Reading between the lines - the Democrats and the Unions

Heh -- sometimes reading between the lines is a lot clearer than reading something at face value. From The Washington Post:

Obama proposes 'No Child' overhaul
President Obama proposed overhauling the No Child Left Behind law that was his predecessor's hallmark education initiative, aiming to eliminate several of the measure's controversial mandates on public schools but adding new ones.

And the money quote:

The proposal would authorize $29 billion in aid for schools, a 16 percent increase. Most of the new money would be delivered through competitive grants, rather than formulas that would spread it more evenly among states.

"Schools that achieve excellence or show real progress will be rewarded," Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, "and local districts will be encouraged to commit to change in schools that are clearly letting their students down."

The president telegraphed his position on a stringent accountability policy March 1 when he expressed support for a decision to fire the staff of a struggling high school in Rhode Island, enraging teachers unions. However, Obama pledged in the Saturday address to treat teachers "like the professionals they are."

Teachers union leaders reacted skeptically.

Obama's plan "appears to place 100 percent of responsibility on educators and gives them zero percent authority," Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said after being briefed by administration officials.

Emphasis mine. We really need to break the vicious cycle between the Democratic Government and the Unions. The Unions bargain with the Democratic politicians at every level and say, basically, the following: "Give us these benefits and we will vote for you en bloc." This keeps the Democrats in power. Unfortunately, neither side will own up to the fact that the pensions and benefits awarded are vastly larger than the wages earned and the contributions made by the union rank and file. This is all a Ponzi scam to keep the Union officials and the Democratic politicians in office and the bubble is starting to burst big-time... Now that the teachers may find themselves fired for poor performance or find their benefits up for re-negotiation, they are a bit more than skeptical. Heh...