Arthur Camins, writing at the Huffington Post,analyzes the Trump-DeVos education budget and declares it to be “cruel and unusual punishment,” targeted to harm the nation’s neediest children.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_59243736e4b07617ae4cbf7f
He writes:
“President Trump’s budget proposal violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The crime it punishes is not being wealthy, healthy and deserving of tax cuts. Budgets are values statements. Trump’s first full education budget proposal is no exception. Its $9.2 Billion or 13.6% cut in the spending level approved by the already spendthrift conservative Congress also violates the values of most Americans. Bigly. It cuts programs that help most children in order to fund programs to help a few children– and facilitate tax cuts for the wealthy.
“As a citizen, lifelong educator and grandfather, I am appalled. We have schools not just to benefit individual children. Effective, humane, well-funded, equitable schools make for a better society. With its emphasis on privately governed charter schools and vouchers to attend private schools, Trump’s budget says that somehow parents’ individual decisions about education are automatically better than democratic community decisions. Choices by either individuals or groups are neither inherently good nor bad. That is a function of the values that guide them. The foundational value of Trump’s education budget is, “Just look out for yourself.” Most of us, I think, reject that dystopian idea.”
Trump and a DeVos say they want to help every get a better education, but they know schoice will not do that.
“Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos, and their supporters do not want to spread charter schools to provide more effective education to more children than in neighborhood public schools. We already know that they will not.
“They don’t want charter schools to compete for students with public schools because such competition leads to innovative improvements. They don’t want to replace democratic- with private-governance of schools because it is more efficient, or more responsive to students needs, or results in better decision-making, or is less vulnerable to corruption. We already know that the opposite is the case.
“They do not want to replace taxpayer funded public education that enrolls the vast majority of local children with tax credits for vouchers to attend the private school of their parents’ choosing because it will lead to a more equitable education for all students. We already know that it will not.
“They do not want to shift targeted federal education funds into block grants to states because it will result in better outcomes for all children. We already know that it will not.
“In fact, education policies that rely on market forces and individual choice have always had only three goals: Profit for individual investors, the protection, and enhancement of the privileges of the few, and legalized segregation. Make no mistake. Republicans have no intention of increasing education funds at the local or state levels. That would violate their core values: Keep as much of their wealth as possible. Pay as little in taxes as they can get away with to help other folks. Pander to people who want a religious or segregated education on the public’s dime.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I don’t think they care. They are once again focusing exclusively on charters and vouchers at the hearing:
“We cannot allow any parent to feel as if their child is trapped in a school that is not meeting their needs,” DeVos said.”
She spent all day yesterday trashing public schools and public school students and she’s hard at work on it today, too. Not one positive idea or benefit for kids in public schools. It’s as if our kids and our schools don’t exist.
There is no positive public school agenda in DC, not from Democrats and not from Republicans. They simply don’t care enough to bother formulating one. Public schools are an afterthought, an inconvenience to be gotten around in pursuit of The Mission to Privatize. Look at the bright side. It leaves a huge gaping hole some ambitious lawmaker or political party could fill, and holes tend to get filled.
Shorter DC education hearing: the federal government is gutting public school funding in order to fund private schools, and in return they’ll give each public school student a shiny new Chromebook and some cheap garbage “online learning” product.
We are in the reign of the klepocrats. Trump and his barbarian horde rule in order to stuff as much of the “common good” in their pockets as they can before the theft is detected. For some time our representatives have mostly worked for special interests and their own selfish gain. Our system is in need of a major overhaul. that seriously limits influence of corporations and the 1%. Democracy itself is on the chopping block. This is probably the most blunt article by Camins I have ever read, and I agree with him 100%.
It would help at least some if we could institute a law or (probably more necessary) a Constitutional Amendment that would overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.
But that ain’t gonna happen.
😦
There is little hope for improvement unless we can unload some of the complicit representatives. The current crop will not vote to shut off their own gravy train. Too bad we don’t have a vote of no confidence like the Brits.
All too true, retired teacher.
But we are not a Parliamentary government, so there are no votes of “no confidence” (and the Parliamentary system has its own problems, as well; they’re not perfect).
Until the American voters wake up and realize that most of their elected officials do not really represent them, they represent whoever gives them the most money, and also, until the voters in the bottom, oh, 50-60% or so economically, learn to stop voting against their own economic self-interests, nothing is going to change.
“But that ain’t gonna happen”? Let’s make it happen!! The ONLY way to turn this country back toward democracy– where your vote means something, & your opinion is heeded by your congressional representatives– is to get the money out of politics. And that means, for starters, reversing the Cit-United decision through legislation
We progressives have already seen the damage a Fed DOEd [promoted to Cabinet status by progressives] can do when it is in the hands of neolibs. The ESSA law attempted to correct 15 yrs of malaprop neolib ed-micromgt, by busting fed-DOEd power back down to states– but clearly this was insufficient: (a)fed still requires annual testing for 3-8 + 1 hs yr, & (b)requires fed approval of states’ stds/assessment systems…
& now we must undergo the RWNJ version of NCLB/RTTT: arm-twisting states via RTTT-like fed $ bribes into the privatization paradigm, targeted at undermining the financial solvency of the pubschs attended by the vast majority of the country!
So, many of us have long been saying, bust that clout back down– past the state DOEDs & their overweening micromgt which does not square w/the $ they put into ed– to the local level– the source of the lion’s share of taxes that support Pubschs… But then, Cit-United makes it OK for out-of-state hedge-funders & union-buster ideologues like Walton et al to pump $millions into swaying local BOEd elections!
I have to hand it to DeVos – she’s good at quoting ed reform Democrats to support her agenda. Must be a lot of Democrats wishing they hadn’t have been such eager privatization supporters, now that they seek to draw distinctions.
She can basically (accurately) quote Obama or Duncan to back up any Trump policy.
THAT must be a little awkward for Dem political operatives, I must say 🙂
Those Dims don’t know any better, Chiara, thus the moniker Dims.
Click to access P0502_27.pdf
Arkansas ed. deforms did not address POVERTY. And none of the DEFORMS across these United States FAILED to address poverty. The DEFORMS were PUNITIVE. Look where those DEFORMS got us…the DUMP. Gotta hand it to Clinton and his 3 strikes and you’re out mantra.
Cruelty is everywhere EXCEPT for the RICH.
“Make no mistake. Republicans have no intention of increasing education funds at the local or state levels. That would violate their core values: Keep as much of their wealth as possible. Pay as little in taxes as they can get away with to help other folks. Pander to people who want a religious or segregated education on the public’s dime.”
I can hear the Republicans saying that all of these complaints come from snowflakes and people who are looking for a gov’ment handout. The policy positions and values reflected in the budget are principled–survival of the wealthiest and healthiest.
Forgot to add this link which has similar points
http://www.alternet.org/right-wing/robert-reich-trumps-budget-cruel-and-deviant
Thank you Arthur Camins for a particularly on-point article which adds many new twists — as usual [from you], not just the usual lib memes. Huzzah!