When the White House released its latest plan to stimulate – er, improve – the economy, everybody knew there would be a fresh round of spending to bail out government schools.
But there’s another motive too: dues for the teachers unions.
By my estimates, about three quarters of unionized teachers are represented by the National Education Association. Every member pays dues, including $166 per year that goes to the national union, according to a secret union document posted on PublicSchoolSpending.com. The White House says up to 285,000 teaching jobs – that is, dues payers – could be saved.
Given these facts, the NEA would be looking at about $35.4 million in “saved” dues.
Similarly, the American Federation of Teachers, which has annual dues of $184.20, according to financial statements found at AFTexposed.com, would have about 71,250 jobs saved. The dues ramifications? A little over $13 million.
It pays to have friends in high places.
Let’s go back to July, when the NEA passed an additional $10 assessment on its members to fund the re-election efforts of Obama. Some teachers objected, calling it the union’s “Obama tax.”
If the dues the NEA will extract from many of its unwilling members is not enough, is it unreasonable to believe the union will tap into this new-found money to help the president’s campaign even more? After all, $35.4 million can buy a lot of votes.
This cozy relationship between politicians and special interests is what is turning Americans against corrupt government.
Could the White House for once do something in the interest of children and not the adults?
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