And for all the Bloomberg haters...

[JAGED]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

I think Bloomberg's reputation will be decided after he is in office, and has little to do with this $30 million donation. It won't change anyone's minds (as we can see on this thread), especially not Rakim Jackson and Pablo Jimenez's who have bigger things to worry about than Bloomberg's rep. They won't care now, they won't care 10 years from now, and they are not the ones driving his negative publicity. It is the working/middle class people who are getting the shaft.....and it's because a whole mess of things PRIOR to Bloomberg which have culminated in what you see today.

And I would disagree that the number one reason we have so many people in poverty is bad education. You can educate yourself all you want, but if nobody wants to hire you, nobody will sell you a house, and nobody wants to see you as an equal...none of it matters. And that is why we have so many in poverty...it's the have's making sure they have it all, at every one else's expense, and it's always been that way.

It's kinda sad that there was only one poster who actually voiced that this initiative was something good. The rest just piled on attacks to Bloomberg..a little dysfunctional I would say.

What whole mess of things prior to Bloomberg are you talking about? He didn't make the school system any better, but claims he did which is probably the number one reason why I hate him. He's a wolf in really expensive, near identical sheep clothing. He's no different from any other politician except that he has boat loads of money at his disposal. Yet, he says and everyone else says, like yourself, that he's such a great mayor and guy. Oh he's so great, look at all the things he's done.

What you're saying is a very general statement about society at large. Good job, you've got the big picture. Have's versus have not's. Bourgeoisie vs. proletariat. Very good, I see you listened during your 10th grade history course.

My point is, education is key in getting a good job and salary. End of story. That is the way our society functions now. Industrial jobs don't exist and there aren't too many jobs left that pay good salaries with no educational background. If we had a school system that prepared kids for college and the real world we could put a real, serious dent in the gap between rich and poor. Instead we build charter schools and let the bad schools fill up with the kids with the most needs and problems. We increase the gap between the rich and poor.

[pizarrony]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

...
I am not promoting his agenda, I am acknowledging something positive he is doing...something posters on here just can't seem to do. And that makes me pro-Bloomberg somehow....nope...it makes you guys appear like stereotypical whiney NYers.
...

I don't hate Bloomberg; in fact, I support some of his ideas, for example, his public space and transportation initiatives. I also admire the fact that he built his company from the ground up almost all by himself. But you're taunting those who disagree with him by using one his worthless public relations maneuvers, which is absurd if what you're looking to do is to show how wonderful he is.

His $30 million donation is not much of a donation if you consider that he is also using public money to finance the program in question and that he will get all kinds of tax rebates. Those tax rebates of course mean less money for other government initiatives. The little secret of the philanthropy business is just that: it is a business that looks to minimize tax liabilities for the ultra-wealthy. Why, even that clown Donald Trump has his own philanthropic foundation and I don't think many people would call him charitable. Finally, even discounting the tax/public relations implications, $30 million is to $18 billion as $30 is to $18 thousand. I.e., not much. There are many people out there doing FAR more charitable things with their time and their money and they truly do it out of the goodness of their heart, and not expecting to get a full page of NYT coverage in return. Contrast that with Bloomberg, who let's not forget, extended a red carpet to Bush and the rest of his Republican war criminals when it was politically expedient to do so. And so forgive me if I sound cynical, but I must conclude this move is just another way for him to get on the good side of naive voters, which are the majority in the US unfortunately. Depending on how this resonates, I expect to hear how he's entering the presidential contest any time now.

[SeventhFloor]

No politician is perfect. Matter of fact I think of it as choosing the lesser of 2 evils.

[anon1]

@ Jaged, while I agree with you that he failed the public educational system many times through various different programs and hiring that moron Cathy Black that didn't know jack squat about public schools... the statistics don't lie... A recent article came out in the NYC board of ed. website showing how in 2010 public high school students had their highest graduation rate recorded and the black and hispanic students increased by 20 points from previous years...

Another article recently posted in the NY times (which I'll admit is a little skewed at times but they backed up their statements with legitimate statistics), showed how while other states have radically lowered their standards in order to meet the goal of 100% passing rate for all schools in the country by 2014 I believe, NYC has been steadily raising the standard year by year. And while at first the results were terrible, the numbers are now picking up and we are seeing positive results from this new method. Unfortunately, you take the good with the bad in the sense that this year a very high number of students went to summer school but at least now, we are holding the students accountable and they are showing us that they can step up to the plate, so I have to give Bloomberg credit there along with the public educational system.

Once again @ jaged... don't get me wrong, this guy has been a mess this term and all the tax hikes and fare increases up the ***, when this city tends to spend so much money on frivolous and unnecessary things doesn't help his case... but I can't blame him for education when we are finally doing okay and the gap between hispanic and black students from other students is being bridged...

[Bronxguyanese]

Originally Posted by SeventhFloor

No politician is perfect. Matter of fact I think of it as choosing the lesser of 2 evils.

This is true, thats the most rational answer I ever ever heard. Sadly enough people on this thread follow and believe in bloomy like if he a religion.

[SobroGuy]

I think the contrary, seems that most people on this thread are extremely anti-Bloomberg, and no matter what he does/doesn't do, they will only hate him more. He is far from perfect, but would we have been better off with Thompson, the "vote for me at least I am not Bloomberg" candidate?

I guess we will find out in 2013, since there is little doubt he is running.

[Mr.Triny33]

Originally Posted by Cida

I've come to hate Bloomberg, but I've never said a word about any attitude toward people of color. I mostly hate him for his insensitivity, or obliviousness, to the concerns of ordinary people.

Agreed, he's become more insensitive the longer he's been in office, where was he when that huge water main break occurred on Jerome in the Bronx. Many business owners were wiped out and lost everything, and some residents were flooded out and lost most if not all their valuables, yet I never saw Bloombucks come to the area to view the damage, or provide support to the people in the area that were affected. Guess the only time you'll see him in the Bronx is for a Yankee game..

[availableusername]

Originally Posted by SobroGuy

I think the contrary, seems that most people on this thread are extremely anti-Bloomberg, and no matter what he does/doesn't do, they will only hate him more. He is far from perfect, but would we have been better off with Thompson, the "vote for me at least I am not Bloomberg" candidate?

I guess we will find out in 2013, since there is little doubt he is running.

No man, we woulda been better off with some fresh blood and actual possible competition for the race. Not Gloomberg buying his way to another "shot", scaring any possible contenders off with his mult- billions, and some ineffective candidate on the other side simply trying to make a name for himself by running.

[JAGED]

Originally Posted by anon1

@ Jaged, while I agree with you that he failed the public educational system many times through various different programs and hiring that moron Cathy Black that didn't know jack squat about public schools... the statistics don't lie... A recent article came out in the NYC board of ed. website showing how in 2010 public high school students had their highest graduation rate recorded and the black and hispanic students increased by 20 points from previous years...

Another article recently posted in the NY times (which I'll admit is a little skewed at times but they backed up their statements with legitimate statistics), showed how while other states have radically lowered their standards in order to meet the goal of 100% passing rate for all schools in the country by 2014 I believe, NYC has been steadily raising the standard year by year. And while at first the results were terrible, the numbers are now picking up and we are seeing positive results from this new method. Unfortunately, you take the good with the bad in the sense that this year a very high number of students went to summer school but at least now, we are holding the students accountable and they are showing us that they can step up to the plate, so I have to give Bloomberg credit there along with the public educational system.

Once again @ jaged... don't get me wrong, this guy has been a mess this term and all the tax hikes and fare increases up the ***, when this city tends to spend so much money on frivolous and unnecessary things doesn't help his case... but I can't blame him for education when we are finally doing okay and the gap between hispanic and black students from other students is being bridged...

Eh, you can't read a news article and expect it have exhausted all possible answers. We're not finally doing okay. We're still going in the wrong direction in terms of public education because the standards on tests, and what is being asked of students to learn for these tests, is not the right path to becoming a person prepared for the competitive world we live in. Schools are concentrating on test scores because the scores are what decides whether a school is succeeding or not. If a school is not succeeding, it will later get shut down or turned into a charter school.

Charter schools themselves are good because they have the resources and curriculum (and the motivated kids) to prepare kids to become functioning adults in the real world. Unfortunately, there are still hundreds of thousands of kids that get left behind because of competition for these schools or because they don't care enough or many other numerous reasons.

The graduation is "up" according the Department of Education. In reality, they don't report as many kids who drop out. In other words, they're are kids who actually drop out and then there are kids who left or took a year off or are waiting for some reason or another. Many times these kids don't end up graduating and the DOE doesn't take that into account. The numbers in the public education system are a fraud.

One last thing... That 100 percent goal is one of the most unrealistic goals one could ever set for a school system that suffers from high drop-out rates and many below par national test scores. It's no wonder it's completely illogical since this 100 percent reading and math proficiency goal for 2014 or whatever was constructed under No Child Left Behind by the genius and great president himself, Mr. George W. Bush. The school system in NYC, and across the country for the most part, conducts itself under the rules of No Child Left Behind, which was and is a complete failure!

[anon1]

No disagreement here and I'm part of that school system but I was uninformed about alot of things and one of my strongest disagreements with Bloomberg's theory was that he was originally dumbing down the exams a ridiculous amount to the point where nearly anyone could pass... However that has since changed and I myself can vouge for the exams. The passing scores are legit... Now whether some teachers feed students what they believe to be the answers to help them, I am unaware of though I don't doubt it does happen... that being said, that is not the mayor's fault and while being a teacher during his administration has been a real PITA... my mission is not to be happy all the time doing my job but to see results and thankfully we are finally seeing legitimate results that will have a serious effect on the future of our children...