Funding Public SchoolsrnThe Michigan Modelrnby Greg KazarnWALL STrn-“immmm /,rn//^y//////^rnThe most telling moment in ‘The Agenda, Bob Woodward’srnbook on the Clinton presidency, occurs when the President-rnelect first realizes that Wall Street’s bond markets wieldrnmore power than he does as Commander in Chief of the lonernremaining superpower. “You mean to tell me,” Bill Clintonrnscreamed at his aides, his face turning red with anger and disbelief,rn”that the success of the program and my re-electionrnhinges on the Federal Reserve and a bunch of f- – -ing bondrntraders?” Woodward does not say whether Clinton acted on hisrncampaign promise to lower interest rates by going long on thern30-year U.S. Treasury bond for his own account. Presumablyrnnot; Hillary, after all, is the rainmaker in the Clinton family.rnThe subtext of Woodward’s book is that the bond market andrnthe Federal Reserve, in the form of Chairman Alan Greenspan,rnhold the real power. As the 21st century unfolds, all roads leadrnto Wall Street, even those associated with American education.rnNeoconservahve policy wonks may fantasize about privatizingrnthe little red school house or propose a “school choice” utopiarnthat resembles nothing so much as the liberal dream of busing.rnBut these think tank schemes, funded by non-profit foundations,rnare a sideshow; increasinglv, the public education agen-rnState Representative Greg Kaza (Republican-Rochester Hills)rnrepresents Michigan’s 42nd District.rnda is developed by corporations and implemented by polidciansrnwho need their campaign contributions.rnThe public education lobby is stronger, and more broadlybased,rnthan many of its critics realize. It includes not only familiarrnneoconservahve bogeys such as the teachers’ union, butrncorporations that support scams such as those found in thernCeorge Bush-created Goals 2000 (like School-to-Work andrnOutcome-Based Education). Neoconservative mythologyrnholds that the only bulwark against this state of affairs is the Republicanrnpolitician. But in the real world, these politicians dornnot wield the real power.rnBush wanted to be known as “the Education President,” andrnso does his successor. “Our number one priority,” Clinton toldrnthe Michigan legislature last year, “must be to make our systemrnof public education the best in the world.” Clinton was invitedrnto Lansing by Republican Governor John Engler, whose propertyrntax cut/school finance plan, called Proposal A and passedrnby voters in 1994, is seen as a national model by, among others,rnthe New York Times and National Review. “No challenge confrontingrnour state or the nation is more urgent,” Governor Englerrntold Clinton and lawmakers. “Where our children arernconcerned, our search is not strictly for a Republican solutionrnor a Democratic solution—but an American solution.”rnGovernor Engler invited Clinton to Michigan because thern18/CHRONICLESrnrnrn