Blame The Right Person For The Food Stamp Cuts

Fred Klonsky points out that Katie Haycock of the Education Trust - a Gates and Broad Foundation-funded education deform group - is blaming teachers unions and teachers for the $12 billion cut from food stamps by Congress and the administration as an offset to the $10 billion they provided for states to rehire laid off teachers.

Here is some of what this vile woman is saying:

Though many in the education community are celebrating last week's Senate vote for the so-called Edujobs bill, I can't find any joy in it. In fact, I am shaken and ashamed because, to pay for it, the Senate snatched $11.9 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

That's right: They cut food stamps. For the first time ever, this move would gouge the monthly benefits that low-income families receive. Beginning in 2014, America's poorest families will--if the House concurs during a special session this week--see $59 disappear from their food stamp benefits every single month.

...

Politicians know that there are less ruthless ways to pay for this than by slashing food stamps. Oil and gas and other corporate subsidies, for example, could withstand the blow far better than the poorest people in this nation. But families who rely on public support don't wield much political influence. After all, when you don't have enough money to buy your children dinner, it's hard to find room in your budget for a lobbyist or a fat campaign contribution.

Most shockingly of all, the education community--particularly those who assert that it's all but impossible to teach impoverished children who come to school hungry or overwhelmed by family stress--is cheering the passage of this bill with its hateful trade-off. We'd all do well to remember this proposal and those who supported it the next time teacher union bosses assert that they are fighting for what's best for our nation's poor kids.

Uh, Ms. Haycock, you do know the person who insisted that the offset for the teacher money come from food stamps was Barack Obama, yes?

David Obey was going to take some of the money for the teacher bill from Race to the Top but Obama threatened to veto any bill that took money from RttT.

When Obey said, "Okay, where do you want me to get the offsets from?" Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told him "Food stamps."

And so that is what happened.

I was outraged by it (I have posts here, here, here, here and here expressing my outrage) and I know other education bloggers and teachers who were as well.

It is true the teachers unions did not put up a fight against the food stamp cuts, but it is also true that the reason the cuts happened is because BARACK OBAMA INSISTED UPON THEM.

You all need to call and leave the vile Katie Haycock a message about the lies she spewed on Huffingtonpost about teachers being responsible for the food stamp cuts.

Here is her voicemail:

202/293-1217

You will be asked for a voice mail extension. You can type in the last name of Ms. Haycock and get her voice mail box and leave her a message.

I already have.

She should hear more.

Either she is deliberately lying to tar unionized teachers as evil people who steal food from poor people or she is ignorant of the fact that Barack Obama was the guilty party.

I suspect given her association with Eli Broad, Bill Gates and other union-bashers, she is doing the former in order to smear teachers and teachers unions.

Either way, she is wrong and she needs to be set straight.

Also, it would be nice if the anti-teachers union shill Ariana Huffington stopped allowing misinformation and lies to be published on her site.

But apparently if you are anti-teacher, you get to say pretty much any old horseshit on Huffingtonpost and never get called on it.