Follow The Money

I hate to upset Matt Yglesias's delicate sensibilities, but when education is described as a $600 billion "sector," it's time to follow the money:

In 2002, Dick DeVos addressed the Heritage Foundation in D.C. His talk contained the following quotation: “…And so while those of us on the national level can give support, we need to encourage the development of these organizations on a state-by-state basis, in order to be able to offer a political consequence, for opposition, and political reward for support of education reform issues.

“That has got to be the battle. It will not be as visible. And, in fact, to the extent that we on the right, those of us on the conservative side of the aisle, appropriate education choice as our idea, we need to be a little bit cautious about doing that, because we have here an issue that cuts in a very interesting way across our community and can cut, properly communicated, properly constructed, can cut across a lot of historic boundaries, be they partisan, ethnic, or otherwise.

“And so we’ve got a wonderful issue that can work for Americans. But to the extent that it is appropriated or viewed as only a conservative idea it will risk not getting a clear and a fair hearing in the court of public opinion. So we do need to be cautious about that.

“We need to be cautious about talking too much about these activities. Many of the activities and the political work that needs to go on will go on at the grass roots. It will go on quietly and it will go on in the form that often politics is done – one person at a time, speaking to another person in privacy. And so these issues will not be, maybe, as visible or as noteworthy, but they will set a framework within states for the possibility of action on education reform issues.” 

[...] 

What’s in it for these high rollers?

The best known charter and star of the “Waiting for Superman” flick, The Harlem Chldren’s zone has $128 million in savings and investments invested in a hedge fund. The hedge funds charge 2% management fees and a 20% take of any profit earned.

Read the whole thing. Then tell me I'm being unreasonable when I question why billionaires are funding this clearly unworkable agenda.