The MSM parrots the union line that all the public employees are willing to 'sacrifice' in order to get the budget under control. The reality is these teachers are filing for the 'emeritus program' because they know once the FleeBaggers return, giveaways like this are OVER.
TEN days work per year for 1/3 of their yearly salary for THREE years???? To quote Obama, WTF? They get their generous pension and 1/3 of their salary for 10 days work? The AVERAGE salary of a GB public school teacher is $55,100 so I would think these teachers make in excess of $60k per year. One third of that is $20k divided by TEN DAYS IS $2000 PER DAY or $250 PER HOUR WORKED!!! Name me any private sector employee that offers this kind of benefit?
The truth is these teachers are not willing to make ANY sacrifice and they will suck the taxpayer dry as long as humanly possible.
On the plus side, there will be HUGE retirements in 2011 in schools, cities, towns, counties, and at the state level. Those high salaries will go off the books and be replaced with lower sslary and benefit costs. The pension system in Wisconsin for public employees is actually one of the best funded in the nation, so it is possible this bill will have VERY positive affects on community and school budgets in the next couple years because of lower salary and benefit costs.
Collusive bargaining that gave GB teachers this "emeritus program" with school boards bought and paid for with union cash are what brought us to this point. Stop the madness!
Doesn't matter what kind of meritorious award might be made, if that, plus your salary, plus some sort of government retirement EXCEEDS the total compensation allowed, you gots ta' give up somethin'!
Now this may be entirely too revolutionary for state and local governments ~ like they've gotta' compete hard for those $1 million a year EX school superintendents and stuff!
Nobody in line for those jobs ~ in a country with 7,000,000 CEOs!
You know, you could randomly select your superintendents out of the CEOs and probably do OK with no problem.
a lot of these programs were started to entice BAD teachers into retiring...since the union won’t let you fire them. This is the end result.
It is my understanding that Wisconsin’s funding is in pretty tough shape. Check out this link. I would be most delighted to be proven wrong! Thanks!
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/04/interactive-map-of-public-pension-plans.html
I have seen a variant of this “emeritus” deal elsewhere — in Arizona. It has outlived its usefulness. Times change.
Here’s how it went. It was not negotiated via unions. AZ’s teacher’s “union” presence is negligible, being a right to work state. Instead, 10-12 years ago, with the economy booming, with massive influx of population into AZ, there was a teacher shortage.
It created a vortex of need at both ends of the spectrum. The district in my community had long seen the benefit of phasing out older teachers at the high end of the salary schedule. The district figured they were saving money by raising high-end teachers’ salaries for their last year, which would have the effect of increasing their retirement income, which employers and employees had been “seeding” 50-50 throughout each teacher’s career . This incentive was meant to encourage high salaries out the door, to be replaced by starting-level teachers, thus saving the district money in the long run. So this policy was already in effect when the teacher shortage hit 10-12 years ago.
Then, with the massive influx of population, AZ’s teacher shortage was remedied by trying to KEEP teachers in place. So, for teachers our local district found to be strong, energetic leaders, they made a special provision to KEEP THEM ON STAFF, as backbone cadre to provide stability and continuity for the district in the face of all the rookies coming on board.
A provision existed in the State Retirement System whereby a retiree could not go back to work in the same job for six months after starting to draw retirement. A loophole was found and a consortium was formed that would “hire” retired teachers and “farm them out” to districts, so that they could continue working in the same job they retired from. Teacher shortages create schemes like this. The districts rehired the teachers at a 1/3 reduced salary and did not have to pay their retirement or their medical anymore, so they were able to keep selected veteran cadre on board w/o paying their former high-end salaries. It was a win-win situation. And the kicker is that it was a district prerogative, not a teacher prerogative. The district could tell teachers it didn’t want back, “No, we are not offering YOU these incentives”.
But now there is NOT a teacher shortage anymore, so that scheme has been COMPLETELY PHASED OUT.
The point is, that is the difference between union-negotiated benefit schemes and ones that came into being out of mutual necessity and benefit. The corollary to that point is that, left alone, the market works these issues out. Not so when unions are involved. Unions create disasters, not solutions.
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http://heraldnews.suntimes.com/4121999-417/poll-support-worker-protests-in-wisconsin.html
Outrageous!
And I suppose if the people protested at their homes or crashed a dinner party at their favorite restaurant, that would be harrassment.
Your math is off because a teacher that is going to retire is making more like 70-75-80k per year if the average is 55K
So these thieves will be making more than you think
An inside job robbing the public treasury via BS contracts signed with hacks who undoubtedly get bribes and kickbacks
not good. Democrats delay the vote, wisconsin Taxpayers May just Have Pay More in Taxes, Layoof more public workers including teachers. Because to many people have asked for retirement amounts that will break the back of the taxpayers.
Milwaukee County had a problem with the retirements whereby the Retiree could receive a Lump Sum Amount of in excess of 500,000.00 (someone from Wisconsin probably knows better what the average amounts were being given). Scott Walker became the Milwaukee County Executive just because of these Massive Lump Sum Payments. The virtually were emptying the tax base of Milwaukee county.
I spoke with my mother a former Milwaukee County employee, she was informed by a letter her pension would be cut 323.00. 50 Years of paying into the Milwaukee County Pension Fund and at the age 74 years of age she retired (2010). 40 years ago Milwaukee County required all employess to live within Milwaukee County - so we had to move from Waukesha County to Milwaukee County. Luckily the farm/farmland was being considered for Scotsland (Olympia Resort). Parents/grandparents made out on that one very good.
Yeah, double your pay, get full pension, and the best of vacation allotment and YOU too can 'sacrifice'!
That word really gets tiring, as if working for the government outside of military service is the ONLY way to sacrifice.
Am I reading this correctly? A year’s salary for 30 days of work spread out over three years? Seriously? How can I get a job like this. How on earth did this ever get approved in the first place? It’s insane!!!
Since bankruptcy is not an option...and should NEVER BE...there is no "higher, legal controlling authority" who can tell a state how they have to allocate their revenues and expenditures.
For decades, voters in Wisconsin sat on their asses and voted liberal Democrat.
People like me tried to warn them - and we were sneered at, mocked and made fun of.
Thus it’s really hard to feel sorry for the people of Wisconsin.
The unions (in every state) should have had their asses paddled years ago. Instead, it’s come to well entrenched minorities holding us hostage.
Yeah - it’s corrupt and immoral. But they’re going to get away with it. So what do you want me to say?
This wave of retirements happened here in NJ last year, thanks to our Governor Christie. Good riddance! Now they can retire to a state where their school tax bill ISN’T $7,500 annually.
Our teachers showed they would sacrifice nothing when they refused concessions, which resulted in a lot of un-tenured teachers being laid off. I guess they’re re-thinking the whole union gig; they can’t wait the years it will take before our school districts start hiring again. The retiring teachers often couldn’t be replaced due to the salaries/benefits of those who stayed.
A lot of the retirements were administrators as well; without a union to protect them they knew the game was up.
Oh there thinking their so cute.
Well laugh now you clowns.
With all these unfunded liabilities they’re going to bankrupt Green Bay.
And then a federal receiver is going to take over and all these fancy pension will go POOOF!
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Doing this reminds me of the current adminstration pushing thru the obambicare bill....doesn’t matter what teh people think...they are going to get theirs!
Now what was it about caring for the kids in this whole fiasco?????? Who some will end up paying for this luxury.
But good riddance to them.
This is why the Senate ‘rats are in Illinois.
They are giving the WI public union workers time to shore up their fiscal futures before the inevitable happens.