Just a quick thought concerning the corporate plan for giving teachers a pay raise, courtesy of an insider at the capitol:
The Bill is written to pro-rate the raise for teachers providing that any and all teachers who are paid any portion of their salary with Federal Funds... shall receive a pro-rated amount as to the percentage of state funds used to pay the salary. For instance, a Title One reading teacher receiving his or her entire salary from federal funds would receive no salary increase from the state. A special needs teacher whose salary is paid with federal special ed. funds would receive no salary increase from the state. Just sayin...
Also in the Bill is the fact that No part of the amount of Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000) provided for each certified classroom teacher shall be used by school districts to fund the employer contribution payments mandated by "Law"... Correct me if I'm wrong, but this means public schools will be forced by corporate lawmakers to pay approximately $514.50 per teacher for the $3000 pay raise. So, a school with 100 teachers would pay $51,450 in extra charges, courtesy of our corporate lawmakers./
Also in the bill, The State Department of Education shall disburse these monies to local school districts... through the state aid formula... Correct me again if I'm wrong, but there are a couple dozen school districts in Oklahoma which do not receive funding through the state aid formula. If the raise for teachers is to sent to districts "through the formula", these locally funded districts will not receive the state monies for their teachers. Sorry, locally funded district teachers, you're out of luck. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is the corporate plan for providing some teachers a pay raise.
In my opinion, this bill to provide a pay raise for teachers is just one more way that corporate lawmakers using to "choke" public schools in Oklahoma. Of course I may be wrong, and the corporate lawmakers at the capitol just want to provide teachers a pay raise because they care...
Update: The front page of the Daily Joke (Oklahoman) says it all - NO DEAL, and if a picture is worth a thousand words... take a look: The photo portrays five corporate lawmakers (corporatists) staring in disbelief as their corporate tax plan is sinking like the Titanic. Unfortunately, the $3,000 teacher pay raise for some teachers... no longer has a funding source. Many public school supporters say it never did. The pay raise was predicated on the basis that regressive tax increases (sales tax and user tax increases) would pay for it. A regressive tax affects the working poor and middle income Oklahomans more than the wealthy and corporations. Back to the hilarious photo: By the looks on their faces, the corporatists can clearly see their "gravy train" screeching to a halt. The "corporate gravy train" would be $ hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions provided by the corporate oil and gas industry. I'm sorry, but this is a serious laughing matter for most Oklahomans. Those pictured obviously voted for the "corporate tax plan", which means no tax increases for corporations - but heavy tax increases for the working poor (teachers). Their philosophy toward teacher pay raises is it's OK for teachers to get a pay raise as long as teachers pay for it! They (the corporate lawmakers pictured) actually look like the coaching staff of the Sooners during the waning moments of the Iowa State game.
They are all back at work this morning though - another day, another dollar... or in a corporate lawmakers sense "another day, another $30,000 dollars", so all is not lost. The only loss may be for those corporatists (2 or 3) who voted no on the budget bill. I'll explain my line of thinking:
The Speaker and corporate leader McCall voted Yes on the bill. He desperately wants his corporate bosses in the oil and gas industry to know that he made a valiant effort in protecting their interests, that he fought the good fight. He has a super eyewitness to observe his efforts - his Chief of Staff, Rick Rose. Mr. Rose has a "day job" of defending poor "defenseless" oil and gas corporations from greedy farmers and land-owners who want to rob them blind. Mr. Rose is an oil and gas attorney who moonlights as McCall's Chief of Staff and is in reality McCall's boss. So, there's the "rest of the story for those who voted Yes on the bill.
Of course, sixteen Republicans broke ranks to vote No on the bill. Most voted No, because they did not want to raise taxes on the working poor and middle class - and they weren't paid off by the corporate oil industry. There were a couple, though, who voted no... but were paid-off to vote yes! I certainly would not want to be in those lawmakers' shoes as they face their boss. One gets the feeling that one at a time, each corporate no voter will be called into a darkened office facing only the outline of the boss. The boss will have a couple of henchmen, one on each side, and then begin the questioning. After about three questions, in which the corporate underling gives trembling answers, the boss hits a button which releases a trap-door directly under the corporatist's feet. The still-trembling lawmaker drops immediately into the alligator pit below. Such a sad story, but there is more news to come as the session grinds on.
What sounds too good to be true probably is, but a $3,000 pay raise for teachers could be on the fast track as the Senate is suggesting the House add 2% (not much) to the present 2% GPT (4%). The "do-nothing" Speaker McCall and his "do-nothing" House caucus, however, may not take the bait - as McCall has fought valiantly to prevent his corporate bosses from being taxed, and reject the Senate's suggestion. But he may "throw in the towel" and accept the 4% GPT, figuring that "protecting his wealthy corporate bosses is now a lost cause, and accept the Senate's offer of 4% GPT. Only time will tell...
Speaker McCall, aka Dapper Dan or The Atoka Strangler, must be high-fiving his corporate bosses since the 4% GPT was flushed town the commode - along with any small hope of teacher pay raises. Plan B, which was really Plan A for the corporate oil and gas industry, will now probably be triggered (literally for state services) since many will suffer massive cuts. Public schools will reportedly suffer what the Atoka Strangler calls "minor adjustments" a 3.1% cut, and a nada, zip, zilch pay raise for teachers. All is not lost, though, as Dapper Dan will reportedly see a hefty Christmas bonus, along with his crooked caucus. And out-of-state shareholders in the 7 working oil and gas wells in Atoka County, along with all Oklahoma oil and gas producers will see massive profits. We''ll continue to monitor the "super bowl" of special sessions on Monday AM, as our do-nothing lawmakers continue to gouge state tax payers for $30,000 per day...
Some factual afterthoughts after the oil and gas corporations have whined and cried their way to no increase in GPT: I know a retired teacher and oil royalty recipient who collects a mere pittance in retirement benefits ($2000 per month). Her "landowner" production check is $100 per month, but oil company "fees" take that total down to $70 per month. Among the "fees" is a "gross production" reduction of 2%, which amounts to $2 being deducted from the check. If GPT is increased to 4%. the resulting reduction from her check will be $4. So who really pays for the GPT increase? I'll give you a hint: It's not the oil producers...
Here's the resulting analysis - If corporate oil and gas producers receive an increase in GPT... THEY WILL PASS IT ON TO FARMERS, RANCHERS, RETIRED TEACHERS, AND OTHER MINERAL OWNERS. THE WEALTHY WILL BECOME WEALTHIER! Long live the corporate oil industry and their cronies...
The oil producers' cronies would be Dapper Dan and other corporate lawmakers, and corporate attorneys such as Dee Dee's Chief of Staff Rick Rose. Rose, an oil company executive attorney, regularly defends poor oil and gas producers against farmers and other mineral owners, but his day job as Dee Dee's Chief of Staff - is making sure the state legislature passes no law which would reduce Billionaires' piles of money. Heaven forbid, Billionaires could become less wealthy Billionaies if their piles were reduced - and the fallacy that drilling for oil and gas would stop in Oklahoma, and oil companies would leave the state - is a big lie perpetuated by the corporate oil industry and their cronies!
Last Update for the special session that wasn't...
After charging Oklahoma taxpayers almost half a million dollars to balance the state budget, corporate (not conservative) legislators did not do their job! It is now evident the state legislature (House and Senate) is clearly divided, with corporatist lawmakers on one side (dubbed the axis powers) and the constituent lawmakers (allies) on the other. The Axis Powers of the state legislature shouldn't be confused with the Axis Powers of WWII (Italy, Germany, and Japan) often called the Axis of Evil by the Allies (United States, Great Britain, and France), although they are similar. For instance, Italy was led by a dictator, Benito Mussolini, who considered himself a Corporatist. A Corporatist is a government official who rules a state by partnering with corporations. In other words the government for the people shares power with corporations. It is reasonable to assume then, that state legislators who share power, or equally govern with corporations be called the Axis Powers. They get their marching orders from corporate interests...
The Axis Powers, which includes some Republicans and a few Democrats, have successfully defended the oil and gas industry against GPT increases, unlike the Axis of Evil - which was soundly whipped by the WWII Allies. The Axis of the Legislature will now cut funding for state services such as the Department of Transporatation, Department of Corrections, our public schools, and all county and state health services.... and the Allies of the legislature cannot stop them. (Note: the Allies include all those conservative legislators who supported an increase in the GPT, both Republicans and Democrats.)
Another result of the Axis Powers' resounding victory is that teachers will probably not see a pay raise anytime soon. BTW, the cut to our public schools will probably be about 3.1%, which will amount to about $150,000 in state aid for Blanchard. The Axis of Power will now move on to more critical issues (for them), such as acquiring more tax dollars for private and corporate charter schools and consolidating our rural public schools, which you may read about in other posts...
Dead Last Update:
The Axis of Power (corporate lawmakers, corporate bosses, and their cronies) has looked over its shoulder while departing the scene of devastaion, and tossed Oklahoma teachers a bone (proposal for a $1,000 pay raise. While this proposal won't place teachers in the corporate oil and gas industry category, $1000 is most certainly a hefty raise (Corporate Lawmakers, 2017). Let's just look at what a $1,000 raise (about $1.50 a day) can pay for, and anyone with half a brain can see that it is a great raise. As a matter of fact, if OK teachers get that windfall - they will move from being paid dead last in the nation... to dead last.
If teachers are earlybirds and get that worm (to quote a recent TV ad), they will be able to pay the increased taxes on a pack of cigs (almost passed), or they may drink an extra can of strong beer from Wal Mart, or they may pay a small amount of the increased fuel costs, or they may use it to pay pay for the increased insurance costs... I could go on and on about the plethora of options teachers have for spending their $1.50 a day salary increase, but in the interest of time - I won't. I will make one more sarcastic statement, though, concerning the proposed $1,000 pay raise: This corporate pay proposal should certainly stem the tide of teachers leaving the state for better pay...
Super Dead Last Update:
In what could be the last day of the never-ending story.. the special session that not even a wooden stake can kill, the Senate is preparing to launch a Hail Mary to balance the state budget. The nuclear missile is aimed directly at the Corporate House Leadership and Corporate Representatives. The "budget plan" will increase taxes for the working poor and middle class Oklahomans by increasing the tax on a pack of cigs by $1.50, increasing the tax on a gallon of gasoline by 6 cents, and increasing many more regressive taxes (affects the poor and working Oklahomans more than the wealthy and Corporatists). It also increases the GPT from 2% to 4% for the first 36 months of an oil well's production, which will ensure that Oklahoma's GPT rate stays the lowest in the nation. Of course, we all know by now who really rules Oklahoma... I'll give you a hint - it's not Oklahomans. Or maybe it is.. two Oklahomans - Harold Hamm and Larry Nichols.
We will see what happens today - The "nuclear missile" will strike the target, and the Corporate House will fold under pressure by approving the measure or the Corporatists will survive to fight another day by rejecting it.
Super Duper Dead Last Update:
The Corporate House of Representatives or the Criminal Headquarters for the Underworld's Master Plan (CHUMP), has torpedoed the latest budget balancing teacher pay raise plan. Baron von Butcher (House Speaker) will now proceed to cut our state agencies (health care, safety, public schools, and transportation) to ribbons, and teachers will be unlikely to ever receive a pay raise. Corporate Lawmakers and other CHUMPs have succeeded in protecting the oil and gas overlords, like Milburn Drysdale (banker) protected Jed Clampett on an old Beverly Hillbillies episode. (Drysdale didn't want the Clampetts to leave town either).
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