Thank ACORN: Subsidized by Federal Taxpayers, Teachers’ Union Dues

I’d like to take the opportunity this morning to thank ACORN — Say what? Yes, thank ACORN … not only for exposing your own corruption but also for helping to remind us that the federal government is overflowing in tax dollars far beyond any rational sense to redistribute the money in any sensible (much less constitutional) way and that one hand of the D.C. bureaucratic monster scarcely knows what the other is doing. From today’s Washington Times:

Nearly $1 million in Homeland Security funding typically earmarked for fire departments has been awarded to ACORN, despite a clear signal from Congress that it intends to cut off federal funding to the embattled group.

The grant to ACORN’s Louisiana office became public on Oct. 2, less than three weeks after the House and Senate voted to cut off ACORN funding after employees were caught on video advising a fake prostitute and pimp on scams.

It was one of only three such grants issued to the state and made up almost 80 percent of the firefighting money earmarked for Louisiana, prompting one of the U.S. senators from the state to demand that the funds be taken back.

Fire prevention, eh? Perhaps ACORN plans to use the money to put out the flames of well-earned bad press coverage. Seriously — hadn’t Congress taken care of eliminating federal tax subsidies to this corrupt group? Nope, apparently not.

Yet what you pay in taxes is not the only way you may be unwittingly subsidizing ACORN. If you are a public school employee and pay dues or fees to the National Education Association, you too are in on the gig.

Check out yesterday’s column from Association of American Educators executive director Gary Beckner explaining how NEA “has been a regular donor to ACORN since 2002.” If this troubles you particularly, please also visit the Independent Teachers website (and while you’re there, look around for more information on membership options available to Colorado public educators).

Meanwhile, the rest of us will just focus on being incensed at the horribly mismanaged and oversized federal government — and ask whether our elected officials like appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet are interested in doing anything about it. After all, it’s not just ACORN….