The Aspirations Tax

12 hours ago
5 min read

Where's your wallet right now? Better hold onto it. There's alotta business interests out there that want to get their hands on your money. And it's no surprise. Everything has a price tag nowadays. Well....almost everything.

They monetized domiciles, food and transportation. They cashed in on programs, products and services. They sold out entertainment, tourism and conveniences.

They marketed to insecurity, anxiety and fear of missing out. They put a price tag on our health, our vanity and our status. They turned mistrust, conflict and competition into profits.

What's still free? Air. Sunshine. Dreams. Passions. Legacies. Human potential.

When you think about it, so many of the things we pay for are a tax on our aspirations. Appearance? Comfort? Access? Success? If you want a leg up, they want you to pay up.

Think about it. Make time. We'll wait....because there's more....

Ready? Even the public institution of education has become big business:

Online diploma mills are pushing out degrees and certifications for a fee, with credit for "life experience" and "scholarship" enticements to lure well-meaning prospective students (customers) in.
Private interests are shamelessly dangling dollars, offering everything from "free gifts" to phony-baloney "educator awards" with strings attached that give them an inside track for influence and contracts.
Big name professional learning events are charging $600, $700 and more just to get a foot in the door. Why? Because people are willing to pay it. They know there are district P.D. dollars you need to spend. Add in transportation, lodging and meals and you can triple the cost.

I was at an event years ago, sitting with a state executive director and her staff with whom I was very close. In came the vice-president of a direct competitor of our national organization, throwing money around and making lots of noise. He eventually noticed us, and he came over to offer big promises to the affiliate leadership. Now, if you know me, you know I have no poker face, so when he saw my expression, he took direct notice. Introducing myself, he stood back to take in an eyeful of me, and with a feigned attempt at bravado, repeated my name as if he was considering its value, and then said, "I'm going to remember you." It was not meant to be a compliment! I smiled. "Is that right?" He had no standing and he knew it. And because I needed nothing from him, there was nothing he could do about it. He slithered off, and I never heard of him or from him again.

When we know our worth, it insulates us from high-pressure sales tactics. And until we start putting our professional learning money (district and personal funds) somewhere else, these money-grubbers will continue to treat our personal growth and professional development as their sales turf....and as our aspirations tax.

This is why respect for our profession is essential, and it's earned by the choices we make. Let our community be a respite from the pay-to-play messages bombarding us!

We don't have to pay anything to be loved, to stimulate our mind, to feed our spirit, and to recenter on the dignity of living life on our terms. There is no cost to find likeminded brothers and sisters, contribute time and energy to a cause, and feel the thrill of knowing we make a difference.

Being a consumer doesn't mean we have to be an easy mark.

What's our price? Businesses are counting on us having one, and they're spending much time and effort trying to figure out what ours is.

They call it the conversion, when they can turn their transactional "relationship" with us into a sale. That's the sum total of our value to them. Every handshake, every favor, every freebie is their way of setting us up to cash in.

ka-CHING!

Our aspirations aren't written into the IRS code. A tax on them can't be enforced. We have to allow it to be a thing. And why would we concede to that when we know our worth?

Refuse to be bought and sold. Keep sales and subscriptions on the other side of the line from our authentic selves. Basing success on "relationships" with big business is a lazy way to get things done.

When they wander off chasing someone else's money, who's left empty-handed and accountable? We are...and rightfully so.

There's no price tag on common sense, either. We find out quickly who our friends are by keeping our wallets in our pockets. Instead of throwing hard-earned money at empty promises from people who tell us anything they think we want to hear, we can invest in:

- our integrity,

- our self-worth,

- and our dreams.

This is the work of The Worthy Educator: championing what is best for children and the educators who serve them. Free of big-business-in-education and the entanglements that come with it, we speak with an open, honest voice, unencumbered by the obligations of being in anyone's pocket.

Our only mission is to serve mid-to-late career educators by following their energy, meeting the needs and interests of practitioners doing the real work in real schools. From our professional learning events to our original and curated content and our advocacy work, it's all free and it's all done in the spirit of respect and admiration for educators everywhere.

Consider our Roadmap 2031 initiative. It started with Town Halls going back to the fall of 2024, and it has built steam and capacity as more and more educators have joined in.

The clarity of vision that is emerging is going to result in a document written by educators, for educators. No outside-interests with ulterior motives; just real educators speaking with experience, passion and vision.

As we continue down the homestretch, Roadmap 2031 will be the crowning achievement of our work: a living, breathing document educators can implement in their work, share with stakeholders to build community support, and continue to contribute to as it evolves into the future.

While others got caught up in being wined and dined by edu-businesses, we went it alone, finding our voice to keep the focus on what's good and right about teaching. Fast-forward to today, and we're still leading with our one guiding principle - what's best for children - and not making a a profit off of it. We decide the priorities and the path forward. That's the source of our Roadmap. We are so proud of this work!

If you have time and interest, we invite you to join us. There's no cost for that, either; just the contribution of your time and experience and brilliance added to ours, as you can afford it. In return, we will support you in elevating your work and amplifying your voice!

No ka-CHING?

Nope. Just the pride and satisfaction of being a part of something bigger than ourselves; giving back by building a legacy for the future...all while keeping price tags off of fulfilling human potential. And look....no aspirations tax!