Stan Geiger

Boren's Propaganda

While doing some channel surfing yesterday, I came across an edition of Oklahoma City Metro on OETA. OU President David Boren was a guest on the show. He was hawking his new book promoting bipartisan cooperation.

I find Boren's promotion of bipartisan, everybody-get-along, politics of late interesting. For many years, Democrats owned the state government. And the Democratic Party is attached at the hip to the education lobby. Now that Republicans have control of the House and threaten to gain control of the Senate, Boren seems all too interested in making nice-nice with conservatives.

Are educators worried their gravy train might be making its last stop, do you reckon?

Anyway, the topic of a shrinking middle class was brought up by the interviewer, Gerry Bonds. According to Boren, the top 10 percent of the top 1 percent saw an average income increase of $4 million last year. He said the top 1 percent saw an average income increase of $1 million last year. That while, he said, 90 percent of the country experienced a decline in their real disposable income, or, if you will, standard of living.

So far so good. The above gives exposure to the ever-growing lack of wealth distribution in this country. And one of the big reasons the gap between the rich and the rest has to do with tax policy. The nobility is under-taxed; the working and middle classes are overtaxed.

But Boren lost me when he said 90 percent of "us" have seen a decline in our ability to make a living. Us? Boren knows damn well he's in the top 1 percent. He gets paid with tax money---and has since he's been old enough to shave---yet he is one of the richest people in the land. For him to paint himself as an average working stiff, part of the lower 90, just trying to scratch out a living is absurd.

This is one of the ways the political-educational complex works. Take an educator, put that educator on TV, then let that educator spread a bunch of crap about how public educators are dedicated "public servants," practically donating their time and grand expertise for the good of society.

Aside from a very select few, people employed in public education are better compensated than anybody in the state. That's the real truth.

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