USA: 2015 budget unsatisfactory, say teacher unions | WPN World People News

EI’s national affiliates, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), have slammed the budgetary proposals contained for 2015 put forward by the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

Despite fierce opposition, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Ryan's fiscal 2015 budget on 10 April. The vote was 219-205.

AFT: 2015 Ryan budget hits low and middle income earners

“It's a road we've been down before,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten when about Ryan introduced his 2015 budget proposal, titled ‘The Path to Prosperity’, on 1April.

The Ryan plan is “an affront to the nation's middle class and those who are trying to climb the ladder of opportunity”, she wrote in a letter sent on 9 April to the U.S. House of Representatives. ”By slashing education, job training and hunger programmes; raising taxes on the middle class, ending the Medicare guarantee, and dramatically cutting Medicaid, the Ryan budget dismantles the ladder of opportunity for low- and middle-income Americans. At the same time, the Ryan plan offers tax incentives to corporations to send American jobs overseas while also raising middle-class taxes to cut tax rates for the wealthy.”

NEA: Budget jeopardises the American dream

“Chairman Ryan’s budget sets the wrong priorities for Americans, jeopardises the American dream for millions of families, and takes the country in the wrong direction,” said NEA President and EI Vice-President Dennis Van Roekel in his statement issued on 1 April. “Unfortunately, his latest budget follows on the same harmful footsteps of his three previous budgets.”

He went on to underline that times are tough for working- and middle-class families, and that Ryan’s budget would make times tougher. According to Van Roekel, Ryan’s budget is an American dream killer: Americans are looking to Washington to stand up for them, to create opportunities for economic prosperity, and ensure a brighter future for the next generation, and Ryan’s budget, unfortunately, falls far short.

“In order to provide more tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest, the Ryan budget once again would impose deep cuts on education, health care, and retirement programmes,” Van Roekel added.

“The US needs an economy that works for everyone, not just the wealthy. The NEA looks forward to working with Congress and the President to give all families a fair shot at reaching the American dream,” he concluded.

EI: Time to stop using economic crisis as an excuse for cuts

“We firmly support our American colleagues in their struggle to ensure a decent funding for public services, especially in the education sector,” said EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen. “The financial and economic crisis continues to be used as an excuse to cut public spending in schools and teacher training. On the contrary, now is the time for governments to invest in quality education to ensure their countries’ prosperous future.”

Source: Education International