Texas billionaire John Arnold, who has drawn attention for his interest in public sector pension reform (meaning that public sector pensions are too generous), is supporting both sides of the gubernatorial race in Rhode Island.
David Sirota wrote about how the Arnold Foundation underwrote a PBS special on the pension crisis and underwrote a Brookings Institution report on the same subject. PBS returned $3.5 million to the foundation because of Sirota’s disclosure.
Arnold is also a major supporter of charter schools, Common Core, and other “reforms” favored by corporate reformers.
The Providence Journal reports:
” PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Billionaire Houston philanthropist John Arnold is not only investing heavily in the political future of state General Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Gina Raimondo — he’s also backing a national education effort showcasing her Democratic rival: Providence Mayor Angel Taveras.
“Arnold’s philanthropic organization, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, has awarded $4.25 million in grants over the last three years to “Education Reform Now,” 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with ties to the “Mayor’s for Educational Excellence Tour,” according to the foundation’s website.
“Taveras, a Democrat in his first term, is one of four mayors taking part in the tour, which is meant to highlight new education efforts in their cities.
The tour includes San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and is scheduled to stop in Providence on April 25.
“Education Reform Now” is operated by “Democrats for Education Reform,” a New York-based political action group that supports, among other things, closing down failing schools and establishing national education standards.
“Last week, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation confirmed that it helped finance the nonprofit and nonpartisan Brookings Institution’s report, “Pension Politics: Public Employee Retirement System Reform in Four States.”
“The report, released last month, highlights the state pension system overhaul that Raimondo spearheaded in 2011 as a national model.”
So, billionaire Arnold hails Raimondo as a “pension reformer,” and supports Taveras an an “education reformer.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The Money almost always backs both sides to some degree — that way both sides owe the Money — it’s just that the Money isn’t always so obvious about it.
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Cover all your bets. Democracy is not a threat if you own all the choices.
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What is it about these billionaires who are so opposed to public education, public defined benefit pensions and Social Security? Arnold, Broad, the Waltons and Gates, etc., are determined to privatize the schools, eliminate unions and dump teacher pensions. The billionaires Pete Peterson, the Koch brothers, etc., ad nauseam have a jihad against Social Security. These people make more in one day than most people make in a year and yet they begrudge working people (especially public workers like teachers) their pensions and Social Security.
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I don’t think that public sector workers are “owed” their pensions or a decent living – I think they earn them. These guys are not idiots – they figured out ways to make billions of dollars. I do not understand their investment in taking down pensions and busting unions when these plainly are not the causes of corporate decline – and even where they are part like the UAW, these guys are simply not effected.
Unions I don’t think are believed by anyone to be a serious cause of the decline of employment in America – with continually shrinking enrollment, benefits, and power, and yet, this does not dovetail at all with an economic turn around, how can anyone reasonably say that unreasonable benefits and job security are the major flaw in the system especially after that we’ve seen corporations are willing to do to increase profit margins (poverty stricken workers, child laborers abroad, poor working conditions, dangerous working conditions et. al.) and that those profit margins when they are increased, in no way are passed back to the workers they abused to get them.
Is this some dogmatic faith to free market systems that functions as religion? Is it simply that they crave power so much that systems that encourage them receiving more are what they want? Is it that they are so ego driven by money that even when they have more than they can spend in their own lifetime, they still need more as a measure of worth?
I don’t see why a person like John Arnold is so vested in this issue when it’s fairly plain that eliminating some of the last bastions of the middle class and feelings of stability should not be what we encourage as a society. The sad thing is though, these guys are so uncontrollably plutocratically rich, that they can control the hegemony of the debate because they control both sides of the aisle in our 2 party system. They don’t care if they support a democrat or a republican – so long as they vote the way they want them to on issues that enrich them, increase their power, and decrease outside threats to their companies.
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“I don’t think public sector workers are “owed” their pensions…”
Exactly right: from their inception, and until the Overclass decided that it had to have Everything – defined benefit pensions were understood to be deferred compensation.
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Workers are owed their pensions because it is part of a contract that legally has to be honored. The workers are owed their pensions because it is their money, they paid into the pension fund with every paycheck and it is deferred compensation.
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Define idiot?
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As per your directions, I say to John Arnold. Gina Raimondo, and Angel Taveras, “You are losers!” Mr. Arnold, go back to your yachts and polo ponies. Raimondo and Taveras, remember the words of Mark Twain who said, “We believe that out of the public schools grow the greatness of a nation.” Represent that.
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Reblogged this on Kmareka.com.
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Mayor’s for Educational Excellence Tour
The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour has a better connection to reality than their tour.
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If Mayor taveras is a Educational guru then why is his superintendent Lisi sitting in the representatives house on February 26 asking that her city be removed from high stakes testing? Between, raimondo, gist, and taveras they are all looking to destroy the state of Rhode Island. Oh yeah I don’t capitalize the names of people who cannot earn by respect.
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Why don’t the people of the state fight back.
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Right on! And a lot more fun!
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John and Laura Arnold are also funding, we just learned on Sunday, a massive campaign to destroy the Dallas Independent School District. They are trying to create a so-called “home-rule” district that would eliminate the democratically elected school board, turn over all school to corporate-owned charters, and throw out any semblance of teacher rights. We are writing about all this on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/texaskidscantwait .we are also reaching out to Dallas organizations to resist this potential disaster in the state’s second largest school district.
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Thank you Diane Ravitch for helping us all to understand the cruelty that the hedge fund owners want to inflict on American children, the elderly, and workers. The plutocrats’ threat to democracy can be prevented if enough citizens have the courage and integrity to stop them.
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So tell me again: what’s the difference between Republicans and Democrats? Oh, that’s right, Democrats are OK with gay marriage and most Republicans aren’t and Democrats believe in climate change and Republicans don’t… but when it comes to schools is there ANY difference? When it comes to privatization of public services is there ANY difference? When it comes to taking money from reprehensible front organizations funded by the 1% is there ANY difference?
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There really aren’t any differences. Don’t bother to vote for either party. Why is a couple from Texas meddling in the affairs of Rhode Island? There are people suffering in this world and they spend their time trying to destroy careers and a decent pension. They are evil.
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I thought these folks believed in states’ rights. Oh, that’s right! Multinational corporations trump states and nations.
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