| Author | Message | ||
     Donald Titus |
”California school administrators are the source of the information that annual costs for a single student in their system total ten thousand dollars per year,” said Belveal in a letter to Honduras This Week. The actual figure is $6,232 per pupil according to the Education Data Partnership, an organization that accumulates fiscal, demographic and performance data on California’s K-12 schools. | ||
| Lorenzo |
Donald Titus: As an authority on the costs involved in operating their own educational system, I think the California State Board of Education has to be the last word. The Educational Data Partnership is a private organization with its own axe to grind. Bottom line: Education is damned expensive. "Public education" doesn't mean "free" to everybody. It means "free" to those who are entitled to it. This, from both a legal and a moral standpoint, does not include illegal immigrants. | ||
| Anonymous |
CA Dept of Edu reports a budget of $54 billion and 6.147 million enrolled students. | ||
| Anonymous |
does anyone know who John Edwards got to build the new paved road in to Parrot Tree, who was the contractor? I think it's the finest free-way on the Island. | ||
| Donald Titus |
The California Department of Education is the principal partner in and sponsor the organization known as the Educational Data Parnership. CDE's website (www.cde.ca.gov) links directly to the Ed Data Partnership's website. Or you can go directly to the website: http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/calrankings.asp I provide the exact data with a direct link to the source. Belveal spits out a figure with no link to back it up. His only defense at the challenge to his data is to attack (with the usual LDB BS) the source with false accusations. Let the readers decide for themselves. | ||
| Lorenzo |
As the Anonymous poster has noted, the California Department of Education cites an annual (operating) budget of $54-billion, arrayed against a total enrollment of 6,147,000 students. Do the arithmetic and you will see that this comes out to $8,784.77 per student per year. Note that this is the "operating budget", which includes such items as salaries, supplies, custodial services, insurance, etc. It does not include capital expenditures such as building repairs, painting, equipment replacements, etc. When these items are added in you will reach the approximately $10,000.00 per student per year that I cited earlier. As Donald Titus has put it, "Let the readers decide for themselves". | ||
| Anonymous |
Had Lorenzo looked up the $54 billion figure, he would have known that it includes capital expenditures. I'm a reader, and I've decided that Lorenzo got his figure out of thin air. | ||
| Donald Titus |
Calculating the Ignorance of LD Belveal LD Belveal wrote another doozie on the pages of Honduras This Week. Once again, as expected, it includes inaccurate facts (facts which could have easily been verified by even the laziest researcher) and shortsightedness. The article concerns the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). Two years ago both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank agreed to support a debt reduction package for Honduras under HIPC. Without verifying any facts, LD Belveal reported that the debt forgiveness would be one third of the country’s international indebtedness. LD Belveal reported Honduras’ international indebtedness to be US$5.4 billion and the debt relief to be US$1.8 Billion. A few clicks of a mouse would have told Mr. Belveal that the present value of the HIPC debt relief package is US$556 million. LD Belveal also expresses concern that Honduras will much less likely receive future consideration as a potential borrower from international banks and other commercial financial institutions. Does anyone else see the absurdity here? Already a heavily indebted poor country, why would Honduras want to acquire more debt? Geez. | ||
| Lorenzo |
Donald Titus: The August 11 edition of LaPrensa quotes Vice-Minister of Credito Publica, Ralph Overholzer, as saying in part, "Honduras puede recibir alivios interinos hasta el 33 por ciento de la deuda". The La Prensa story goes on to quote Oberholzer further, to the effect that a preliminary document to that effect has already been signed with the International Monetary Fund - with the specific details to be worked out later. Thirty-three percent of 5.4 billion dollars is 1.8 billion. As for why Honduras would want to acquire more debt, perhaps it wouldn't. But it surely would want to borrow more money, provided there was the prospect of "debt forgiveness" somewhere in the future. Honduras has a long history of undertaking indebtedness far beyond its potentials for repayment. This is how its total foreign debt has reached a total of US$5.4 billion. I stand by my HTW editorial completely. Why don't you inform yourself on the topic before you attempt to offer an argument? ...Lorenzo | ||
| Carias |
The main reason why the gangsters ('elite') that misgovern Honduras would want more foreign loans is simple: So that they can steal more money. If there is no money involved, then there is no source. | ||
| Donald Titus |
“Why don't you inform yourself on the topic before you attempt to offer an argument?” I know what La Prensa reported. It was not the first time a newspaper reported misleading information. I reviewed the preliminary document. Had LD Belveal reviewed it, then he would have known that the report in La Prensa was misleading. He could also read the article in today’s La Prensa that has the correct figure US$556 million. Hacks don’t verify facts. www.laprensahn.com/econoarc/0208/e20004.htm www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2000/pr0041.htm | ||
| Lorenzo |
Donald Titus: I obtained my original information from a press release from the Ministro de Credito Publica. I referred you to LaPrensa because I was sure your did not have access to the press release. In point of fact, I consider the Ministry much more authoritative than either LaPrensa or private individuals. Note: I am getting tired of your gratuitous insults. If you wish to continue to have access to this Discussion site, I would urge you to frame your posts with somewhat more civility... Lorenzo | ||
| Donald Titus |
If LD Belveal doesn't like being criticized, then he should check his facts. Everyone now has access to the IMF document. The World Bank has the same info: http://www.worldbank.org/hipc/country-cases/honduras/honduras.html The Secretary of Finance also has this information: www.sefin.hn/credito1.htm How convenient that the only source to back up LD Belveal's numbers is something that we don't have access to. How about that? | ||
| Carias |
Dear Mr. Belveal, I admire your patience in suffering the outpourings and provocations of Mr. Titus. Please send him to some other source where he might better bother some one else. I have had enough of it. | ||
| Anonymous |
Hey, does anyone know what Honduras's debt consists of? Who is it owed to? What are the interest rates? Over what period must the debt be serviced? etc...? | ||
| pinga pelada |
who da heck cares? | ||
| Lorenzo |
Donald Titus: I don't mind being disagreed with. This is the natural result of writing "opinion" editorial materials, and that I have been doing for some fifty years. What I do not like and will not willingly tolerate is defamation by someone who disagrees with me on something, but finds himself unable to offer a civilized rebuttal. So he reverts to diatribe and personal insults. I repeat my earlier warning to you: The next time you seek to villify me - or anyone else in this list - I will install a filter that will exclude you from participating in this Discussion group. Lorenzo | ||
| Anonymous |
A $20 million loan from Taiwan at 4% interest | ||
| Carias |
If I am not mistaken, the total national debt of Honduras to all kinds of non-Honduran lenders is around four billion dollars. This includes all the so-called 'foreign "aid"'. The U. S. Embassy has the exact figure available, if one can 'get to' them; other sources also. I am working from memory. | ||
| Anonymous |
This site sucks now. The older format was better! | ||
| Carias |
Dear Mr. Belveal, Please accept my sincere condolences in regard to the passing of your Brother. I only now learned of it. |