Should schools reopen?

Keesha said:
Yes really. Who is going to feed them?

If they are hungry enough, they will figure something out.
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What they need to figure out is, how to live on one paycheck. That way one of them [IMO mom] can stay home , dad works....and they cut back to live his income alone.

Few / smaller TV's , a sedan as opposed to an SUV, fewer phones, ....... etc. What ever it takes.
 

Camper6 said:
Same as always in the U.S. as elsewhere. If you can't hire a babysitter you stay home or one stays home and one goes to work. Or both apply for welfare. It's a problem. I don't have a solution. Do you?
What you are talking about is extreme scenarios.
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Yes I have a solution ......... see my reply to Keesha post # 51. Trouble is ...... nobody wants to hear it.
 
rgp said:
What they need to figure out is, how to live on one paycheck. That way one of them [IMO mom] can stay home , dad works....and they cut back to live his income alone.

Few / smaller TV's , a sedan as opposed to an SUV, fewer phones, ....... etc. What ever it takes.
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That would be a very good start... except the trend where 'single parenting' is actually encouraged.
 

If you came to the area where I live, you would think, 'Virus? What virus?' The kids are back at school, once school is over for the day, they are all in the park and playground....no social distancing. Life is carrying on as normal here.
 
rgp said:
What they need to figure out is, how to live on one paycheck. That way one of them [IMO mom] can stay home , dad works....and they cut back to live his income alone.

Few / smaller TV's , a sedan as opposed to an SUV, fewer phones, ....... etc. What ever it takes.
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It's almost impossible these days for a family to survive on a single income, particularly in a city or suburb, which is where nearly all the jobs are. A job paying $15 per hour brings in $2600 monthly (gross), and that's assuming full-time work. Lop off $400 for taxes, minimum.

How can any family survive on $2200 per month, what with rents running $1800 per month or more? Even if they own an old beater car, there's still the cost of gasoline and insurance. Not to mention utilities and food.

Over the past 40 years the cost of living has ratcheted up without a commensurate rise in salaries for people below the very top echelons.
 
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StarSong said:
It's almost impossible these days for a family to survive on a single income, particularly in a city or suburb, which is where nearly all the jobs are. A job paying $15 per hour brings in $2600, and that's assuming full-time work. Lop off $400 for taxes, minimum.

How can any family survive on $2200 per month, what with rents running $1800 per month or more? Even if they own an old beater car, there's still the cost of gasoline and insurance. Not to mention utilities and food.

Over the past 40 years the cost of living has ratcheted up without a commensurate rise in salaries for people below the very top echelons.
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I know it would be tough, $2200 p/month of course is different , in different locations, as is the rent costs you noted. But can we [as a nation] continue on as we have ?

I think it's still a good place to start ? and perhaps send a message ? A message to discourage that kind of thinking.

Yes I know I sound old fashioned , and I suppose i am but ..... IMO the way of living 2-3 generations ago was the better way , and I honestly believe we need to get back to that.

BTW, I come from a single parent household .... I don't know how in the hell my mom managed as well as she did. She died broke, but as a kid coming up, I always had a roof over head, food in my belly , and something decent to wear.
 
Rosemarie said:
If you came to the area where I live, you would think, 'Virus? What virus?' The kids are back at school, once school is over for the day, they are all in the park and playground....no social distancing. Life is carrying on as normal here.
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It is about the same here.....
 
jerry old said:
Dallas schools will open-Dallas School Superintendent says, "We have thousands and
thousands of mask..." 🤪 😷
Again, Mao's Revolution in the 1960's- All school were closed for ten years.

Shut the damn schools!😖
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And who is going to oversee enforcement of mask wearing by children? It would be like trying to herd cats. Or worse.

Whoever things they can enforce mask wearing by large groups of children is delusional or has never been around little kids. They'll just take 'em off and lose 'em like they do with gloves, hats, etc. It's laughable.
 
Butterfly said:
And who is going to oversee enforcement of mask wearing by children? It would be like trying to herd cats. Or worse.

Whoever things they can enforce mask wearing by large groups of children is delusional or has never been around little kids. They'll just take 'em off and lose 'em like they do with gloves, hats, etc. It's laughable.
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Today's state update, similar to other recent days' updates: 744 new cases, 3 more deaths. Yet schools are opening. Worse, there's no statewide requirement for masks in school. :mad:
 
Butterfly said:
And who is going to oversee enforcement of mask wearing by children? It would be like trying to herd cats. Or worse.

Whoever things they can enforce mask wearing by large groups of children is delusional or has never been around little kids. They'll just take 'em off and lose 'em like they do with gloves, hats, etc. It's laughable.
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Even kids who received strong mask training by their parents will shed the masks if other kids do so. That's the nature of children. Monkey see, monkey do.
 
Rosemarie said:
If you came to the area where I live, you would think, 'Virus? What virus?' The kids are back at school, once school is over for the day, they are all in the park and playground....no social distancing. Life is carrying on as normal here.
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Here in the U.S, several people have not taken this disease serious yet. Too many people, especially the younger set, have not taken mitigation to heart. No one likes wearing a mask or shield or both, but right now, it is necessary and would probably make a difference in our numbers. JMO.
 
In spite of what I have written, I wouldn't be at all surprised if my area sees a sudden spate of cases. We are on a county boundary here, so there is a lot of 'through' traffic. I'm surprised we haven't been more badly affected.
 
rgp said:
What they need to figure out is, how to live on one paycheck. That way one of them [IMO mom] can stay home , dad works....and they cut back to live his income alone.

Few / smaller TV's , a sedan as opposed to an SUV, fewer phones, ....... etc. What ever it takes.
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We finally agree on something.
The one income family will be a different concern but there are services to help out with these things.
Yes people will need to prioritize if they aren’t already.
 
rgp said:
What they need to figure out is, how to live on one paycheck. That way one of them [IMO mom] can stay home , dad works....and they cut back to live his income alone.

Few / smaller TV's , a sedan as opposed to an SUV, fewer phones, ....... etc. What ever it takes.
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Something occurred to me awhile back: couples who insist they can't live on one paycheck- what do they think single people do?! Not everybody is eligible for all different kinds of government assistance.
Also, while I initially thought 'leeway' for areas with high cost of living, situations like illness/death in the family or unexpected divorce, that's not what I've seen in recent years. One recent article in the news even said couples often start looking for daycares even before they conceive a child!
And that's an area with a low cost of living! In other words, too many people bring children into the world fully intending to turn the responsibilities over to somebody else. :mad:

And it seems to be many people's priorities with sending kids back to school.
 
JaniceM said:
Something occurred to me awhile back: couples who insist they can't live on one paycheck- what do they think single people do?! Not everybody is eligible for all different kinds of government assistance.
Also, while I initially thought 'leeway' for areas with high cost of living, situations like illness/death in the family or unexpected divorce, that's not what I've seen in recent years. One recent article in the news even said couples often start looking for daycares even before they conceive a child!
And that's an area with a low cost of living! In other words, too many people bring children into the world fully intending to turn the responsibilities over to somebody else. :mad:

And it seems to be many people's priorities with sending kids back to school.
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" In other words, too many people bring children into the world fully intending to turn the responsibilities over to somebody else. "


Don't get me started .....
 
Rgp, you are all over the place on this. If you feel that most people can manage to live, kids or not, on one paycheck like in the good old days, then you are supporting the idea of keeping the kids out of school, with one parent staying home with them. The people who are saying, "Reopen the schools, right now!" do not think along those lines. They are primarily worrying about the economy and keeping the paychecks coming.

I previously had gotten the feeling that your own point of view was more along those lines, rather than saying it's perfectly OK to keep one of the parents home with the kids.

Of course, this is all a lot more complicated than that. What about their education? Can the schools at least make up some of the gaps with online instruction? Can the parents enforce serious attitudes, or are the kids just treating this as a long, extended vacation?

And many of the parents have jobs that they can do from home. Most of my family is in that category. As long as they can get on a computer, they're OK. Not everybody staying home is necessarily losing income.

As I said, it's complicated. Simple solutions (either A or B) don't always work.
 
Sunny said:
Rgp, you are all over the place on this. If you feel that most people can manage to live, kids or not, on one paycheck like in the good old days, then you are supporting the idea of keeping the kids out of school, with one parent staying home with them. The people who are saying, "Reopen the schools, right now!" do not think along those lines. They are primarily worrying about the economy and keeping the paychecks coming.

I previously had gotten the feeling that your own point of view was more along those lines, rather than saying it's perfectly OK to keep one of the parents home with the kids.

Of course, this is all a lot more complicated than that. What about their education? Can the schools at least make up some of the gaps with online instruction? Can the parents enforce serious attitudes, or are the kids just treating this as a long, extended vacation?

And many of the parents have jobs that they can do from home. Most of my family is in that category. As long as they can get on a computer, they're OK. Not everybody staying home is necessarily losing income.

As I said, it's complicated. Simple solutions (either A or B) don't always work.
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I'm not all over the place on this ....... Send the kids back to school. Now, how we get their parents to cut personal spending , and live on one income ? I have no idea. It took years to get this bad, it will very likely take twice as long to turn around , if ever .

We let it get 'out-of-hand' now we are living with the results.
 
My son is an Administrator in a High School....They are just having graduation tomorrow...I don't know how but I don't think people can
be in the stands....Kids have to be Separated....I think 6 steps apart....
 
I'm not all over the place on this ....... Send the kids back to school. Now, how we get their parents to cut personal spending , and live on one income ? I have no idea. It took years to get this bad, it will very likely take twice as long to turn around , if ever .
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If we send the kids back to school, why do the parents need to cut their personal spending and live on one income? That whole "one income" idea is based on having one parent at home with the kids.

Here's another idea: in many parts of the world, the parents all seem to be working, while the kids are being cared for by their grandparents. That could be the most feasible idea for many people.

But in any case, I don't believe in sending the kids back to school until this pandemic is under control.
 
Sunny said:
If we send the kids back to school, why do the parents need to cut their personal spending and live on one income? That whole "one income" idea is based on having one parent at home with the kids.

Here's another idea: in many parts of the world, the parents all seem to be working, while the kids are being cared for by their grandparents. That could be the most feasible idea for many people.

But in any case, I don't believe in sending the kids back to school until this pandemic is under control.
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"If we send the kids back to school, why do the parents need to cut their personal spending and live on one income? That whole "one income" idea is based on having one parent at home with the kids."

In the long term, [pandemic or not] I just believe that the kids are better off if they have one parent [IMO mom] at home 24/7 A homemaker / mother. This means in most cases ..... spending cuts would need to be made, in order for one income to be sufficient.
 

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