Thursday, May 20, 2021

SHOULD MASKS STILL BE REQUIRED IN SCHOOLS?

 This is part of an article from NJ.com:

A spokesperson for the New Jersey Education Association urged against taking “any risks or shortcuts” in restating the union’s support of Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order, in place since schools reopened in September, requiring face coverings for everyone in school buildings due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“NJEA continues to advocate for taking all necessary measures to protect the health and safety of all students and staff. Current medical guidance continues to recommend masking for all unvaccinated individuals, a group that includes the vast majority of the students in our public schools,” the union’s spokesperson, Steven Baker, told NJ Advance Media on Wednesday.

Any thoughts on what we should do here in NY in schools on masking in summer programs and in the fall?

We really have to be planning on what is acceptable as we move ahead.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

End the mask abuse on children. Any adult whos too afraid to function in society should stay home and hide under the bed. Pathetic cowards.

Anonymous said...

No. Any teacher who wants a vaccine can get one. Enough already.

Anonymous said...

I agree. At least for students over 12 who are vaccinated.

Anonymous said...

I'll continue to wear one in the winter. I don't miss chronic sinus infections.

Anonymous said...

It’s time to move on from a mask if you are vaccinated. It should be a choice.

Anonymous said...

Even if vaccinated teachers are allowed to take off their masks, unvaccinated teachers will still be required to wear one. And guess what? Those unvaccinated teachers are going to be targeted by principals and shunned by vaccinated colleagues. Unvaccinated shaming is gonna happen. Trust me on that.

Anonymous said...

I think the mask has become more accepted in society and people in this country will be wearing masks for quite some time. In China its a common sight always to see people walking around in masks. Did anyone get the flu this year?? I wonder why?

Anonymous said...

Now there will be vaccinated privilege.

Anon2323 said...

The corrupt CDC CAN GO TO HELL! They are making 2 year olds wear masks now???!!!!!

They can nap and eat without as mask but need it when running or playing??? Where is the science that supports this is healthy for a 2 year old to breathe their own air ?????

Are we going to close schools or quarantine when the flu comes, when someone has the flu gping to have to be out 10 days? I really hope they do not divide teachers with masks next school year.

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen a business yet that still doesn't require people to wear masks to enter. We will never overcome this if people are afraid to shuck their masks.

Anonymous said...

Wear it or don’t wear. but don’t do it because it’s expected. I went shopping yesterday afternoon in a ShopRite in Pleasantville, without a mask in a large and crowded, ShopRite. It felt damn good. The only other person without a mask was a slightly crazed Eastern European guy itching for a fight. No one said anything to either of us, but the manager got on the intercom and said, ‘The CDC requires everyone to remain masked unless they have been vaccinated, please wear your mask.’
People are sheep and the populace is deeply controlled - especially those who feel they are rebels and enlightened.

Anonymous said...

Outer burbs less mask wearing. Get away from nyc, get away from the mask obsessed.

Michael Gatton said...

As usual, nuance is called for and not binary thinking. Depends on individual schools and where we are in vaccination recommendations in the fall. Also expect voluntary mask wearing in high density indoor situations to become normalized during cold and flu season especially. CDC screwed up the rollout of these recommendations.

TJL said...

Target, BJs, plus all the mom and pop's that haven't the whole timw.

Anonymous said...

I HATE wearing a mask. I’m vaccinated. If wearing a mask in Shoprite makes their employees feel better, I’ll do it. Small price to pay for people who helped make sure I still had food on my table during the pandemic. The problem is I have no idea how these employees feel about masks. I’m not going into any stores besides supermarkets that still require masks. If you’re vaccinated, small chance of serious COVID infection. Small chance of infecting anyone else. People who are still fearful should not expect the rest of us to live like we’re fearful too. Texas numbers were fine even though msnbc et al swore every Texan would die when when the Gov lifted the mandates. It’s about control for the democrats. The more they want to control me, the less likely I am to do what they want. For me it’s about showing respect to my local supermarket employees. Everyone else can fuck off with the mask mandates.

waitingforsupport said...

I wonder why the same stance isn't taken when the big bad admin comes around and says that you must pass failing students. Where is all the bravado and f^"k off then? You'd think these people would huff and puff and push back when they were told to walk their arce into a petri dish back in March. Either you are brave and stand up for yourself ALL the time or you're pseudo brave--like the lion in the wizard of oz.

Anonymous said...

w4s manages to not inform of us her illustrious teaching career? We would love to know about the success of your school, the students who turned out to be successful, middle class workers. Please, do tell. Or are you pumping bravado as you are retired and can't be harmed by bullying other nycdoe staff members? Perhaps you are pseudo brave. Why, in such a bad profession, did you retire and then immediately go back to make extra cash? Tax payer funded, at the expense of poor, minority students, in a school that isn't doing all that well...With all your yapping, I haven't heard one thing about your years of work. Why?

waitingforsupport said...

@3:41pm...who said teaching is a bad profession? Only those commenters who whine about the students and parents say the profession is bad. If you want to know about me and the schools where I worked--scroll back through all of the convos. You don't need to be anywhere near a school building if you can't even stand up for yourself accept on a blog. Why complain about welfare handouts when you know you're PART of creating this mess? You can't be so stupid to believe that students given fake diplomas will not end up on welfare or in low waged jobs. I'm a taxpayer. You're a taxpayer. Low wage earners are taxpayers. What are you even saying? You need to pay attention to the demands of your admin and stop focusing on my little coins.

waitingforsupport said...

*except

Anonymous said...

Actually, the bottom 50% pay about 0% in income taxes. That's a lot of people.

Anonymous said...

Typical conservative bullshit distortion. When you include payroll taxes, sales taxes and other fees, that bottom 50% pays their fair share of taxes. The 1% do not.

Anonymous said...

Sales tax? You mean when they buy things with the money the government gives them? Or the money they get as a tax refund because they have 5 kids and no income? The sales tax they pay on a $1,300 gucci bag, that is supposed to be for food ans shelter? Yeah, sounds like bullshit to me too. Amazon paid $162 million in federal income taxes in 2019. Or, don't compare them to Amazon, compare the bottom 50% to a NYC teacher, if you prefer. The top 1 percent paid a greater share of individual income taxes (38.5 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (29.9 percent). The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 26.8 percent average individual income tax rate, which is more than six times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (4.0 percent).

David said...

Looking at all federal taxes, the Congressional Budget Office shows that the top 1% pay an average federal tax rate of 32%. The data show tax rates decline with income, and the poorest 20% of the population pay an average tax rate of just 1%. The left-leaning Tax Policy Center found similar results.Mar 3, 2021

Anonymous said...

I am talking of the working poor.

Anonymous said...

I can find statistics too. Yahoo

Does the US Tax System Look Like a Giant Flat Tax?
In a November 2019 phone interview with Capital & Main, Zucman described how he perceives the U.S. tax system — as a giant flat tax where each segment of the population, except for the wealthiest Americans, commits around 25% to 30% of its income in taxes. The wealthiest Americans pay a lesser rate of 23%, which means that the tax system becomes regressive at the top.

Warren Buffett Explains One Reason Why the Rich Pay Lower Tax Rates Than the Middle Class
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is known for saying that he pays less tax as a percentage than his secretary does. While that may seem impossible, it’s not. Buffett and other billionaires are mainly taxed on capital gains income as investors — not salary or income earned as an employee. And capital gains income is taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income is.

Anonymous said...

Americans for Tax Fairness

The richest 1% of Americans own 35% of the nation’s wealth. The bottom 80% own just 11% of the nation’s wealth.
In the 1950s and 1960s, when the economy was booming, the wealthiest Americans paid a top income tax rate of 91%. Today, the top rate is 43.4%.
The richest 1% pay an effective federal income tax rate of 24.7% in 2014; someone making an average of $75,000 is paying a 19.7% rate.
The average federal income tax rate of the richest 400 Americans was just 20 percent in 2009.
Taxing investment income at a much lower rate than salaries and wages are taxed loses $1.3 trillion over 10 years.
1,470 households reported income of more than $1 million in 2009 but paid zero federal income taxes on it.
CEOs of major corporations earn nearly 300 times more than an average worker.
30 percent of income inequality is due to unfair taxes and budget cuts to services and benefits.
The largest contributor to increasing income inequality has been changes in income from capital gains and dividends.

Conservatives claim the wealthy are overtaxed. But the overall share of taxes paid by the top 1% and the top 5% is about their share of total income. This shows that the tax system is not progressive when it comes to the wealthy. The richest 1% pay an effective federal income tax rate of 24.7%. That is a little more than the 19.3% rate paid by someone making an average of $75,000. And 1 out of 5 millionaires pays a lower rate than someone making $50,000 to $100,000.

Conservatives claim that the estate tax is a “death tax,” wrongly implying that the tax is paid when every American dies. In fact, the tax primarily is paid by estates of multi-millionaires and billionaires. The vast majority of deaths — 99.9% — do not trigger estate taxes today.

—————————-

Anonymous said...

I never said they were overtaxed, I just said they pay a huge amount of taxes. Everyone pays capital gains atax rate at a lesser percent than ordinary income. Obviously, if someone pays 20% of 10 million, that is a lot more than 20% of 50 thousand. You can think the top 1% should pay more, that is your opinion, and that is fine. By your own info above, the richest pay 25%, the 75k person pays 19%, and the bottom half pay almost 0%. Do you disagree with this?..."The top 1 percent paid a greater share of individual income taxes (38.5 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (29.9 percent). The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 26.8 percent average individual income tax rate, which is more than six times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (4.0 percent)" If the top 1% pay almost 40%...What should they pay?

Anonymous said...

That 91% rate from the 1950s was about right.

Anonymous said...

You are entitled to that opinion, but to say the top 1 percent pays nothing when they oay 40% is really disingenuous.

Anonymous said...

PBS. This is what I was looking for:

Quick, think of a taxpayer.

Did you imagine a middle-class person puzzling over their income tax returns? Or maybe a homeowner looking at their property tax assessment? If you are like most Americans, you probably did not think of a mother putting gas in the tank of the family car or a retail worker having wages withheld for Social Security and Medicare. Because people in the United States associate taxpaying with the income tax, they underestimate the costs of the many other taxes they pay — especially the payroll taxes, sales taxes and gas taxes that fall heavily on lower-income people. In reality, low-income Americans pay a lot in taxes, and their role in paying for schools, roads and other public services largely go unrecognized.

All told, those in the bottom fifth of earners pay almost a fifth of their income in taxes. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the lowest-income quintile — those making less than $19,000 a year — pay almost 11 percent of their income in state and local taxes. Working people, even if they don’t make enough money to pay federal income tax, also pay payroll taxes that contribute to Social Security and Medicare. And anyone who drives a car pays gas taxes. The old cliché really does hold true — the only thing as inevitable as death are taxes.


Anonymous said...

I’ll repeat myself from prior posts... The mayor runs the schools. He selects his chancellor who selects superintendents. These are the people who hire us and select curriculum and standards for passing. The residents of nyc elect their mayor. It’s not brave to refuse to follow the curriculum and standards selected by the community that hired you. It’s arrogance and insubordination to not do what they are paying you to do.I was hired to implement a curriculum that I personally find lacking. The parents where I live outside of nyc insist on real academic standards. We make sure administrators with the same standards are hired in our district. Teachers don’t force their ideology on our children. Parents, not schools, raise their children up here. In nyc, It’s my job to pass kids for showing an ounce of effort. That’s a nyc standard. NYC has progressive democrats running the show. I’m following their choices. If the residents of nyc think it’s wrong, talk to Bill and Meisha. Elect a mayor who will choose better curriculum and standards. I fight for the school district where I live. In nyc, I just pass kids because that’s the standard set by the progressive mayor and chancellor. It’s what I’m fucking paid to do. If you want to see my bravery you’ll have to attend school board or town board meetings in my home town. Nyc doesn’t pay me for my bravery. They pay me to implement their curriculum and standards. My town. My problem. I fix it. Your city, your problem. You fix it.

waitingforsupport said...

Your town. Your problem. Why don't you work in your own town? Why COMPLAIN about being made to pass kids if passing ALL is the standard set by your employer? I hope you won't complain if more and more students who benefited from your ethical work standards end up on welfare or can't buy a house. Pat yourself on the back as our tax dollars go to support them. But hey, you're doing what you're paid to do. IDK maybe that's why parents choose charter schools. They know that too many public school teachers have your mindset. What made you decide to become a teacher in NYC if you won't fight for the kids like they are your own? Just curious.

Anonymous said...

Waiting Support. Not complaining. Think Meisha and Bill should be run out town for their failing policies but not my city. Do you realize you’re arguing that Meisha and Bill are unethical. Their curriculum. Their passing policies. They hired me to implement it all and that’s what I do. Lived in nyc, started there and stayed. I had more power as a parent and a taxpayer in my home community than I could ever have as a teacher. I’m not fighting for anyone else’s kids but my own family. That’s not a teacher’s job. Teach the curriculum, do your paperwork and pass the kids. That’s the actual job in nyc. Take it up with Meisha and Bill if you want a different job description. Teaching isn’t activism.

waitingforsupport said...

@2:50. Hmmm. Got it. Sounds like you can be replaced by an App. I admire your honesty. It's refreshing. Do you know that you've my argument that the educational system (and its operators) is harming students. Therefore if the system has a hand in creating the mess--the system should be ready to fix the mess. No Justice. No peace.

waitingforsupport said...

@2:50...you didn't answer why you don't teach in your home community.

Anonymous said...

I didn’t leave nyc doe because it means starting over in a new system. Really not that complicated to understand. If I had decided to leave nyc Doe I wouldn’t have wanted a job in my hometown because as I said the power is in the hands of parents and taxpayers. As a teacher here I’d have zero power. I’d be limited in what I would be allowed to say. As a taxpayer I can light up the room with any argument I decide to make and not concern myself with pissing anybody off because I don’t work for them. I grew up blue collar in nyc. Lived a good part of my adult life there. Liberal bullshit just doesn’t fly with blue collar folk. White collar people are easily cowed and intimidated by finger pointing. Blue collar folks just tell you to go fuck yourself and keep it moving or ask a buddy to hold their beer. I’m an educated suburban women but I’m grounded by my blue collar roots. It’s impossible to shame blue collar folks and it drives the left insane that we can’t be silenced. We just don’t give a fuck what liberals think. Don’t take it personally.

waitingforsupport said...

@7:43 am...you put too much weight on left this, white/blue collar that. Who you dont give a fuck about. Us and them. White collar weak. Blue collar strong. All of your assumptions are just that--assumptions. We all make them. I just hope your children are never in need of help and encounter someone who couldn't care less about them because that someone "only cares about their own family". Finally, while it may be challenging to leave a school system after years of teaching. I'm surprised that your community didn't offer you a teaching job right after school. I know two colleagues worked in Manhattan for over 5 years and then got jobs in LI. I guess they were lucky. P.S. As a native new york blue collar diva, the only thing I take personal--is personal. Peace out.

Anonymous said...

I was still living in nyc my 10th year. My kids will never need help. They’re self reliant. Why would anyone offer a teaching job to someone who never applied? Oh wait your trying to make me feel inferior that I never got a job in the suburbs. A job I never applied for. Ok I’m a shit teacher who can only get work in nyc. I’ve begged and begged but no one will hire me. Leftists can’t accept it. Label us whatever you want. We’ll still keep running our mouths. Blue collar don’t give a fuck. But you keep trying.

waitingforsupport said...

@11:33am...lmao. you sound ridiculous about your kids never needing help because they are self reliant. Why are you name calling? Are you referring to me as a leftist? Do you dismiss all opinions by leftists? Do you ignore your students if they are leftists? Who is us? Why didn't you apply to work in your community? You certainly aren't doing any good working within the DOE. The students would be better off without you. You sound clannish. Just so you know, you don't speak for all blue collars. Why don't you simply stand on your own two feet and stop trying to act like your the spokesperson for blue collar people. That's just ridiculous and laughable.

Anonymous said...

Blue collar says I’m right. Try again.

waitingforsupport said...

@1:05pm...
Cool. Feed your own ego because I'm busy.