Bigger Than A Breadbox: Twenty Questions Every American Should Ask

Public schools reflect the values, and the economics, of their communities.   Pressures on educators include public and private influence on curricula, funding, and academic goals.   Should local communities yield to notions of universal best practices?   Is there a "war on education"?    Should emphasis be placed upon basic skills such as reading and writing, the humanities such as language and history, or perhaps upon training in science and math?   Is public education better or worse in rich neighborhoods?   What do we expect of today's high school graduates?

Should we deify our Founding Fathers?

The men who founded our country were human, but our culture tends to elevate them to a higher level.   This makes them a little more difficult to really understand.   Would we love our founders, and our country, less or more if we could see them without the surrounding mythology?   Are the documents they gave us -- the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution -- idolized in the same way as their authors?   What institutions gain from heroic historical figures and documents?

How do corporations influence public policy?

Corporations have an interest in a friendly legal, regulatory, and economic environment, and public policy frames that environment.   Evaluate the relationship between agribusiness and the founding fathers.   How has corporate power changed since then?   How has the practice of lobbying influenced attitudes and policy?   Does Citizens United change the game?   What is ALEC and how does it work?   How has US foreign policy reflected the influence of business interests?

How does foreign aid work?

What kinds of foreign aid does the US provide, and to whom?   Why?   How are donated goods and services paid for?   Who receives payments for these goods and services?   Are countries that receive US aid more friendly to our interests?

Why does the US have such a large military budget?

America spends more on its military than the next 17 countries combined.   What threats are we addressing, and how did these threats develop?   Is there a relationship between the interests of US multinational corporations and military spending?   What institutions gain and what institutions lose by spending so much?

Can economic growth continue forever?

The earth's resources are limited, but most national economies continue to grow along with populations.   Will technological advances make unlimited future growth possible?   Can corporations plan strategically for decades ahead, or for just a few years?   Does this have implications for the plans themselves?   What will the world look like in the next century with unlimited growth?   Are emerging environmental concerns related to economic growth?

Is government good or bad?

What is the ideal balance between individual freedom and government authority?   What is a good balance between federal and local authority?   What things should government do, and what things should be left to private enterprise?   Examine the concept of the commons within the context of the environment, energy, transportation, and natural resources.   What institutions gain or lose from a change in the level of government involvement in economic markets and financial matters?

What was the Civil War all about?

Is it really a complicated question?   What did South Carolina's manifesto say about it?   If slavery really was at the core, how could any residual issues persist to this day?   Why do so many white southerners show such obvious pride in the Confederacy?   Why are the rights of states important?   Did the war influence the values and attitudes we hold today?   

Why do economic bubbles keep happening?

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