The California Teachers Association is a major contributor to the Golden State’s fiscal woes.10 May 2011California’s chronic fiscal crisis should prompt a substantive debate about the limits of government and the folly of an expansive welfare state. Instead, leaders of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association are using the struggle to close the Golden State’s $15.4 billion budget deficit as an opportunity for some political street theater. The powerful National Education Association state affiliate is spending this week highlighting California’s \”state of emergency,\” with large rallies planned in Sacramento and around the state Friday to agitate for billions of dollars in higher taxes.
The union’s timing is not by chance. Governor Jerry Brown will unveil his revised budget on May 16, and deep cuts to the K-12 education budget could mean widespread teacher layoffs as early as next month. Californians can expect heavy doses of union demagoguery this week and in the coming months, as Brown works to forge a deal with Republicans who unequivocally oppose any income- or sales-tax hikes, \”temporary\” or otherwise.
For the teachers’ union, kids are the best props. Already we’re hearing the familiar nostrums: \”Cuts hurt children,\” \”What’s good for the teachers is good for the students,\” and \”Don’t sacrifice our kids’ futures.\” What the CTA really means is, \”Tax the rich,\” \”Give us more money,\” and, above all, \”Save our jobs.\” At first, the union considered more drastic action to make its point. Among the tactics union organizers contemplated: Attempting to close a major freeway route; having students and parents picket and occupy schools overnight; and protesting in front of recalcitrant legislators’ homes and businesses. CTA planners also suggested some downright
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