Goldwater Institute sets teachers straight on pay complaints

Frequently mistaken for a conservative organization, the Goldwater Institute (GI) is deeply rooted in fiscal Libertarianism, which has no social component, ie: it is not pro-life. At one time, it rated state legislators with its highly anticipated Legislative Report Card, which has been replaced by a “Donate Now” tab. Goldwater also  took positions on ballot issues, but those days are long gone.  Taking positions means offending some donors, which is not a smart business model.

The person answering the phone was new enough not to have been aware that GI gained its political creds and respect within the state for its list of top legislators and promotion of ballot  issues it deemed worthy.

During the 2016 election cycle, GI took no official position on ‘Legalize Marijuana,’ launched as Prop. 205. The ballot measure advocated recreational use, but was sold to voters as a medical necessity, allowing for the proliferation of dispensaries featuring ‘doctors’ who never saw a youthful patient who was not experiencing chronic pain. 

Voters rejected Proposition 205 in Arizona by a vote 0f 51.32% t0  48.68%. The proposition called for legalizing possession and recreational consumption of marijuana by those 21 and older. Medical marijuana was legalized in Arizona in 1996.

Neither did GI take a position on the disastrous minimum wage hike that actually caused many low wage workers to lose their jobs when their small business employers were forced to reduce staff as salaries were artificially and incrementally hiked. 

Proposition 206 increased the Arizona hourly minimum wage from $8.05 to $12 by 2020, forcing employers to provide additional benefits and exceed the federal minimum wage of $7.25 jumping pay to $10 soon after the election. In numerous instances, this overreach actually defeated the intent of the proponents of the new law. It passed by a vote of 58.33% – 41.67%.

Goldwater Institute is a behind-the-scenes proponent of illegal immigration, which its Chamber of Commerce donors — many illegal labor profiteers — support. The group even hammered Sheriff Joe Arpaio in two separate reports in which they castigated him for enforcing the law.

But veering into the realm of education, attorney Victor Riches, President and CEO of the Goldwater Institute, gets it right with his column, “The Truth About Teacher Pay.”

As the father of nine children, he knows a thing two about his subject and who is responsible for setting teachers’ salaries — a pertinent fact which even the striking teachers abysmally lack knowledge, though they can teach climate alarmist/pseudo scientist Al Gore‘s science of global warming …er… climate change and recycling while omitting cursive as they short shrift American history, Constitutional studies and classic literature.

 We encourage you to read Victor Riches’ article.