Posted on 02/13/2011 10:00:14 AM PST by Leisler
May 2009. Back then there were 3,010 retirees earning $100,000 or more annually from CalSTRS. Earlier this month, the foundation obtained updated data from CalSTRS and the number has grown to 5,308 (5,309 if you count one woman earning $99,998.88). That’s a 76 percent increase. In less than two years. And that’s not all. The foundation, run by President Marcia Fritz, also requested a list of CalSTRS retirees earning $75,000 or more annually. Guess how many CalSTRS pensioners are earning between $75,000 and $99,999.99. 19,503. Combined you’re looking at 24,811 retired California teachers earning more than $75,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at taxdollars.ocregister.com ...
“I don’t begrudge some teachers making a nice retirement, the problem is that the funds were not set aside during the teacher’s earning years.”
The fact of the matter is that a teacher’s salary could not possibly fund this sort of retirement. A six figure pension off a teacher’s salary? What in the wolrd? Some people are obviously unshamely living high on the hog.
One’s retirement should be entirely of one’s own doing. The entire concept of a pension is, in my opinion, absurd. It’s an unfunded mandate with an expectation of success that is simply speculation.
And to do it with taxpayer’s funding is even more unjust and frankly egregious.
In my suburban Houston district, first year teachers with a Bachelor’s degree get $46,500. Yes, this is in Texas, where unions are weak and the cost of living is pretty low compared to other parts of the country.
The public employee vampires stike again.
Our son runs a business my wife and I started 50 years ago and he spends more time on paperwork in one day than I spent on all the monthly reports and let’s not talk about the check he writes to all the alphabet agencies while Calif pumps out 1,100 new bills a year...
I know with increasing med costs, dollar devaluation, and everything going up; it will never be enough but at least you know that it's not costing the school district.
Ya know, I think the Repubs in legislature got that one right in retrospect. If they had done the same in Calif years back, they wouldn't be facing the problems they now are. What do you think about TRS?
Minus 42 here this morn, but the cold weather is on it's way out. I'm seeing lynx on my trails every time I go out riding the skandic and the sun is so nice, life is good. I'm already thinking about planting tatoes, at least 400 lb of golds. I get these carrots from Stokes, (Magnums) in pellet form; best carrots I've ever grown up here. I usually plant 20K and then all the Indians & friends get all they want. Around 18 bucks for 10K seed. Everybody who has tried the seed likes how well they do; check those magnums out.
Thanks for the tips on the carrots. We’ve just run out this weekend after cleaning out the root cellar.
Lowest this morning was -43.9 degrees, but the sun is finally to the point where it warms the air inside the house. Wish I could get out more often myself, but I’m taking this master’s degree course that has evaporated most of my free time.
I’ll check out those carrots.
Absolutely ridiculous.
That is an outrageous sum of money.
No wonder states are going broke.
It’s time to outlaw labor unions for public employees.
If these teachers were retiring from private business they would expect no more than 1/4 to 1/2 of their annual salaries upon retirement.
Major corporations usually pay something on the order of 1.25% (or less) of the annual salary per year of service. At that rate, someone retiring after 20 years would receive and annual retirement of 25% of their annual salary. With the same multiplier it takes 40 years of service to hit 50%.
How much are these teachers making per year?
And how many years are they putting in to get $75K to $100K?
It would be interesting to hear your gardening experiences. Have you ever posted on the weekly garden threads?
Fact is they are sucking down on the teachers' pension fund ~ not that any of them are now or have been teachers.
I read through some of the comments at the article, with teachers trying to defend these pensions. One teacher cannot accept the fact that ALL of this is taxpayer money because she is insistent that SHE paid into (8%) every year for 31 years. She absolutely cannot understand that HER salary came from taxpayers to begin with.
And she's a teacher!
That helps understand why kids graduate without basic skills and abilities.
We camped like that when I was younger, but the wife wants the rolling house.
LOL
I can’t be sure what you mean, but teaching requirements work best if they are local and if there is competition. The politics of the situation is a giant conflict of interest where the teachers become the best organized campaign force and always support the board member most in tune with the union.
The result is a board that is beholding to the teachers, not the administration. Salaries are set, retirement programs are approved, and the taxpayer looks on from a position outside of the process. In a few districts, the people take back their authority but state and federal programs are in force and they dictate much of what the local districts can do.
Teachers have less in the way of options to express their individuality and students have to study more basics, but part of the problem is the teacher who “turns off” a student somewhere in the academic journey. These teachers do this by not being interested in what they are doing, not working hard enough at planning and presentation, and often not knowning enough about the subject themselves. The other part of the problem is that learning is not supported in the student’s life because of a variety of reasons depending on the family. These reasons are cultural and social. Parents do not demand that their kids learn and learn well. It is not politic to be that type of “tiger mom” parent. Kids believe they can learn and text their friends at the same time when we know they can’t even drive a car and text. A lot of kids sucumb to peer pressure to play more and study less and parents watch this and believe that social interaction is on a par with learning.
What will we do?
I understand your position, but a pension is simply one of the ways that a firm compensates the employee — and it compensates the long term employee better than salary. I only find fault with pensions that are not paid for by the firm out of current year profits. (Essentially your pension providing job has to be mathematical and determine how much money must be set aside each year from profits to provide the stream of pension payouts for the employee during the lifetime of the retiree. No problem so far. But public pensions took the easy way. The decided that future tax payers could handle the pension payouts. This is theft.
Most companies have moved away from the defined pension program in favor of letting the employee save from their own earnings. In this case the employer pays the pension money out to the employee each year and it is up to the employee to save rather than buy that new motor boat or car. Too many people do not set money aside for themselves. However again, the public employee — funded by the tax payer — should not have a right to dip into a future employee’s pay to fund their pension. These pensions, that are “under water” need to declare bankruptcy and settle. Anything else is theft.
So having defined the terms I can say that I agree completely with you as far as public pensions are concerned. But if they did them correctly, instead of mismanaging them completely there would be no issue.
My problem with central planning societies in general is that they don’t follow the rules and ethics of true businesses and inevitably end up stealing from someone (our kids) to pay for their mistakes.
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