixes HAD to be made because Obamacare was/is failing rapidly. If anyone thinks that's propaganda I'll post multiple neutral links.

The education stuff. Well they're talking more vouchers. I don't see where that's a bad thing. Instead of "your" $7,000 per kid going directly to the public school where you live you get to pick where to spend it? Somehow that's the end of the world as we know it? I think it might help since it would force more accountability.

The foreign stuff really doesn't bother me much. We should stay the hell out of 99.9% of the wars and skirmishes that happen. But we do need to continue to be strong enough that no one really wants to fight us. Prop up our allies and avoid direct involvement.

The biggest thing I'd tell people and I've been saying this since way before the election occurred - no matter who won there was going to be a recession. I still believe that, even with the market going crazy. So stash some $$ if your job is at all at risk. Cut your debt and ride it out or better yet jump into the market when it bottoms. I think over the next 4 years that will be the biggest impact on the average family. The D's will blame Trump, just as the R's would have blamed Clinton and politics as usual will go on.

Thanks for weighing in without an ultra partisan stance LG. Why do you think the recession is coming? I don't know how to feel about that. I feel pretty safe right now. My practice would pretty much fail to exist without me and I feel pretty marketable. But who knows.

It's not the vouchers, competition is great for everything. It's the charters. It's bringing in teach America for three years. It's the for profit. It's chasing people out of the industry. It will radically change education in ten years. Nowhere near the talent pool teaching that we had in the 80's and 90's.

For all the bluster Trump made with trade, a tariff war would seem to be problematic for the US consumer.

DWags wrote:It's not the vouchers, competition is great for everything. It's the charters. It's bringing in teach America for three years. It's the for profit. It's chasing people out of the industry. It will radically change education in ten years. Nowhere near the talent pool teaching that we had in the 80's and 90's.

Wags? I'm not as familiar with the charters. Elaborate?

I've always felt that the DC politicians opposing vouchers was hypocritical as hell. Forcing poor parents to stay in their schools while they sent their kids to private schools. I know where they've been tried (Milwaukee?) and elsewhere they seem to have worked. Would have to dig for more examples and don't know if it's worth the time.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:Thanks for weighing in without an ultra partisan stance LG. Why do you think the recession is coming? I don't know how to feel about that. I feel pretty safe right now. My practice would pretty much fail to exist without me and I feel pretty marketable. But who knows.

The US economy has averaged a recession every 3 years or so for over 100 years. Those odds would tell you one is coming since it's been 8 years.

Now....there is one counterargument to be made and this IS NOT a big slam on Obama. The recovery under Obama has been steady and slow, in fact it's been historically weak regarding both the growth of the economy and jobs. That MIGHT be a reason that there's no been a recession for over 8 years is that things never got overheated. It's sort of bumped along at a slow rate.

The down side is that nearly every month there weren't enough jobs created to absorb the new members of the workforce much less sop up some of the people that have left the workforce. Without that happening wages have stagnated for the middle and lower class workers and you get Trump because they're mad over that.

So perhaps if Trump avoids being stupid, puts in some pro growth policies and stays generally out of the way the economy might take off and have a great 3-5 year run - then crash a bit. It's possible.

I should know more about charter schools. They seem to be predominantly in areas where the school systems are poor. How do the vouchers work? Are they allocated per school system? Or is it a county/state/federal thing? I don't see charter schools becoming a thing in my area in the next 20 years because our public school system is considered very good. Am I being naive? It could very well affect my wife's district though....the demographics there are very economically diverse. You have her school which pulls from middle class to subsidized housing. And on the north end you have elementary schools that look like the Costanza-designed addition to the Guggenheim.

Major changes to the ACA and Medcare will siphon a lot of what was disposable income.

GRR Spartan wrote:Major changes to the ACA and Medcare will siphon a lot of what was disposable income.

More than now? With $5000-7000 premiums and high deductibles? Maybe, but I'll wait to see what they come up with.

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:I should know more about charter schools. They seem to be predominantly in areas where the school systems are poor. How do the vouchers work? Are they allocated per school system? Or is it a county/state/federal thing? I don't see charter schools becoming a thing in my area in the next 20 years because our public school system is considered very good. Am I being naive? It could very well affect my wife's district though....the demographics there are very economically diverse. You have her school which pulls from middle class to subsidized housing. And on the north end you have elementary schools that look like the Costanza-designed addition to the Guggenheim.

The vouchers are basically a check that each child carries with them wherever they enroll. Public, private, charter, etc. Right now it works that way with schools of choice but not all options.

Mark Dayton of MN is as reliably liberal as any Governor in America -

Democratic governor: Obamacare 'no longer affordable' for many

Whether Congress/Trump can make it so is debatable. As it's now configured it's an unsustainable program, so to call changing it "taking it away" from anyone is being untruthful. If left to stand as is it will be there for no one.

LooseGoose wrote:

WhiteBoyHatcher wrote:I should know more about charter schools. They seem to be predominantly in areas where the school systems are poor. How do the vouchers work? Are they allocated per school system? Or is it a county/state/federal thing? I don't see charter schools becoming a thing in my area in the next 20 years because our public school system is considered very good. Am I being naive? It could very well affect my wife's district though....the demographics there are very economically diverse. You have her school which pulls from middle class to subsidized housing. And on the north end you have elementary schools that look like the Costanza-designed addition to the Guggenheim.

The vouchers are basically a check that each child carries with them wherever they enroll. Public, private, charter, etc. Right now it works that way with schools of choice but not all options.

I'll comment more with more time but here's just a bit. You can charter up anything. Hire unqualified teachers and make a profit if you give back to the mother ship. Some companies will take your tax dollars and pay rent to a building the mother ship owns. Outrageous rent. 500K or mother a year. Then, they can make 3% profit, but they don't have to count rent. Pay teachers such low wages that they drive real professionals out of the business. No pension needs to be paid and insurance is shit. The more charters the less kids your wife will have in her school. All schools. "Competition" I guess. Now we have to make cud at your wives school and raise insurance rates (that's been going on for almost a decade. The best part of the gig is when you open a charter in our state your finances don't go under the same scrutiny as public schools. And get this the charters don't have to take in add's ADHD's ect.

Here's a quick cut and paste. I'll give more. But remember your taxes aren't going ddown as far as money to schools, they're being shifted towards for profit schools. Good gig and you can buy your supplies from friends at no bid. I'm actually looking to start one on 8 mile. Money galore.

From John John Jeffire
Here is part of the problem when you plan on gutting the public school system for private vouchers. For every charter that succeeds, you will find a number of these Happytime Achievement Academies that pop up in an abandoned strip mall, school, or office building making all kind of promises that are never kept. The backers of the charter collect all the tax money (yes, your money), hire uncertified teachers at dirt wages, buy crappy computers from a fellow "entrepreneur," are not held accountable to standards public schools must meet, get rid of or don't accept kids with disabilities/behavior issues, and then fold up shop after a year or two. Who gets screwed? You, the taxpayer, the parents who wanted the best for their kids and believed the hype, the kids who never got the education they were promised, and the duped teachers who thought this was the way to start a career they were passionate about. The backers laugh all the way to the bank (Trump University, anyone?) and get ready to fire up their next scam, and no one is held accountable. Oh, and Betsy Devos, she has no degree in education, Child Psychology, or Childhood Development and has never taught one day in her life--yes, let that sink in for a minute.

LooseGoose wrote:Mark Dayton of MN is as reliably liberal as any Governor in America -

Democratic governor: Obamacare 'no longer affordable' for many

Whether Congress/Trump can make it so is debatable. As it's now configured it's an unsustainable program, so to call changing it "taking it away" from anyone is being untruthful. If left to stand as is it will be there for no one.

Most on the Left who actually spent any time learning about the ACA knew it would fail if young people didn't sign up. They didn't, and it did.

NigelUno wrote:For all the bluster Trump made with trade, a tariff war would seem to be problematic for the US consumer.

Understatement of the Year. Try devastating.

tGreenWay wrote:

LooseGoose wrote:Mark Dayton of MN is as reliably liberal as any Governor in America -

Democratic governor: Obamacare 'no longer affordable' for many

Whether Congress/Trump can make it so is debatable. As it's now configured it's an unsustainable program, so to call changing it "taking it away" from anyone is being untruthful. If left to stand as is it will be there for no one.

Most on the Left who actually spent any time learning about the ACA knew it would fail if young people didn't sign up. They didn't, and it did.

Agreed. As I've said, it's got to be changed and before I crucify anyone one I want to see how they change it to try and make it workable.

DWags wrote:Here is part of the problem when you plan on gutting the public school system for private vouchers. For every charter that succeeds, you will find a number of these Happytime Achievement Academies that pop up in an abandoned strip mall, school, or office building making all kind of promises that are never kept. The backers of the charter collect all the tax money (yes, your money), hire uncertified teachers at dirt wages, buy crappy computers from a fellow "entrepreneur," are not held accountable to standards public schools must meet, get rid of or don't accept kids with disabilities/behavior issues, and then fold up shop after a year or two. Who gets screwed? You, the taxpayer, the parents who wanted the best for their kids and believed the hype, the kids who never got the education they were promised, and the duped teachers who thought this was the way to start a career they were passionate about. The backers laugh all the way to the bank (Trump University, anyone?) and get ready to fire up their next scam, and no one is held accountable. Oh, and Betsy Devos, she has no degree in education, Child Psychology, or Childhood Development and has never taught one day in her life--yes, let that sink in for a minute.

OK, that's the downside and I won't argue that could happen depending on how the laws are written. Let me give you another angle.

My older sister just retired this summer. She'd taught 1st grade for 25+ years and wanted to continue but had a newer Principal and Superintendent that she just couldn't tolerate. She thinks the animosity stems from her years as the President of the local teacher's union. Rather than be unhappy she retired, luckily with her husband still working and other circumstances she had that option.

I can tell you this and not just because she's my sister. She was a helluva teacher and much beloved in the district she worked in. Parents actively worked to get their kids into her class. She first talked about this 2-3 years ago. I told her then she should just leave and open her own school, that at least the lower grades would fill quickly. She didn't want to do it because of $$ considerations.

IF the Charter laws are written/rewritten with the voucher proposals it might provide the opening for a teacher or group of teachers to go open small boutique schools that would provide a superior education. It would require teachers, students and parents that care but would offer something not available to many today, especially in small towns.

LooseGoose wrote:

DWags wrote:Here is part of the problem when you plan on gutting the public school system for private vouchers. For every charter that succeeds, you will find a number of these Happytime Achievement Academies that pop up in an abandoned strip mall, school, or office building making all kind of promises that are never kept. The backers of the charter collect all the tax money (yes, your money), hire uncertified teachers at dirt wages, buy crappy computers from a fellow "entrepreneur," are not held accountable to standards public schools must meet, get rid of or don't accept kids with disabilities/behavior issues, and then fold up shop after a year or two. Who gets screwed? You, the taxpayer, the parents who wanted the best for their kids and believed the hype, the kids who never got the education they were promised, and the duped teachers who thought this was the way to start a career they were passionate about. The backers laugh all the way to the bank (Trump University, anyone?) and get ready to fire up their next scam, and no one is held accountable. Oh, and Betsy Devos, she has no degree in education, Child Psychology, or Childhood Development and has never taught one day in her life--yes, let that sink in for a minute.

OK, that's the downside and I won't argue that could happen depending on how the laws are written. Let me give you another angle.

My older sister just retired this summer. She'd taught 1st grade for 25+ years and wanted to continue but had a newer Principal and Superintendent that she just couldn't tolerate. She thinks the animosity stems from her years as the President of the local teacher's union. Rather than be unhappy she retired, luckily with her husband still working and other circumstances she had that option.

I can tell you this and not just because she's my sister. She was a helluva teacher and much beloved in the district she worked in. Parents actively worked to get their kids into her class. She first talked about this 2-3 years ago. I told her then she should just leave and open her own school, that at least the lower grades would fill quickly. She didn't want to do it because of $$ considerations.

IF the Charter laws are written/rewritten with the voucher proposals it might provide the opening for a teacher or group of teachers to go open small boutique schools that would provide a superior education. It would require teachers, students and parents that care but would offer something not available to many today, especially in small towns.

An interesting voucher study.

But you don’t have to be in the educational establishment to be worried about where this is going. The DeVos nomination is a triumph of ideology over evidence that should worry anyone who wants to improve results for children.

DeVos is going to have willing partners in MI to push her agenda of public funds to private entities and destroying organized teachers/unions along the way.

Look no further than the "Virtual High School" racket. Start a business with some servers. Then provide your students with a cheap computer and printer provided by another business entity owned by the virtual school and require the student's family to pay for their internet access while you collect the $6000+ each student gets from their respective district.

Then you bitch about urban schools poor facilities while their tax base decays and the charters take all but the special needs students and students whose parents have zero motivation to do the extra stuff charters require.

DeVos already has a prototype school called West MI Avaiation Academy. It pulls some the best and brightest from suburban schools. 500 students with 42% taking AP classes.

At least 50% of its initial staff was made up of teachers collecting their MESSA pensions and using their MESSA retiree health benefits in addition to their salary which was 25%-35% lower than what they were making. That's according to 3 teachers I know who had retired from suburban schools. The principal was formerly the principal at EGR HS who took an early retirement at 55 and was double dipping.

The best part is it all funded with MI tax dollars.

GRR Spartan wrote:DeVos is going to have willing partners in MI to push her agenda of public funds to private entities and destroying organized teachers/unions along the way.

Look no further than the "Virtual High School" racket. Start a business with some servers. Then provide your students with a cheap computer and printer provided by another business entity owned by the virtual school and require the student's family to pay for their internet access while you collect the $6000+ each student gets from their respective district.

Then you bitch about urban schools poor facilities while their tax base decays and the charters take all but the special needs students and students whose parents have zero motivation to do the extra stuff charters require.

DeVos already has a prototype school called West MI Avaiation Academy. It pulls some the best and brightest from suburban schools. 500 students with 42% taking AP classes.

At least 50% of its initial staff was made up of teachers collecting their MESSA pensions and using their MESSA retiree health benefits in addition to their salary which was 25%-35% lower than what they were making. That's according to 3 teachers I know who had retired from suburban schools. The principal was formerly the principal at EGR HS who took an early retirement at 55 and was double dipping.

The best part is it all funded with MI tax dollars.

Not joking when I tell you myself and some ex administrators are looking into this.

We all have no doubt public education will be so radically different in our state in five to ten years it won't be recognizable. High school sports will be a thing of the past in ten years. It's going to be AAU leagues and very deregulated.

I'm kind of selfish cause I find it more interesting than appalling right now. But for anyone that doesn't see this change coming is pretty naive. This all started with Ed Messe in 87 and his group has won hands down. Capitalism is a crazy interesting thing. I feel bad for some friends who have 10-15 years in the business but they have to be sharp enough to know it's coming.

DWags wrote:

GRR Spartan wrote:DeVos is going to have willing partners in MI to push her agenda of public funds to private entities and destroying organized teachers/unions along the way.

Look no further than the "Virtual High School" racket. Start a business with some servers. Then provide your students with a cheap computer and printer provided by another business entity owned by the virtual school and require the student's family to pay for their internet access while you collect the $6000+ each student gets from their respective district.

Then you bitch about urban schools poor facilities while their tax base decays and the charters take all but the special needs students and students whose parents have zero motivation to do the extra stuff charters require.

DeVos already has a prototype school called West MI Avaiation Academy. It pulls some the best and brightest from suburban schools. 500 students with 42% taking AP classes.

At least 50% of its initial staff was made up of teachers collecting their MESSA pensions and using their MESSA retiree health benefits in addition to their salary which was 25%-35% lower than what they were making. That's according to 3 teachers I know who had retired from suburban schools. The principal was formerly the principal at EGR HS who took an early retirement at 55 and was double dipping.

The best part is it all funded with MI tax dollars.

Not joking when I tell you myself and some ex administrators are looking into this.

We all have no doubt public education will be so radically different in our state in five to ten years it won't be recognizable. High school sports will be a thing of the past in ten years. It's going to be AAU leagues and very deregulated.

I'm kind of selfish cause I find it more interesting than appalling right now. But for anyone that doesn't see this change coming is pretty naive. This all started with Ed Messe in 87 and his group has won hands down. Capitalism is a crazy interesting thing. I feel bad for some friends who have 10-15 years in the business but they have to be sharp enough to know it's coming.

Alma College is looking for a full time DL coach if you're interested.

Turtleneck wrote:

DWags wrote:


Not joking when I tell you myself and some ex administrators are looking into this.

We all have no doubt public education will be so radically different in our state in five to ten years it won't be recognizable. High school sports will be a thing of the past in ten years. It's going to be AAU leagues and very deregulated.

I'm kind of selfish cause I find it more interesting than appalling right now. But for anyone that doesn't see this change coming is pretty naive. This all started with Ed Messe in 87 and his group has won hands down. Capitalism is a crazy interesting thing. I feel bad for some friends who have 10-15 years in the business but they have to be sharp enough to know it's coming.

Alma College is looking for a full time DL coach if you're interested.

I prefer to critique football from afar and not be held directly responsible for it anymore. I can drink more that way.

And it's Monday morning.   Any discussion can cease while Bob drops his parrot shit in every thread.

DWags wrote:Public education in Michigan will be chartered by for profit companies inside a decade. That will effect your kids. Research dollars on embryos might be cut back. I do t know what the science vs religion will be like. It will be interesting.

I work for a university in Michigan. My daughter is a PS teacher.
If you think public schools are going to be replaced by charters in 10 years you're a bigger fucking idiot than you appear to be.

[quote="Toe"][quote="DWags"]Public education in Michigan will be chartered by for profit companies inside a decade. That will effect your kids. Research dollars on embryos might be cut back. I do t know what the science vs religion will be like. It will be interesting.



Vouchers are going to bleed many MI public school districts to the point where they close because they can't operate being repositories for students with chronic behavioral issues, the education site that f choice for parents who see the school as a place to send their children for 6-7 hours a day and the only place parents of special needs children will have since charter, private and parochial schools don't want those students.

Betsy DeVos and the MI GOP have seen vouchers as a way to undermine public schools by reducing funding and a way to destroy teachers unions. The election of Trump, the nomination of DeVos to be SEC of Education and a willing MI GOP has the potential to make MI a national test for vouchers.

Working at a university and having a child as a public school teacher makes you targets more than you think it makes DWags an idiot.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:from a selfish perspective, I'm glad that my daughter (sorry For bin) is wrapping up high school.. I do feel bad for families with younger children who value public education.

I said the same to both my public school and public university educated children when they were home for Thanksgiving.

GRR Spartan wrote:

Toe wrote:

Yeah, to the OP's original question, I think Public Education will be what people notice the most as far as downsizing, elimination, or whatever.  It's always been the MEA that the devos family is after.  The side benefit is that they have friends who have charter businesses that will see huge profits and less oversight of public dollars.  I' more interested in seeing what goes into the high school level sports in our state.  How it will eventually trickle up to effecting colleges and where all of this will lead.  

Those teachers who were just settling into thinking it's going to be a career, are the ones who are really screwed in my opinion.   From possible loss of pension to definite loss of health benefits.   It's all gone by 2025 tops.   

As far as anything else, I don't know that Trump will be left so untethered as he is with education.   I think from immigration to tariff wars to building fences will not effect us much at all.   I do think the education will touch every family in Michigan whether you have kids or not.

Toe wrote:

DWags wrote:Public education in Michigan will be chartered by for profit companies inside a decade. That will effect your kids. Research dollars on embryos might be cut back.  I do t know what the science vs religion will be like. It will be interesting.

I work for a university in Michigan. My daughter is a PS teacher.
If you think public schools are going to be replaced by charters in 10 years you're a bigger fucking idiot than you appear to be.

Yeah, I've been wrong before, but your language tells me that you are beyond educated.  So, hey, I wouldn't worry about this stuff at all.  I also battled for educational dollars as a high school administrator for years.    If you are currently in public education and don't see what the legislature is doing to public schools, I don't know what I can say that will convince you.   

Devos pays the legislature for charters in Detroit

How Trump and Devos could gut public education


I don't ask you to believe any of this.  I do think I'd maybe wet one finger and stick it up in the air and see which way the wind is blowing.   Just follow the money.

Those that have means and can afford to live in places like East Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Midland, Marquette, Houghton and a few others where there is a significant populace of people who value higher education may survive. The rest will see all but the special needs students and poor performers (both academic and behavior) be left for them as those with means leave with their vouchers in hand.
https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/opinion/the-risk-with-betsy-devos.amp.html


About 15 years ago, just as accomplished tennis and travel volleyball players began to quit participating for their high schools and Betsy DeVos began the push for vouchers, a friend who was a coach and AD at an area school predicted AAU and travel teams would essentially make the MHSAA irrelevant.

The only sport he thought and still thinks might is football but with few exceptions he's seeing football participation numbers falling. Football is a much more expensive sport due to equipment costs.AAU and travel will scoop up basketball, soccer and other less coach and equipment intensive sports.

GRR Spartan wrote:Those that have means and can afford to live in places like East Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Midland, Marquette, Houghton and a few others where there is a significant populace of people who value higher education may survive.  The rest will see all but the special needs students and poor performers (both academic and behavior) be left for them as those with means leave with their vouchers in hand.
https://www.google.com/amp/mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/24/opinion/the-risk-with-betsy-devos.amp.html


About 15 years ago,  just as accomplished tennis and travel volleyball players began to quit participating for their high schools and Betsy DeVos began the push for vouchers, a friend who was a coach and AD at an area school predicted AAU and travel teams would essentially make the MHSAA irrelevant.

The only sport he thought and still thinks might is football but with few exceptions he's seeing football participation numbers falling.  Football is a much more expensive sport due to equipment costs.AAU and travel will scoop up basketball, soccer and other less coach and equipment intensive sports.

In Metro Detroit numbers are way down as far as subvarsity teams.   Varsity is still strong.   But we will see kids going aau route.   Older PAL teams are now popping up.   It will not be that long.  Like I say, I have no dog left in this fight.  Kids are out next year, I put my 30 plus in (buying years).   Don't really care much anymore.  I'm just going to be an interested observer.

The other two areas are the Medicare voucher plan Paul Ryan and the GOP have pushed for years that could put seniors with fewer assets in a position to buy cheaper coverage that covers less.

The other is Trump's proposed public/private infrastructure that might be a new plan for privately designed / built roads and bridges that are partially or wholly funded thru tolls.

Our dignity. Trumps use of Twitter is a national embarrassment.

Foreign policy? After 16 years of Obama and W? I could go to the local bar and find people to run Americas foreign policy that well.

Public education is s complete fuck up right now. The system is utterly worthless. Thriving more money at systemic failed policies won't fix it. So, try something new. As Trump said, what do you have to lose?

We finally have a president and cabinet that are people of action, not talkers. People voted for change with Obama, all we got was more of the cronyism and political bullshit on steroids. We need someone to take a sledgehammer to the BS in DC.

The_Dude wrote:Foreign policy? After 16 years of Obama and W? I could go to the local bar and find people to run Americas foreign policy that well.

Public education is s complete fuck up right now. The system is utterly worthless. Thriving more money at systemic failed policies won't fix it. So, try something new. As Trump said, what do you have to lose?

We finally have a president and cabinet that are people of action, not talkers. People voted for change with Obama, all we got was more of the cronyism and political bullshit on steroids. We need someone to take a sledgehammer to the BS in DC.

Well his cabinet is a who's who of takers. So you're off to a good start.