Obama simple math
īefore you knew it, Common Core was everywhere: The Gates Foundation gave $2.7 million to help 24 states write their Race to the Top application, which ran an average of 300 pages, with as much as 500 pages for an appendix that included Gates-funded research.
It was also a tantalizing incentive for cash-strapped states. It was a clever way around federal laws that prohibit Washington from interfering in what takes place in classrooms. Under the contest rules, states that adopted high standards stood the best chance of winning. They created Race to the Top, a $4.3 billion contest for education grants. They figured out a scheme that avoided a lot of scrutiny, avoided Congress, and avoided the law.ĭuncan and his team leveraged stimulus money to reward states that adopted common standards. Several top players in Obama’s Education Department who shaped the administration’s policies came either straight from the Gates Foundation in 2009 or from organizations that received heavy funding from the foundation.īefore becoming education secretary in 2009, Arne Duncan was chief executive of the Chicago Public Schools, which received $20 million from Gates to break up several large high schools and create smaller versions, a move aimed at stemming the dropout rate.Īs secretary, Duncan named as his chief of staff Margot Rogers, a top Gates official he got to know through that grant. While the Gates Foundation created the burst of momentum behind the Common Core, the Obama administration picked up the cause and helped push states to act quickly. President Obama seized the opportunity to push something through without congressional input. Gates’ influence permeated the administration. Money flowed to policy groups on the right and left, funding research by scholars of varying political persuasions who promoted the idea of common standards. With more than $200 million, the foundation also built political support across the country, persuading state governments to make systemic and costly changes. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation didn’t just bankroll the development of what became known as the Common Core State Standards. That’s the point of a superb article published recently in the Washington Post. Here’s what happened, according to the Post: And of course – this is the Obama administration we’re talking about – without the cumbersome, annoying intrusion of democratic processes. Through a combination of lavish spending by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and swift movement by the Obama administration, the Common Core standards that have now become so controversial were instituted pretty much before anyone knew what was happening. It seems that way, right? Well, that’s because it is that way. The whole thing just materialized before we got a chance to think about it! This is simple math,” he said.It seems like the new Common Core educational standards suddenly appeared out of nowhere, doesn’t it? All of a sudden, every kid was getting a Common Core education. Though Obama appealed to both Democrats and Republicans throughout the address, his tone demanded immediate action in favor of the bill.Īfter asking Congress members rhetorically whether they should keep tax breaks for billionaires or put teachers back to work, the president indicated there was little room for compromise. Other aspects of the bill include rebuilding broken infrastructure, modernizing at least 35,000 schools and reforming healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The bill proposes tax cuts to small business owners who hire new workers or raise workers’ wages. Obama appealed to Republicans to support the bill by emphasizing a need to make life easier for job creators. “You should pass this jobs plan right away.” “It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services,” Obama said. The American Jobs Act proposes the creation of jobs for construction workers, teachers, veterans and the long-term unemployed, as well as the extension of unemployment benefits and the reduction of payroll taxes for employees and small businesses. In light of the media attention that has focused on the partisan politics surrounding the upcoming 2012 election, Obama demanded that Congress “stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy.” The American Jobs Act is a $477 billion package that is intended to boost job growth and consumer spending in order to revitalize a stagnating economy. President Barack Obama demanded immediate action in favor of a proposed jobs bill during an address to Congress Thursday evening.