They really do though. Like, you're assuming a level of rationality that they don't possess.

Yeah that's mostly a justification for layoffs. They're not competitive robotics manufacturing AI that cuts down the need for enormous chunks of capital for factory floor space + varied equipment + switching things up to change what you're producing. They're not competitive on the large computational engineering models important for R&D (which they're not doing either) and iterating new rocket engines. It's a giant grift, but people need to be careful not to universalize the values of Silicon Valley AI companies.

These billionaire dipshits are not as bright as you think

Hectic and our teachers are constantly complaining about how kids can’t do basic reading comprehension tasks. Like copy a sentence from the board into their notebook and then repeat it back to you in their own words. There are 13 year olds who cannot do this. There are adults who can’t do this. The majority of Americans read at or below the level of an 11 year old.

I live in a rural area in the US. Public school teachers are generally very good at their jobs, but a lot of the school boards around me have been taken over by the far right and so-called conservatives. They run on platforms like "ending forced vaccines for children" and banning transgender flags and they mostly win because there's a lot of dumb racists here.

In fucking shambles. One of my dreams, if I ever win big on the rarely purchased lotto tickets, is to open a free clinic with free pharmacy, and a private, means-tested Pre-K12 Montessori school that only accepts on the poorest first and donations only buy your name on a plaque.

Where I am (major metro) the schools are still decent but severely underfunded.

What do you mean by that? The standards of education or mental health in schools?

In the U.S., schools are funded by property taxes, so schools in rich areas are fine, although educational standards suck across the nation.

Mostly okay. Slow discussion building on why test scores are dropping and are they still dropping. Is it COVID (immeidate shock), Long COVID (long term health issues), or nearly all course work and books being on tiny laptop screens (money showed up for a wholesale transfer to Chromebooks during COVID. They were actually helpful during lock-downs, but were kept after.).