Math Lesson For Reg Weaver

Once again, National Education Association President Reg Weaver needs to be educated. The subject for today is Math. It seems that Reg can't multiply.

Weather he likes it or not, your EdWonk is forced to pay dues to the N.E.A. This Union is both notorious for its profligate waste of dues money and its liberal views. The NEA routinely gives generous financial support (After all, its not their money.) for Democratic candidates to state and federal offices.

The NEA also has a highly inflated view of itself. Like all other members of the NEA (forced or not) the EdWonk receives a pamphlet that is just full of NEA propaganda. The pamphlet is distributed eight times per year. Each issue of this pamphlet, which is called, "NEA Today" has as its lead feature an article by Reg Weaver himself.

After informing us of July's 9000 person all-expenses-paid event in Washington, (that he refers to as a "Representative Assembly" and we hear at The Education Wonks refer to as a Junket) Weaver goes on to let us know that, "NEA has 2.7 million members." According to Weaver, "That's roughly 1 in every 10 Americans." Now your EdWonk is not a math expert, really, but he can do the usual addition, subtraction, division, and..........multiplication.

Given that there are about 270 million people in The United States, the EdWonk knows that 2.7 million members does not equal 1 in 10 Americans, but 1 in 100. Furthermore, since your EdWonk is in a mood to multiply, he would like to multiply the number of members by the dues that each category of member pays.

But the NEA's own website lacks any financial information whatsoever. There is no budget, no breakdown of dues, no listing of expenses, nothing. Perhaps Mr. Weaver's lack of math skills is indicative of another problem: The NEA cannot spell the word accountability.

http://www.educationwonk.com