In Washington State, the highest state court ordered the legislature to establish a new and equitable funding program for public schools. The legislature has not acted. The court is fining fining the legislature $1 million a day. The legislature ignores the court.
The highest court also ruled that charter schools can’t take money from the public school budget because they are NOT public schools. Public schools in Washington state are governed by elected boards, not private corporations.
The legislature doesn’t want to impose an income tax. There is no state income tax. Washington has 13 billionaires. Not one of them–including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos–pays a dime to the state.
https://education.good.is/features/washington-state-wealthy-but-does-not-pay-for-schools
That explains why the billionaires are crazy for charter schools. That explains why the billionaires financed the election of opponents to the judges on the Supreme Court (the current judges were re-elected).
Tell the public that choice–not funding–is the best reform of all! Why tax billionaires when you can open charter schools instead.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thanks for exposing Wash. as a colony, governed by the rich, that has the most regressive tax system in the nation. The poor pay a rate up to 7 times the rate families like the Gates pay. Even, in terms of the wealthy’s palaces, Washington implements a system benefitting the rich, by capping property tax at 1%. It’s not surprising that Bill Gates Jr. spent money to defeat state judges who rendered decisions favorable to public schools. He and his family are takers who have been white-washed by politicians and well-crafted PR.
Bill’s Dad, like Bill’s friend, Warren Buffet, talk a good game about unfair taxes. Media claimed Bill Sr. supported legislation to get an income tax in Wash. The income tax defeat indicates that harm to the poor and middle class was preferable to the rich paying for what they take. (BTW- Microsoft supported regressive taxation.) Bill Jr., in an internet video, describes his preference for regressive consumption taxes.
Regressive taxes, similar to tax dodging is at the expense of the state’s citizens and the nation. It contributes to 40% of students being at or near the poverty level.
We all recognize that when Bill Jr. wanted the government to promote school privatization and Common Core, he managed to make it happen, despite a lack of support from the people. There are a lot of descriptors for that, colonialism, plutocracy, oligarchy, exploitation,…
It was a travesty for Gates to receive a Medal of Freedom. When the medal is reclaimed, it will be a sign of democracy’s return.
Gates’ company Microsoft — which is headquartered in Washington State — is also holding over $100 billion in cash in offshore accounts to avoid paying US corporate income tax, which would come to about 35 billion if Microsoft paid the standard corporate tax.
The GOP and the richest 0.1% hate America.
They love it insofar as it provides a market for their goods and police and military protection for their “assets” and intellectual “property” around the world.
But they hate that they have to share it with the rest of us.
Interesting question — and article by Dean Baker
How rich would Bill Gates be without his copyright on Windows?
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/41210-how-rich-would-bill-gates-be-without-his-copyright-on-windows
It is not an exaggeration to say that Gates has the wealth he does ONLY because of the American government and people.
So it is grotesque that his company is dodging taxes by keeping 100 billion dollars offshore.
The connection between a lack of income tax and support for charter schools is not clear to me, other than both involve money for rich people. Having no state income tax does not, in and of itself, explain to me why Washington billionaires are crazy for charter schools.
Serbia,
Billionaires don’t want to pay taxes. Like Trump, they have accountants find tax dodges to minimize their taxes.
They don’t want to fund public schools, which would mean higher taxes for them.
They offer charter schools as a remedy to change the subject from funding the kids and schools that need smaller classes. They also push testing and standards as a “fix” for poverty. TFA says we don’t need to wait u till poverty is fixed. Just hire TFA. The cheap solution to an expensive problem.
Sereia,
Charter (contractor) schools are a necessary stop gap measure on the way to for-profit, schools-in-a-box. If Bill Gates’ politicians shut down public schools and told the people that there would be no more taxes spent on education, there would have been significant backlash. So, the goal is being achieved piecemeal.
Pearson, Bill Gates and Zuckerberg (Facebook),…are investors in the largest seller of for-profit, schools-in-a-box. The founder of the product brand, forecasted a 20% return to investors.
Gates funds the Aspen Institute’s education programs like Pahara Institute (on-line description) and the Senior Congressional Education Staff Network. David Koch, the most significant opponent of taxes, is on Aspen’s board.
The goal of Gates-funded New Schools Venture Fund is, “to develop diverse charter school organizations to produce different brands on a large scale.”
It’s all part and parcel of their “free-market” religion, for which taxes and regulations are blasphemy.
Many charters are free of the oversight and regulation which governs public schools so the billionaires love them.
“The Reformation”
Reform is a religion
With Friedman as its god
And Billy Gates as Profit
To follow and to laud
With Charter as the chapel
Where people kneel and prey
With hymnal pads from Apple
To Rapture them away
The fundamental tenet
The key to Heav’nly Gates
Is righteousness of Market
That’s sealing all our fates
I would note that just as with the Reformation started when Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Church door, the Reformation started when David Coleman posted the 95 Feces (aka Common Core) on the schoolhouse door led to several sects.
One sect celebrates Bill Gates as the Profit.
Another (DeVos’s Witnesses) celebrates Betsy DeVos.
But they share the same basic beliefs nonetheless : that Milton Friedman lived and died to free us from original sin: selflessness and generosity
The Bill and Melinda Gates’ legacy to their children is tragic. The kids will be loathed by the 99%. The three of them won’t know that there was a time when the wealthy could walk among their fellow Americans and be respected. The kids will understand that their parents frittered away $1 billion plus, over more than 15 years, to destroy the common good of public education and to commercialize universities. They will know the family’s billions could have prevented the climate catastrophe that will steal the lives of their descendants.
I dunno, I’m waiting for the 99% to wake up to the likes of Bill Gates (and his even more saintly buddy Warren Buffett). Outside blogs like this and other rare enlightened places, if you talk ill of Gates you get horrified, outraged reactions telling you all about all the good that Gates has done in the world. “Do you know how much Gates has given to charity?!?!”
Dienne,
Gates thinks he can buy his way into heaven. He is in for a big surprise.
With politicians from both parties and the entire media (Vanity Fair, AARP, Redbook, newspapers, PBS etc.) burnishing St. Gates’ crown, it would have required, at a minimum, the AFT and NEA’s counter messages. If the teachers’ unions had enlisted the aid of other unions instead of offending them like Weingarten did with the nurses’ union, the story might have been different.
“Keys to Heaven’s Gates”
The keys to Heaven’s Gates
Are on the ring of Bill
Despite what Peter hates
Despite Almighty’s will
Hi Dienne:
Who is Dienne 77? Are you Dienne 77?
Would you understand and know the Mafia’s manipulative technique in masking and helping poor children?
Bill Gate, Warren Buffett and the likes are the ultimate mafia leaders.
If you ever have a chance of being STEP_mother who has their own biological children from the same man (who had previous children!), you would examine your own desire to care for your own children versus your step-children.
In the same vein, please watch how those mafia leaders care for their own children VERSUS people or subordinates’ children WITH A HINT that the bottom line in business is MAFIA LEADERS’ control and profits OVER the welfare of others including their own siblings’ lives.
You are very straightforward in thinking. As a result, you need to have a paralleled thinking in order to avoid all different manipulative technique. Yes, anything, that is too good to be true, must be a trap.
A Sainthood is hard to find, but anyone, who shoulder their precious time, money and effort for the COMMON GOOD CAUSE,
I posted this on Facebook. The 1% wins again.
m4potw
July 10, 2017 at 5:47 pm (continue on to the previous post!)
Hi Dienne:
Who is Dienne 77? Are you Dienne 77?
Would you understand and know the Mafia’s manipulative technique in masking and helping poor children?
Bill Gate, Warren Buffett and the likes are the ultimate mafia leaders.
If you ever have a chance of being STEPmother who has their own biological children from the same man (who had previous children!), you would examine your own desire to care for your own children versus your step-children.
In the same vein, please watch how those mafia leaders care for their own children VERSUS people or subordinates’ children WITH A HINT that the bottom line in business is MAFIA LEADERS’ control and profits OVER the welfare of others including their own siblings’ lives.
You are very straightforward in thinking. As a result, you need to have a paralleled thinking in order to avoid all different manipulative techniques. Yes, anything, that is too good to be true, must be a trap.
A Sainthood is hard to find, but anyone, who shoulders their precious time, money, knowledge and effort for the COMMON GOOD CAUSE, without profit and enforcing their demand on people, will be closed enough to be a SAINT. Take care. May
NB: my hand does not function as normal as I wish to be. My arms swing funnily sometimes while I am typing.
I use to live in Washington state. These billionaires pay plenty of tax to the state. The business tax in Washington is one of the highest in the country. They (and all the other state residents) also pay ridiculous amounts of sales tax.
The poor spend 100% of their incomes creating demand for goods and services. In contrast, the Gates family accumulates the nation’s (and, world’s wealth) at such a rapid pace that it can’t be spent fast enough to provide economic multiplier effect.
According to this report, Washington is not even in the top ten for “Business Tax” rankings.
http://www.andersoneconomicgroup.com/Publications/StateBusinessTaxRankings.aspx
And while high sales tax has a relatively large impact on the poor and middle class, it has a very small impact on billionaires.
Also, many of the big ticket items that billionaires buy (eg, yachts, helicopters, etc) need not even be purchased in Washington state so Washington state sales tax can be avoided entirely. In fact, if they buy an item like a yacht outside the US and register it outside the US, they might avoid not only sales tax, but “use tax” as well.
Unlike the rest of us, billionaires have full time accountants to figure this stuff out.
And there is a reason they live in Washington and its not because they like rain.
Thanks for the link. The ideology of the local newspaper, the state’s governor and the regional Chamber of Commerce has led them to erroneously identify the tax climate. What a surprise.
They may not be in the top ten for business taxes, but that leaves 40 spaces to fill. The poor business climate in Washington is why Boeing moved their headquarters to Chicago and built a new plant in South Carolina. No you can’t buy a yacht or anything that needs to be licensed somewhere else and avoid state sales tax. The second you license it in Washington you’d better have a check ready for sales tax due on the full purchase price.
Median wage in S.C.?
I wish to disagree w/the statement “Washington has 13 billionaires. Not one of them–including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos–pays a dime to the state.”
This is patently false. They own a hell of a lot of property, they pay gas taxes and whatever other taxes the state collects and I bet they pay a significantly amount more than you or I do.
Look how Hillary pushed her “soak the rich” policy while piling up Clinton cash. That worked well didn’t it?
And one more point if I may. Your logic is faulty. People like you live in a state (NY) which has an income tax because people voted to elect people who put the income tax in.
People in states like New Hampshire refused to listen to Income tax and sales tax proponents so they have neither.
And now look at New Hampshire. Great schools, booming economy, great environment. Modest homes for the most part because property tax is the major source of funding. Look at where I come from- RI –we don’t even have a budget..
The self serving speaker closed the session abruptly. And RI has Income Tax, Property Tax, Car tax, schools in trouble, economy in the dumpster and a state gov in limbo!
As for your big ticket items like the “yacht tax”reference, Heintz Ketchup hubby former Sec of State, John Kerry who lives in MA puts his yacht in a RI Newport location because he pays no taxes here in RI on it…no yacht taxes.
DeeDee,
You are right. Those billionaires certainly pay a gas tax when they fill up their tank. But they don’t pay a penny of income tax.
Did you get the news that the election is over and Putin won?
lol! not disagreeing- just saying…
And look who he put in for education: isn’t she just the image of “public ed?”
But it is not Reps alone -Democrats too don’t pay-this millionaire thing is bipartisan- both sides play this game of using their lawyers to pay as little as possible
Dee Dee- Didn’t Romney criticize 47% of of Americans because their incomes were too low to pay federal income taxes? The total tax bill of the rich may be high but the 5 richest men in the world (Gates among them) each have wealth equivalent to 750,000,000 people. The total taxes paid by the 750,000,000 may not be much because they have nothing. You can’t get blood from a turnip and slaves don’t pay taxes, by definition.
The statement “not one of them pays a dime to the state” was CLEARLy in reference to state “income tax”. It is in its own paragraph which includes the immedfiately preceding statements “The legislature does not want to impose an income tax. There is no state income tax.”