Saturday, November 10, 2012

Chapter 11 - Congress

1. Who are your Senators and your Congressman?
            Senator Bob Corker and Senator Lamar Alexander are our Senators and my Congressman based on my address is Congressman John J. Duncan. All 3 are natives of East Tennessee.  Senator Lamar Alexander was the first Tennessean elected to consecutive four-year terms as governor. One of the interesting things about Senator Corker is that he introduced a merit bonus pay for teacher.  As a result, it increased student achievement. Congressman Duncan spends a lot of his time in East Tennessee however he continues to maintain one of the best attendance records in the entire Congress.  I think another interesting fact about all three is that they are all Republicans.

2. Research the areas they champion and find one you support.  What is it and why do you also support it?
            Congressman John J. Duncan Jr, has a very interesting view on college tuition and financial aid.  His stance is that tuition should be affordable enough that students do not have to rely on financial aid to continue their education.  He feels that the tuition increases should be not more than the rate of inflation or less.  I totally agree with Congressman Duncan.  By the time a college student graduates college they find themselves in serious debt and sometimes a debt that will follow them for most of their life.  Unfortunately in today’s economy that makes it very hard on a graduate that is having trouble finding a job because they still have those types of loans that must be paid. Tuition is too expensive to allow a young person to work and pay for school as they go.

3. Find an issue one of your Senators or Congressman champions that you disagree with.  Why do you disagree?
            I disagree with Senator Bob Corker when it comes to breaking down trade barriers.  I believe trade with other countries should be more limited and that those countries that refuse to trade with American should not be allowed to import their good to the United States.  I believe that jobs should be created for Americans and that trade with other countries should be limited to necessity for a while.  It seems like we are making everyone else rich and shutting down America. It’s hard to find anything made in America today and it is sad.  Not only are we putting ourselves out of work, we are doing it while making other countries rich.
Please comment at least 50 words (each) on the posts of at least three of your classmates and then post their names on your blog.

Blog comments:  Robert Cook, Tinisha Key, Jesse Griffith

4 comments:

  1. I too agree with Congressman Duncan on his stances concerning tuition costs and financial aid. If his beliefs on this subject were adopted by enough legislatures and a bill drawn from these ideas I believe that our government could help in making it to where people are not followed by a large college debt for the rest of their lives. I also believe that these views could help the underprivileged, who in today's time many cannot afford a college degree, go to college and earn the education that everyone deserves to have.

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  2. Cheyenne,
    I appreciate your research that shows some of the facts you shared like Congressman Duncan’s best attendance records in Congress, something of which I had not discovered, nor was aware of previously. I also appreciate your view on the cost of higher education and must say that I agree. The cost of a college degree is too high for most people and many of us truly struggle with this. I am glad that our congressman understands this issue and shares our concern.

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  3. This is a good post. I think all college students would agree with you on tuition. Tuition is extremely expensive but in this day and time and this economy, if a person is not well educated it is extremely hard to get by and survive. That is why I am so greatful for financial aid!

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  4. Very good post, i agree that the cost of college could become absurd and if the costs go beyond the average persons ability to afford them, then country could go with it.

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