Dems call for teachers’ raises funded by killing tax cut for wealthy

Democratic lawmakers are proposing a pay raise for teachers, and they plan to pay for it by eliminating a tax cut for the top 1 percent of earners.

The proposal would give states and school districts more than $50 billion over the next 10 years to “increase teacher compensation and recruit and retain a strong, diverse workforce.”

{mosads}Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Minority Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the new tenet of their “A Better Deal” economic agenda on Tuesday.

If we want our teachers – and our children – to succeed, we *must* give them the tools they need. That is the only path to improving our education system. #ABetterDeal https://t.co/QJ8qTkwj7E

— Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) May 22, 2018

“Instead of giving a tax cut to the richest Americans, we should give a pay raise to the teachers in this country who our students depend on to succeed — period,” Schumer said in a statement.

The proposal’s fund would also be put toward school infrastructure and resources.

Democrats said the move would protect teachers’ ability to negotiate better pay and conditions by supporting their rights to join unions and collectively bargain.

The proposal comes after months of teacher protests in a number of states for better pay and more funding for education.

It also marks an effort by Democrats to go after the GOP’s tax law that cut taxes across the board but has been criticized by liberals for giving corporations and the wealthy substantially larger cuts.