Are Teacher Unions the Fourth Branch of Government?
The effect of private special interests on government operations and decision-making is hardly a new topic, or a partisan one. People all along the political spectrum have complained that too many policies are designed to benefit the connected few instead of the huddled masses. But the images we associate with such occurrences are backroom deals, smoke-filled rooms and envelopes under tables. Backroom deals arent usually announced afterwards with press conferences. Except nowadays, in places like California, where the new governor introduced his education budget proposal after a series of negotiations with the California Teachers Association (CTA). The mandates of state law would have increased spending on public education by $4 billion next year. However, the governor, with the concurrence of two-thirds of the legislature, has the ability to declare a fiscal emergency and suspend the funding guarantee. Instead, Gov. Schwarzenegger called in CTA officers and cut a deal, providing only
