Posted on 06/17/2006 5:15:15 AM PDT by wintertime
Define "exorbitant". Who decides what is exorbitant? You? The media? Class warfare mongering liberals? What do you mean by "only a few"? Get real.
"...but the average joe is lambasted for the same ambitions?"
More nonsense. This has nothing whatsoever to do with "ambitions", and face it; the "average Joe"'s salary isn't paid by the taxpayers. If I have to explain the difference, let me know.
A major reason for that is the large number of women of childbearing age in the profession. A lot of maternity leave in that demographic, not to mention staying home with sick children.
I don't think it's a matter of people begrudging teachers and the like (this article isn't about dockworkers, mechanics or other gainfully-employed people). Rather, it's more of a reaction to the constant whining that the teacher's unions make about wages. I could understand if those wages were paid solely by the people using their services, but as one that has no children in any school, I am strongly opposed to the betterment of teachers' salaries when it means that I must have even more money stolen from my paycheck each week to support them.
The mechanic has his wage, and I can take or leave his services. The executive has his, and I can choose whether to buy the product or invest in the company. But that choice does not exist in the public education world. Instead, the taxpayer is tapped for a continuously larger portion of their income to support a system from which they receive NO benefit.
So you see, much of the begrudgement that you observe has nothing to do with people wanting a higher wage - most of us would gladly have a higher wage. Rather, it is about the idea that the wage exists outside of the marketplace and is paid out of confiscated funds rather than out of funds willfully paid by those that benefit from the service.
section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code
The first $1 million in compensation can be expensed normally. Anything over $1 million must come from after-tax income.
Well, since I just finished my first year teaching you would be correct. I don't know that many teachers. Here is my premise: Don't assume that all teachers are poor preformers, and that they whine about their salaries. I gave up a legal career to become a teacher, and took an enormous cut in pay. Why? Because, like many of you I felt there was a problem in the public school system. So, instead of coming onto some board and complaining about it, I decided to put my money where my mouth is, and am attempting to do something about it, one student at a time. Believe, me I didn't get into this profession for the money.
Well 1 more word -- $400,000,000 -- The amount of money given to 1 EXXON employee as a parting gift, while the oil industry was accepting fed tax subsidies and pushing their "low profit margins".
Yet no one word from you complaining about the tax subsides. You blame Exxon rather than the government that grants certain businesses unfair competitive advantages with your tax dollars. Are you ignorant or chanpion of big-government fascism?
Actually, you are lucky that your allowed the choice of joining the union or not. In Pennsylvana, you do not have a choice.
There is ONE CEO of Exxon. There are maybe a couple hundred people total who can do his job. There are several hundred thousand teachers. There are 10s of millions who can do their job. When you can do the CEO's job, you will get his pay and perks. It is utterly absurd to compare teacher to CEOs.
1. Give every teacher in this country a 50% salary increase, effective September 1.
2. Now make them pay for health care like everyone else in private industry.
3. They can have their summers off but that will count against retirement. Or they can work in the school teaching summer school to students that don't score well enough on the new tests.
4. There is no accumulated sick time or vacation time. When you leave, you leave with your pension which you will now contribute to.
Need more coffee....
Maybe, just maybe, b/c those few are considered worth those salaries by those who pay them.
As far as the "average Joe", the tax returns and history books are filled with men and woman who went on to earn "exorbitant" salaries.
As far as the average Joe even having the same "get-to-work-before-dawn-get-home-from-work-after-dark, 80+ hour work weeks, 24/7" ambition...well, everything in this life has a price. And, if the truth be told, 98+% of us just don't want to pay it.
You missed the point.
Teachers salaries, predominately paid for out of the taxpayers pockets, are frequently higher than the salaries of "the average Joe" in many places and I would venture to say that their health and pension benefits are almost always better than "the average Joe". That's the point.
And, as far as the total financial burdern to the country there are a few exhorbitantly greedy corporate CEOs and hundreds of thousands of teachers - so which do you think has a larger financial impact on all of us?
Ha! Ever hear of banks? Wall Street? Pension Funds? Insurance funds? Bond holders? Board of Directors? Middle Americans and their IRAs?
It happens every year. They used to get a lot of them in the first 3 years, before they got tenure.
New hires don't get tenure anymore in my state, but I know there were several teachers at my school who weren't offered contracts for next year.
I'll grant that it's much harder with people who have been in the system for years...
I wonder what percentage of your local school board's budget goes to pay teachers?
Many districts have a really top-heavy organization, and you wouldn't believe all the administrative people at the board office "supporting" the teachers...
In all of America, how many teachers make on or about, or expect to be making in the foreseeable future $70K? In all of America, how many business CEOs retire with $400M?
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