Education: Follow the Money

[Hannah Bell]

The question of money is seeded through the debate over education, in several ways. This week I want to focus first on the way money most immediately factors in the current political debate; namely, where is the money behind the push for charter schools coming from?

Answer: To a significant extent, the money for charter schools is coming from Wall Street, and in particular from hedge fund managers...

These are the people who ruined our economy, but suddenly we're supposed to think it's a good idea to turn them loose on our schools?

Or, moving away from Wall Street, consider the fact that one of the producers of the pro-charter movie Waiting for Superman is Philip Anschutz, owner of the Weekly Standard and funder of anti-gay campaigns and an intelligent design think tank. Again, are we to believe that his political projects are innocent...?

http://queensteacher2.blogspot.com/2010/10/education-follow-money.html

[Starry Messenger]

1. k & r

I'm sure he just loves children!!11

[Tansy_Gold]

3. Yeah. Loves 'em to death.

ugh.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. I wonder if I can borrow someone's computer and register myself

under another name just so I can rec this again?

:evilgrin:


Oh well, recced for myself anyway!



TG, NTY

[deaniac21]

4. Obama will get this fixed.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. What makes you think so?

[deaniac21]

22. I never use the sarcasm sign.

[TBF]

23. yes it that multi-dimensional chess ... we just don't understand.nt

[laughingliberal]

6. K & R nt

[dkf]

7. Who else has any money?

Don't want Bill Gates involved, nor the face book guy, nor the hedged managers. Where do you all want the money to come from? Me?

Well sorry to break it to you but I'm trying to figure out how I'm supposed to retire seeing as how I have no pension.

[Hannah Bell]

8. The money can come from those guys' taxes, & used under public control.

Not under their personal control through their little foundation fiefdoms.

[dkf]

9. They don't want it to be taxed...they want to donate it so they can control how it is used.

This will be the future trend.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. Is that okay with you?

[dkf]

11. Hell no.

I was pissed when I realized they wanted to escape paying for the deficit. In fact it makes me even more nervous about our ability to pay it down and our ability to fund entitlements. As soon as they announced their plans to give away half their wealth I knew what this was about.

But it is the reality and I am reality based.

[Hannah Bell]

13. You could have said the same thing about slavery in 1860. Jesus christ.

it's because the supposedly "reality based" roll over like lapdogs that it's happening.

[dkf]

15. How are you going to prevent Billionaires from setting up philanthropical foundations?

Banning charity is no political winner.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. We could try funding public services adequately so we don't need charity

Charitable foundations aren't supporting police depts or fire depts or the post office or most other public services. Why education? Because we've never funded it appropriately.

I would also argue this is far from a charitable foundation wanting to do the right thing. This is about profit. Making money. That's the game here.

[dkf]

17. We are fighting about funding children's nutrition vs providing food stamps

And teachers want us to turn down funds from rich guys because they don't like the strings attached? The public may not even agree that the strings the rich guys are asking for are bad. Somehow this doesn't seem very promising. Look how excited Cory Booker and Chris Christie were to get funding...that is how every community will react. If they aren't interested they can turn it down.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. When those strings damage kids or prevent doing what's best for them,

you bet your ass teachers will oppose them.

[Hannah Bell]

12. I know they don't want to be taxed. You seem to be ready to lie down for whatever "they" want.

I guess we really do live in a plutocratic tyranny.

Why do you bother frequenting a political board?

Just leave it to "them", I'm sure all those philanthropists have our best interests at heart.

[dkf]

14. I understand that they understand how to play the system.

And make no mistake...government is the most significant variable we have right now. All the players are reacting to the government and understanding politics is necessary to understanding what is going on.

[Hannah Bell]

19. they run the system, they don't "play it". they're not "reacting" to government, they fund it.

but with government, they're not the only ones in the game.

with private foundations, they have sole dominion.

[maryf]

20. K&Rnt

[blindpig]

21. k&r