Sunday, September 29, 2019

IS ELIZABETH WARREN ON THE SIDE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION?

Like many news junkies, I am very interested in who will be the next President of the United States. After reading his Thurgood Marshall Education plan and his Workplace Democracy plan, I (not speaking for ICE-UFT) am sold that Senator Bernie Sanders is a friend of teachers, workers and public education. I even donated to his campaign like about a million other people.

However, because Bernie has the socialist label attached to him, and his plans are so people friendly, I am not naive. The establishment/elite/ruling class/donor class/oligarchs/billionaire class or whatever you want to call them will do just about anything in order to knock him down. Can the public ignore the noise and vote for someone who is really on our side? Who knows?

Some of my friends are really looking close at Elizabeth Warren as an alternative. A former student is working for her. Senator Warren is rising in the polls. Is she our friend or is she just shilling for our votes and then she will abandon us for the donor class like so many Democrats have done in my lifetime once elected? (See Barack Obama supporting the firing of teachers and Race to the Top for quick examples)

The Network for Public Education Action has excellent reviews of all of the 2020 presidential candidates. This is some of what they say about Senator Warren:

Senator Warren’s Senior Education Policy Advisor was a TFA teacher and a policy intern with the Alliance for Excellent Education, a reform leaning 501(c)(3) organization that has received almost $20 million in grant funding from the Gates Foundation.

At a recent Oakland rally, she was introduced by a former charter school teacher who who was a fellow and blogger for GO Public Schools, a charter school lobbying organization.

There are red flags on testing too but on the positive side on donors:

FUTURE45

This Super PAC spent $1,026,590.17 to oppose Warren’s election. Paul Singer is a main contributor to the PAC. Singer is a billionaire hedge fund manager who makes large contributions to Success Academy, the largest charter school network in New York City, and to pro-charter New York PACs.
 
Diane Ravitch calls Warren's education positions "murky at best." Here is what Ravitch concluded last week after citing a critical analysis of Warren's education positions written by Eric Blanc:

If Warren wants the support of public school teachers and parents, she must issue a plan that clarifies her plans on testing and privatization.

She needs to be crystal clear about whether she would eliminate the federal mandate for annual testing in grades 3-8, a leftover from George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind, which has been an expensive dud. The testing has enriched the testing industry but had no effect on student scores.

Warren needs to take a stand on the federal Charter Schools Program, which is Betsy DeVos’ slush fund for corporate charter chains that are already amply funded by billionaires.

I would vote for Elizabeth Warren over Donald Trump or Cory Booker but is she really with us? 

29 comments:

  1. Wall Street dems say they will support Trump if Warren is nominated.

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  2. Because they believe she will tax everyone to death and cause a market collapse.

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  3. Democratic donors on Wall Street and in big business are preparing to sit out the presidential campaign fundraising cycle — or even back President Donald Trump — if Sen. Elizabeth Warren wins the party’s nomination.

    In recent weeks, CNBC spoke to several high-dollar Democratic donors and fundraisers in the business community and found that this opinion was becoming widely shared as Warren, an outspoken critic of big banks and corporations, gains momentum against Joe Biden in the 2020 race.

    “You’re in a box because you’re a Democrat and you’re thinking, ‘I want to help the party, but she’s going to hurt me, so I’m going to help President Trump,’” said a senior private equity executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity in fear of retribution by party leaders.

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  4. I will be voting Republican...

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  5. The TDS is strong with this one.
    Let the hatred flow through you.

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  6. Did you read her plans? Big donors and ed deformers have nothing to fear. We do.

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  7. Since when did higher taxes on wealthy people cause market collapses? Big crashes in 1929, 1987 and 2008 happened after tax cuts.

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  8. That quote is from cnbc, dems, and wall street people. Obviously, they are concerned about something.

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  9. And Obama was the most liberal Senator in 2008 according to The National Journal. Warren is the safe alternative to Bernie. The elite will embrace her if Biden implodes.

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  10. What about the trillions of taxes in the wealthy? The stock market dropping 50% wouldn't be good.

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  11. From The Hill:

    For those who don't think wavering on Medicare for All is all that important, consider what (Elizabeth Warren's) backpedaling represents. It represents dishonesty and the willingness to pretend to support policy because it's popular with the intention to compromise and concede later. It's become abundantly clear that there is simply one candidate who will aggressively fight for the legislation, and it's Bernie Sanders, the man who wrote the damn bill.

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  12. Warren's a fraud. She takes whatever Bernie has proposed, then waters it down. She has met with Clinton, used PAC money to start her campaign, then will go back to PAC money in the general. Wall Street's not scared of her, she will work for them because she has taken money from them. Don't forget...

    The DNC would have another term of Trump, than Sanders. This, in spite of all he has done for fighting with unions, trying to help the working class, and put forth consistent policies for years that would help all citizens of this country.

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  13. 1. Warren would fit into the DOE nicely since she is a cheater herself. You can make a claim that lying about her heritage got her into Harvard which catapulted her and eventually made 300,000 a year teaching one class!

    2. She wont do anything to help this economy, our pensions have skyrocketed with the stock market under Trump.

    3. Education changes need to come locally and with the State we know our issues better.

    4. Bernie sanders got cheated by the DNC in 2016 that was his chance, Bernie and Warren spend Trillions and trillions for healthcare, Bernie is like the crazy uncle who means well, but has few screws loose or missing.

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  14. Those TDAs skyrocketed under Obama too and Clinton in 90's. In 90s it was without national debt increasing too unlike now.

    Why can't some of you talk directly about Bernie's education or labor plans? They are very worker, union, teacher and public school friendly like no major candidate ever?

    Since we won't have to spend for insurance company profits, we will end up spending much less for healthcare. Government would be only insurer. That's it.

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  15. I dont like something called an inequality tax.

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  16. Dont you get it? Nobody cares about it. We are more focused on the torture, the fraud, AND WE REALIZE IT WILL NEVER BE MADE BETTER. It is too late. We have had this converstaion a million times. We have had de blaio and obama, 2 dems. We have had, according to the uft president, teacher friendly chancellors. We have given up. This is all nonsense on paper. What is really going on in schools cannot be fixed. Fake grad numbers, fake suspension numbers, all in the name of proving how wonderful the kids are, at our own expense. They got a black president for god sakes, things only got worse. You think a different president will change what goes on in schools daily?

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  17. Obama was never public school teacher friendly. De Blasio promised more and has been a huge disappointment. Read Bernie's proposals on public education and workplace democracy. They are worker and teacher friendly for sure. Yes, things would improve for working people for sure.

    I believe the highest tax rate under Republcan Eisenhower was 90% 10:03. Nobody is proposing that, just leveling the playing field a bit.

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  18. Why do you still read this blog 10:19 if you have given up already?

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  19. How will things improve?

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  20. Here is a simple one from Bernie's workplace democracy plan:

    Establish federal protections against the firing of workers for any reason other than “just cause.” When Bernie is president he will fight to make sure workers cannot be fired “at will” and will sign a “just cause” law to protect workers and their constitutional right to speak out and organize in their workplaces.

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  21. That would get equivalent tenure protections for all of us.

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  22. Here is what I said in June:

    Bernie is calling for an end to for profit charter schools, a moratorium on new charter schools, full public accountability for charter schools, stronger tenure as well stronger union rights for public school teachers, a $60,000 minimum salary for public school teachers and so much more.

    No new charter schools would help a great deal. He favors our right to strike too.

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  23. Wait, I thought we had protection from the uft contract.

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  24. I still read the blog because I mistakenly made the decision to become a teacher 20 years ago. I am married to the stupidity of this profession.

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  25. Non tenured people have little protection. I would love to have the weight of the federal government behind teachers and other workers.

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  26. If you have given up, why bother reading here? Obviously, I have not given up.

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  27. The Executive Board is too diverse. No more dues for me.

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  28. "Fueled by teachers..."

    https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/10/01/fueled-teachers-and-average-donation-18-sanders-raised-record-253-million-third

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