This happens at every level of government; here locally, the campaigns of Tim Leavitt and Steve Stuart, the indifference of Marc Boldt and Jaime Herrera.
Some in politics engage in what I refer to as "active indifference."
Active indifference is when you not only ignore the people you govern, but you actively attack them because they refuse to "stay in line."
Take our education plant in Washington State.
Did you ever wonder why no one on the left complains about special elections... elections guaranteed to bring in the least number of votes? You know, like elections that decide bonds and levies?
We have general elections every year; off-year elections are those elections that take place when a president isn't up. But we also have multiple opportunities for other elections... the special, the primaries and the like.
When it comes to the general elections, democrats want as many people as possible to vote... legally or illegally.
But when it comes to the rest of these elections, where school funding is at issue, the smaller the turnout, the better they like it.
That entire system counts on our apathy. It counts on their ability to turn out their vote, and our INability to pay attention.
The result of the benevolent dictatorship in the education manufacturing plant we have is literally a trainwreck.
Our children who graduate (using the term advisedly) are so ill-prepared that most of them who bother to go on to community colleges (since so few can qualify for the ever-dwindling number of slots at, say, the University of Washington, given their concern over foreign and out-of-state students) must take remedial math and/or English classes to qualify to take regular 100-plus level classes.
I did better as a high school drop out.
This state has an amazingly-high drop out rate. Our daily paper pays scant heed to such a quagmire, instead focusing on the idiocy contained within yet another Laird column, or beating the hell out of those opposed to their agenda while we continue to sink in the morass of ignorance that our education system "produces" today.
The teacher's union does not want accountability, yet accountability is demanded at almost every job known to man: you don't produce?
Then you're fired.
So, when our educational manufacturing system doesn't produce, what happens?
Nothing.
And in large part, that's because their union, the Washington Education Association doesn't give a damn about the people... they only care about themselves.
I believe that teachers and staff specifically, and ALL public employees generally, are overcompensated. Their union helps them to live an overly insulated life where the reality of a suffering economy and a shrinking pool of those of us capable of paying taxes is of no concern to them, since they, as stated, don't give a damn about us.
Instead of reviewing and analyzing the fiscal situation, and offering up targeted cuts in their pay and benefits... pay and benefits that we can no longer afford (if we ever could) they, along with most public employee unions, make increasing demands of "more."
Instead of self-examination and introspection, we get militant whining and silence as to how to actually make the system better, more efficient and most importantly, more effective in educating our young.
But they know, as we all know, that the cornerstone of any such effort must involve accountability on the part of teachers... and the WEA fights any hint of such a bizarre concept.
"More" with no accountability. A failing educational system that is not getting better... but instead seems to be inexorably declining no matter how much money we throw at it... and folks... we throw a LOT of money at education... because, as the WEA tells us, "it's for the kids."
It's just such a shame that the kids aren't the ones benefiting from it if academic achievement, classroom ability of our few graduates and the horrific drop out rate are to be any judge.
This has been going on, and on, and on. The WEA, of course, believe they own the democrats like Mr. Lincoln never delivered the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment is, in reality, the 13th Suggestion.
As a result, the laws and policies in everything from gutting the super-majority to the complete lack of accountability are a result of their bidding as the democrats do, effectively, what their master tell them.
The taxpayers of this state spend billions every year on education. And THIS is the best we can show for it?
It's been this way for a long time... a very long time. The democrats have held sway here in Washington state for decades of unfettered policy and law. Every year, it seems to get worse. Every year we spend more and more and more.
But when your policies and rules and vision is even further to the left of our uber-leftist Administration.... then yeah, you've grown out of touch and isolated from those you allegedly serve.
To the point where many... even the most die-hard of democrats... have had enough on this issue.
And the end result of all this is in this article:
February 25, 2012 at 8:05 PMMore:
Dems draw fire from top donors in rift over education reform
Several well-heeled Democratic Party donors have split with the state party and legislative leaders over education reform.
Seattle Times Olympia bureau
OLYMPIA — Several well-heeled Democratic donors have openly split with the state party and legislative leaders over education reform, arguing Washington is falling behind because lawmakers are afraid to buck the teachers union.Donors say they fear the Democratic Party could lose ground to Republicans on the issue. Some even say they're on the fence when it comes to supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna or Democratic candidate Jay Inslee, given the candidates' stances on education.
It's rare for what amounts to a Democratic family fight to get aired in public, but the parties to this feud are dragging out the dirty laundry with gusto as they argue over what reform really means.
The dispute boiled to the surface this month when venture capitalist Nick Hanauer fired off a widely circulated email saying, "I have seen the enemy, and it is us. It is impossible to escape the painful reality that we Democrats are now on the wrong side of every important education-reform issue."
Hanauer, who's contributed more than $2.5 million to Democratic campaigns and causes since 2001, is particularly ticked off about what he considers a lack of progress this year on beefing up teacher evaluations and allowing charter schools. The Obama administration has advocated both on a national level.
He also contends that the Washington Education Association (WEA), the state's largest teachers union, has far too much sway with Democratic leaders and "is literally strangling our public schools to death."
State records show the WEA has contributed more than $900,000 to the state Democratic Party since 2002 and more than $300,000 to state House and Senate Democratic campaign committees alone. The union also regularly donates thousands to individual candidates and causes.
1 comment:
For the Capitalist system to work there must be Adversarial Relationships on all sides: owners & employees, customers & management, owners & management. If there is collusion at any level, the concept breaks down.
Government unions have no Adversarial Relationship. They select their own "managers" (elected officials), and their "customers" (us) can be ignored.
Educators are additionally infected with elitism, hubris, and sanctimonious self-righteous behavior because they are used to dealing with a children.
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