Robert Pratt
Former Texas legislator, Agriculture Commissioner, and Comptroller Susan Combs has been nominated by President Trump to serve as an assistant secretary of the interior for policy, management and budget.
For those millions of Americans who have farms, ranches, resorts, oil and gas production, logging, and much more which is subject to control by the Bureau of Land Management and other federal agencies, Combs’ appointment by the President is good news.
Susan Combs is not sufficiently conservative in some ways and has a history of big government nanny-state policy such as telling kids what they can or can’t eat at school, Michelle Obama-style, but Combs’ is at heart a rancher and a strong supporter of business. Having her hand in policy, management, and budget at the Department of the Interior, the parent agency of the hated BLM, can only be a positive step.
Moving to another subject, Teacher unions and groups are now claiming that a proposal to end Texas taxpayers from subsidizing member management functions for their groups is an effort to silence teachers.
My what hyperbole we get from folks at the Association of Texas Professional Educators. What must these various unions and associations think of the real value to their members they provide if they believe members will go away if taxpayers don’t pay the cost for collecting dues? It’s not much of an organization if members are unwilling to pay their dues directly, outside of a paycheck deduction.
What these groups seem to really want is for taxpayers to be silent when it comes to public education and just turn over unlimited money and power to them, the credentialed classes.
Robert, why do you think that the teachers association are unions? Texas is a non union state. When I taught in Illinois that was a union state and I had to belong. Not here. Those associations fought for a duty free lunch for teachers(had to eat with students before and only 30 minutes which was taken up with helping keep order) and conference time for teachers and parents. I also paid my own dues either by check or you could have it taken out of your paycheck. Don’t understand your reference. I want taxpayers to support public education. No vouchers. Private schools do not provide services for special needs kids nor do they have to take behavorial problems. Enlighten me on your perspective. Maybe I’m not catching your point. This aunt of yours is public school all the way. Do I think that they can be improved? Of course. Betsy De Voss doesn’t know what she is doing.
The TSTA and AFT are official labor unions and to think otherwise is folly. They simply do not enjoy collective bargaining in Texas. Both of those large groups are units of national labor unions. Period.