Teachers' Pets The NEA gave $65 million in its members' dues to left-liberal groups last year.

Wall Street Journal, Opinion Journal ^ | Tuesday, January 3, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST | editorial

[Julie658]

Teachers' Pets The NEA gave $65 million in its members' dues to left-liberal groups last year.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006 12:01 a.m. EST

If we told you that an organization gave away more than $65 million last year to Jesse Jackson's Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Amnesty International, AIDS Walk Washington and dozens of other such advocacy groups, you'd probably assume we were describing a liberal philanthropy. In fact, those expenditures have all turned up on the financial disclosure report of the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union.

[Renegade]

This action is no surprise . The NEA and locals have been doing it since I began teaching in the 70's. Really upset me that my dues were going to support idiots .
I was the county treasurer for our local and it really pi$$ed them off when I would display Rush Limbaugh's books at the head table during monthly meetings .

[Renegade]

Surely you jest ! .The per capita income of teachers in China must be close to $ 500.00 /year . If that is your premise, than ALL jobs need to be adjusted to the Chinese ratio.

[Renegade]

The Chinese didn't need better math scores . They had Clintoon on their side (traitor) . His administration was the one that advanced their space program to the point they could put a person in orbit and hit a target anywhere on the planet .
You also don't need a lot of smarts to open a $ store .

[oneofmany]

There is hope, though. Most of the Boomers will be retiring from teaching in the next 5 years. A generation of "Limbaugh kids" will be taking their place.

[Philistone]

The California referendum on making the use of union dues for political purposes opt-in rather than opt-out (which is the case now) was overwhelmingly defeated - mostly be teachers and other members of public employee unions.

This leads me to believe that an overwhelming majority of them are quite happy to see their dues used to fund liberal causes.

Actually, the fact that teachers routinely come out of the bottom 5% of college graduating classes would explain why most of them are liberals to begin with...

[admiralsn]

Not all teachers are members of a union.

[pleikumud]

All education should be private, from K-12 through grad schools. Government should not be in the education business, and should not subsidize it. Private education companies would bring better quality, competition, and freedom of choice for students and parents.

[aculeus]

BTTT

[ladyjane]

All education should be private, from K-12 through grad schools.

The responsibility for education rests with each state. Unfortunately the federal goverment made a power grab when they formed HEW 50 years ago. They have only grabbed more power since that time.

[sageb1]

"There is hope, though. Most of the Boomers will be retiring from teaching in the next 5 years. A generation of "Limbaugh kids" will be taking their place."

I don't think Rush is promoted at teaching colleges. It will get worse before it gets better unless it receives media scrutiny. It won't.

[bmwcyle]

I quit the NEA in 1977 when they gave money to Carter.

[admiralsn]

I quit in 1994 when I found out that I had joined, unwittingly. I was a first year teacher and had joined the local city teacher's organization. I didn't know that it made me a member of TX State Teachers Ass., and that THAT made me a member of NEA. When the NEA tried to organize a (failed) boycott of Florida Orange Growers because they chose Rush Limbaugh as a spokesman, it all came together for me and I realized I was in the throes of a union that was using my money in a way I did not approve. I quit the next year.

[oneofmany]

Thats the way it is in PA as well. If you join the PSEA you also join the NEA.

[admiralsn]

I have long assumed it is that way in all states-- that the NEA has a racket set up with state organizations in all 50 states, and local organizations under those. You join at the local level and you automatically "get to" join the state group as well as the NEA. Too bad for many teachers they like to keep this a secret. Now people are learning why.

[listenhillary]

Bookmark

[pleikumud]

The states should not be involved in education either. All public schools should be turned over to private education companies (a whole new industry). This would eliminate about 50-60% of state & local taxes, and give parents and students complete freedom to choose how education dollars are spent.
Now, a leftist, collectivist, socialist, or Democrat will say in response that parents can't be trusted with making decisions about where to send the kids to school, for how long, what to learn, or how much to pay. The same anti-capitalists are in favor of price controls, wage controls, production controls, thought control, and violation of private property rights.

[airborne]

I just sent it to a teacher friend.

They should know how their money is spent.

[traviskicks]

A good read as well:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1444492/posts?page=1

[Don Corleone]

Keep in mind this is only one union. They are all like this. In addition to cash they provide "volunteers" for political campaigns. When the Democrats moan and groan that the Republicans are the party of the rich and are much better funded than the Democrats it is just another lie. They don't mention all this behind the scenes stuff from the unions and other NGOs.

And they still can't win an honest election!