In Oklahoma, there are conservatives who believe that the highest value is cutting taxes, preferably to zero. With tax cuts comes the collapse of public services, like public schools, law enforcement, and public infrastructure. Who needs teachers, Police, firefighters, highway repairs, etc.? So what if some public schools are open only four days a week? Why not three days? Two days? Or let the kids be home-schooled and save money?
So it is not surprising that anti-tax zealots are circulating a petition to block the pay raises won by a nine-day teacher walkout.
What matters most in Oklahoma? Low taxes for the oil and gas industry. Fracking. Dark Money.
“Lawmakers already passed a historic tax increase to fund those teacher raises, and it was signed by Governor Mary Fallin. But, it would only take a little over 41,000 signatures on an initiative petition to at least temporarily stop those raises from happening.”
Will the new Oklahoma motto be: We don’t need no education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I went to the groups FB page and they claim that they do want to fund education more, but do not affirmatively state that they want to raise teachers pay. They believe they can fund the agreed upon increases in spending by robbing Peter to pay Paul, by not raising taxes at all. Details are notably sparse on the FB page, and there is no website for them that I could find in a quick search, so who are they really? The info on what they profess to want is contained in a letter by some of their reps that can be found lower on the page. Stepping back from their claims, they seem immune to the idea that inflation exists, that to pay for what you want you have to produce revenue, trickle down works, their already lean government is bloated, yada yada etc. When you cut through the sales pitches, you are left with yet another example of the myth of the primacy of individualism which in reality is the ongoing effort by ideologs on the fringes of the right, Libertarians in particular, to further advance the Balkanization of the individual in favor of the collective influence and power of the wealthy. SOSDD. Their primary appeal to popular anger in attempting to manufacture opposition is that the voters were promised that no taxes would be increased, so this is their cover story. Bottom line, they are guilty of what they accuse liberals of, wanting all that “free stuff” paid for by someone else.
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About as ANTI-AMERICAN DREAM as you can get. No education means little or no ability to live, much less raise yourself and your family up.
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But that’s exactly what the Overclass wants.
Get it?
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We in OKC appreciate you all shining a light on this issue. I just received a text from the OKCPS and they will let us know by tonight if school will resume on Monday. I don’t understand the petition and the people behind it. But it is oil and gas that needs to be taxed.
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Ah, Oklahoma. That wonderful place that took Deborah Gist off of our hands here in Rhode Island. God bless them.
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If I am not for me, who will be?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
If not now, when?
—Hillel
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Priscilla,
Sorry I missed you in Santa Fe on Wednesday.
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No apologies needed. It was enough to be in the audience listening to you and Jesse that evening. A heartfelt thanks to you both…
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Thank you!
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We are currently taking names to see who will be responsible for turning off the lights after everyone leaves what used to be a great state in which to live.
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Outstanding.
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what’s a tescher?
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Good question. Fixed my error.
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Not to be too critical, but these people are decidedly NOT conservatives. We need to start calling them out by the true radical reactionaries that they are. The notion that taxes are theft or evil detracts from the ability to have a rational conversation about funding needed services.
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