Source: http://ift.tt/hFWySe - Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Activists and lawmakers recovering from this year's Albany budget dance don't need to be reminded of what made this year different than the past six: the more than $5 billion dollar surplus powered by settlements with the financial industry. But as the next phase of the 2015 legislative session is set to begin, and Governor Cuomo continues to lead New York towards an agenda crafted and funded by anti-union hedge fund tycoons, the political debate has glossed over the connection between this multi-billion dollar surplus and the interests behind the right-wing education push. So I'll put it bluntly: The same special interests that New York State collected over $4 billion dollars from in the last year alone for bad behavior like tax evasion, illegally trading with Iran, and delaying life insurance payments to grieving families now want to tell us how to run our school system. And they're on track to spend record-breaking amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to do so. But the similarities between Wall Street's ethical lapses and its approach to education don't end there: Financial institutions used to "redline" communities of color, denying us access to credit for purchasing homes or starting businesses. Then they realized we were the perfect target for predatory lending that would eventually make the U.S. economy crash and burn. Sound familiar to anyone following the education debate in Albany? New York State gove
from Top News on RSS Feeds http://ift.tt/1EENSuF
Activists and lawmakers recovering from this year's Albany budget dance don't need to be reminded of what made this year different than the past six: the more than $5 billion dollar surplus powered by settlements with the financial industry. But as the next phase of the 2015 legislative session is set to begin, and Governor Cuomo continues to lead New York towards an agenda crafted and funded by anti-union hedge fund tycoons, the political debate has glossed over the connection between this multi-billion dollar surplus and the interests behind the right-wing education push. So I'll put it bluntly: The same special interests that New York State collected over $4 billion dollars from in the last year alone for bad behavior like tax evasion, illegally trading with Iran, and delaying life insurance payments to grieving families now want to tell us how to run our school system. And they're on track to spend record-breaking amounts of money on lobbying and campaign contributions to do so. But the similarities between Wall Street's ethical lapses and its approach to education don't end there: Financial institutions used to "redline" communities of color, denying us access to credit for purchasing homes or starting businesses. Then they realized we were the perfect target for predatory lending that would eventually make the U.S. economy crash and burn. Sound familiar to anyone following the education debate in Albany? New York State govefrom Top News on RSS Feeds http://ift.tt/1EENSuF
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