Here's what I'd ask him if I could:
"Mr. Tillerson, in 2012, you received total compensation equal to $27.4 million.
"In 2011-12, the average public school teacher's salary was $55,418.
"Mr. Tillerson, do you believe that what you do is 494 times more important than what a teacher does?"
Yes!
ADDING:
In 2013, the teachers unions spent an unbelievably ginormous amount of money on political lobbying: $2,074,187! Clearly, this is an outrage and must be stopped at all costs, lest we lose more of our nation's precious snack-cakes!Here is how else Exxon spends its dollars, and what it receives in return:– Exxon spent $12,970,000 on lobbying in 2012 to protect low tax rates and block pollution controls and safeguards for public health. In the first three months of 2013, Exxon spent $4.84 million lobbying.– The company sent $3.6 million in total political contributions to PACs, candidates, and outside groups for the 2012 election cycle, and 89 percent of contributions went to Republicans. It has spent over $76,000 for the 2014 cycle so far.– Exxon receives an estimated $600 million in annual federal tax breaks. In 2011, Exxon paid just 13 percent in taxes. The company paid no federal income tax in 2009, despite $45.2 billion record profits.– In the first quarter, Exxon bought back $5.6 billion of its stock, or 59 percent of its profit, which enriches the largest shareholders and executives of the company.– This year, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson received a 15 percent raise to a $40.3 million salary.
In contrast, the gas and oil industry spent $71,097,273 on lobbying in 2013.
The usual suspects seem to be unaware of the fact that union dues are forbidden to be used for political campaigns. There is a federal law that bans union dues to be used for political campaigns. The union PACs are funded by voluntary donations. The NJEA haters claim that tax payer money is being used in political campaigns against blowhards like Christie. What the union haters fail to realize is that once a teacher is paid, that is their private money with which they can do whatever they damn well please. Of course, the GOP and libertarians feel that public employees have no right to unions or collective bargaining.
ReplyDeleteIt's not about the money G - it's about the chattel. That is, just like small town mayors that can also say they have no claim on your tax dollars, what both politicians and the NJEA DO have is "unfettered discretion" as to how it will be spent.
DeletePS. unfettered discretion is my new favorite term. I got it from Commissioner Cerf who reminded me that ed. admins in Camden had unfettered discretion to terminate untenured teachers with or without cause.
The item for discussion among corporate types on LinkedIn today was corp employers' propensity to favor candidates who are already employed over those who are currently unemployed. This quickly devolved into questions like 'who would you rather have? An employee who content with his accomplishments now or someone who knows he can do more given the latitude?' ( a polite way of saying given the absence of a jackass like you for a boss). I think THIS would be a great question for Mr. Exxon Jazzman.
DeleteThis is slightly off topic. I just found these videos of Arne Duncan caught by a citizen in a backdoor meeting with community leaders in Chicago. They were allegedly planning strategy for a school closing. The links are posted in the comments of an article on Arne Duncan's legacy in Education Week. Does anyone have more information about them?
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/JTbqr6-ry3A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTbqr6-ry3A&feature=youtu.be