The Focus On Schools Heats Up!


Rapid testing for COVID-19 in school settings has shown once again that the teachers union’s stance on returning to school is not based on science, but on power. While many local teachers unions have demanded that all the staff be immunized before reopening schools, most schools which have reopened have not experienced any outbreaks.  The White River School District is conducting in-person instruction for 85% of its students, and its on-site rapid testing has found that “that COVID-19 doesn’t spread readily in a school setting.” In fact, some school officials now believe testing should be stopped because the costs outweigh the benefits. (Seattle Times)

A Democrat state senator has killed bi-partisan legislation which would have reopened schools in areas with low COVID-19 infection rates.  Senator Lisa Wellman (D – Mercer Island) is the Chair of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, and on behalf of her campaign contributors at the Washington Education Association (WEA), she killed bill SB 5037 which aimed to set scientific metrics for determining when Washington schools should reopen (as opposed to the current plan which effectively allows teachers unions to decide when in-person instruction can occur).  Many parents testified in favor of the legislation before Senator Wellman decided that no further action would be taken on the proposal.  To help understand why the senator would shut down bipartisan legislation supported by parents, it is helpful to look at Wellman’s Public Disclosure Commission reports (her 2016 and 2020 reports are linked here).  We see that the WEA (along with its friends in other state employee unions) always provide the maximum amount to Wellman’s campaigns, and also pours thousands of dollars into independent expenditures that support Wellman.  While scientific data and public health experts nearly unanimously agree that schools should reopen, and parents are pleading to have children return to in-person instruction, seemingly Democrat legislators are only willing to do what their financial backers at the WEA allow them to do. (Washington Policy Center, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Washington State Public Disclosure Commission)

The Walla Walla Union Bulletin says “the economic cost is too high” for Governor Inslee’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS).  In an editorial, the newspaper reiterated the facts that the expensive LCFS would add 57 – 63 cents to a gallon of gas (on top of one of the highest gas taxes in the country) and that it would place Washington State farmers at a serious competitive disadvantage. The financial impact of the governor’s special interest bill would be felt the hardest by those who are currently facing financial difficulties.  An LCFS would not only increase the cost of gas, as it would also increase the price of all goods due to higher transportation costs. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I Am the Tax Man, Ooo, Ooo Tax Man

Image
Source: ShiftWA.org A new report from the Washington Policy Center exposes a significant contradiction from a major promotor (and likely benefactor) of the Democrats’ Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) proposal.    Tim Zenk, a high-priced Washington State lobbyist for the Norwegian company Naste (which will financially benefit from the higher energy costs Jay Inslee wants to impose on Washington residents) testified at a state House hearing that California has lower gas prices now than when it passed its LCFS in 2011 (the truth is prices are higher).  Despite facts not being on Zenk’s side in WA, it also appears clear that his employer knows the truth about a cost-raising LCFS. After all, Naste representatives told California regulators not to impose a cap on how high an LCFS could increase fuel costs, and allow gas prices to continue to climb (and make it profitable for them to develop more expensive energy sources). Thus, while talking to Washington State lawmakers, Naste’...
Read more

The Outcome of the Lack of Accountability

Image
  Source: ShiftWA.org Governor Inslee constantly makes elusive and factually incorrect statements, and the local media fails to uphold its responsibility to point them out to the public (and to Inslee).    Consider a few of Governor Zero’s whoppers: his defense for having Washington State taxpayers fund security for his failed presidential campaign; him claiming ignorance of the forceful takeover of six city blocks (and a Seattle police precinct) by protestors; to his stubborn refusal to call a much needed (and legally required) special legislative session. In each of these instances – and many more – the Washington State media fails to hold the governor accountable for his misleading comments. Since there are no consequences for providing evasive responses and fabricating false scenarios to legitimate questions and concerns, Inslee will continue to make them. As a result, the public is not served, and our democracy suffers. ( Shift Article ) Governor Inslee announced the...
Read more

If Only The State Had More Data!

Image
Source:  ShiftWA.org Four regions in Washington State under Governor Jay Inslee’s random “Roadmap to Recovery” should be moved forward to Phase 2, if only the state used more accurate data.    This is the disturbing finding of a new report from the Washington Policy Center.  The four impacted regions are East, North Central, South Central, and Puget Sound.  Thus, residents in nearly all of Eastern Washington and in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, should be allowed to increase activities (i.e. indoor dining and entertainment could resume) if the state used current information and also eliminated a meaningless criteria.  The  governor’s plan uses four metrics  to determine each region’s phase: 1) trend in case rate; 2) trend in hospital admissions rate; 3) percent Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity; and 4) percent of COVID tests that are positive. Yet the state’s data for the first criteria (“trend in case rate”) is two or three weeks old....
Read more