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Teachers unions cash in at expense of food stamp recipients

Cold Highway

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The Senate last week passed their own version of the bill, which cuts $12 billion beginning in 2014 from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or “food stamps,” program
to help make the measure deficit neutral. Anti-hunger advocates and conservatives alike decried the move.

“We’re taking money from feeding poor kids so middle class teachers don’t have to look for jobs,” said Frederick M. Hess, director of the Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

The bill has spawned criticism from poverty issue advocates as well, who have voiced dissent over the depletion of funding for the food stamp program.

Where to begin? This is one of the reasons why entitlement programs should be killed at the federal level and left up to the states to decide. In addition this is why Unions should be left only to the private sector, if you dont like being on the public dime then join the private sector like the rest of us.

Teachers unions cash in at expense of food stamp recipients | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment
 
I don't have a problem with public service unions.

I have a problem with the weak-willed politicians who suck up to them and the idiotic electorate that keeps sending them back to the capitol.
 
nancy got it right:
“Why wouldn’t House Republicans want to keep 310,000 teachers, first responders and private sector workers on the job instead of on the unemployment lines?” Democratic House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
but prove her wrong and tell us why it is a good idea to not have teachers in the class rooms, firemen on their watch, and police on the beat
i look forward to your reply
 
nancy got it right:

but prove her wrong and tell us why it is a good idea to not have teachers in the class rooms, firemen on their watch, and police on the beat
i look forward to your reply

Sounds like someone is trying to over simplfy something again. Budgets always require choices.

BTW, how do we know it is a union cashing in? Is there ever any possibility that this is just good policy and not a pay off? Or even a bad idea, but not a pay off?
 
nancy got it right:

but prove her wrong and tell us why it is a good idea to not have teachers in the class rooms, firemen on their watch, and police on the beat
i look forward to your reply

Oh, yes, the sacred cow approach. Their salaries are out of hand. Their pensions are out of hand. Their administrative costs are out of hand. Time these workers lived like the rest of us. (I blame the bureaucrats and politicians for their being out of hand. But out of hand they are.
 
Oh, yes, the sacred cow approach. Their salaries are out of hand. Their pensions are out of hand. Their administrative costs are out of hand. Time these workers lived like the rest of us. (I blame the bureaucrats and politicians for their being out of hand. But out of hand they are.

Saleries are out of hand? Explain.
 
Saleries are out of hand? Explain.

Prefer to start w/pensions.

Pensions in the public sector are far different from the private sector. While most private sector pensions are "defined contribution," the public sector uses "defined benefit."

As an example, a teacher's retirement in Illinois is figured at 75% of the average of their last four year's salaries, after 33 years' service, at least age 55. The Chicago Tribune just did a Watchdog piece on teacher salaries/retirement benefits. Here's one glaring pension example:

Illinois teacher salaries: Some educators in suburban Chicago earning more than $100,000 - chicagotribune.com

Here he is identified:

Name Deleted -- You'll find it here: Illinois Pension Database :: Latest News :: PIONEER PRESS ::
School District--DuPage HSD 88
Salary at Retirement--$186,464.86
Retirement Date--7/1/2003
Age at Retirement--56
Early Retirement Incentive? No
Annual Pension--$138,871.68

What job in the private sector pays a pension like this? Members can retire at age 60 with 10 years of service and receive benefits that the member has earned. For example, ten years of service multiplied by 2.2% equals 22% of the final average salary. Senate Bill 1946 Teachers contribute 2% more of their salaries into their retirement program than Social Security recipients.

Teacher pension funds are under water throughout the country -- seriously underwater -- because of the onerously generous benefits guaranteed to them under state law. Our politicians sold us out. To meet the ridiculous promises made to these public sector employees made by politicians, state pension funds are investing in ever-more risky investment vehicles. A risky investment strategy is defined as investment in other than fixed income or cash. The top 25 riskiest public pension funds hold over 75% of their assets in these vehicles. Risky Business: Pension Funds With Less Than Conservative Asset Allocations : NPR Don't take my word for it. Google around for your own state. You'll see it.

Just plain old municipal pensions?

These pensions have the average working man drooling in envy. All at taxpayer expense. And each and every one of them are unsustainable. Add the deflation risk to the mix, and, well, hold onto your hat.
 
Prefer to start w/pensions.

Pensions in the public sector are far different from the private sector. While most private sector pensions are "defined contribution," the public sector uses "defined benefit."

As an example, a teacher's retirement in Illinois is figured at 75% of the average of their last four year's salaries, after 33 years' service, at least age 55. The Chicago Tribune just did a Watchdog piece on teacher salaries/retirement benefits. Here's one glaring pension example:

Illinois teacher salaries: Some educators in suburban Chicago earning more than $100,000 - chicagotribune.com

Here he is identified:

Name Deleted -- You'll find it here: Illinois Pension Database :: Latest News :: PIONEER PRESS ::
School District--DuPage HSD 88
Salary at Retirement--$186,464.86
Retirement Date--7/1/2003
Age at Retirement--56
Early Retirement Incentive? No
Annual Pension--$138,871.68

What job in the private sector pays a pension like this? Members can retire at age 60 with 10 years of service and receive benefits that the member has earned. For example, ten years of service multiplied by 2.2% equals 22% of the final average salary. Senate Bill 1946 Teachers contribute 2% more of their salaries into their retirement program than Social Security recipients.

Teacher pension funds are under water throughout the country -- seriously underwater -- because of the onerously generous benefits guaranteed to them under state law. Our politicians sold us out. To meet the ridiculous promises made to these public sector employees made by politicians, state pension funds are investing in ever-more risky investment vehicles. A risky investment strategy is defined as investment in other than fixed income or cash. The top 25 riskiest public pension funds hold over 75% of their assets in these vehicles. Risky Business: Pension Funds With Less Than Conservative Asset Allocations : NPR Don't take my word for it. Google around for your own state. You'll see it.

Just plain old municipal pensions?

These pensions have the average working man drooling in envy. All at taxpayer expense. And each and every one of them are unsustainable. Add the deflation risk to the mix, and, well, hold onto your hat.

You're making a great argument for a union!!!! But, from your article:

Six-figure teacher salaries of that magnitude are rare elsewhere in Illinois and in most parts of the country.

You might look at this:

Teacher Salaries by State

And this:

Average teacher pension is $40,000

Daily Herald | Average teacher pension is $40,000
 
nancy got it right:

but prove her wrong and tell us why it is a good idea to not have teachers in the class rooms, firemen on their watch, and police on the beat
i look forward to your reply

They need to feel the effects of reality, like the rest of us have had to deal with.
 
You're making a great argument for a union!!!!

No, I'm making a great argument to my original post that teacher pensions are out of line. You dismiss it quite readily.


These figures are inaccurate. And I'll tell you why. Most school districts post 'salary information' without accounting for longevity. It's actually quite a well-guarded secret...for a very good reason.

And this:

Average teacher pension is $40,000

Daily Herald | Average teacher pension is $40,000

This is a letter to the editor. Care to post a better link? You only have to use mine, plug in a school district and select "show all" to see that it's not true.
 
No, I'm making a great argument to my original post that teacher pensions are out of line. You dismiss it quite readily.

An average of 40,000 doesn't seem out of line to me. And that is with a few rather large ones pushing up the average. This means most do on less than 40,000.

These figures are inaccurate. And I'll tell you why. Most school districts post 'salary information' without accounting for longevity. It's actually quite a well-guarded secret...for a very good reason.

Or, you are simply mistaken. I work in the field, and few make the kind of money you're talking about.



This is a letter to the editor. Care to post a better link? You only have to use mine, plug in a school district and select "show all" to see that it's not true.

Yes, it is a letter to the editor, and I am looking for a better lnk.

Teach kids and your average pension is $40K a year. Ruin the Gulf of Mexico and you get a pension of a million bucks a year. « Fred Klonsky's blog

I currently have 73,000 dollars total in my pension package. That's not a yearly salary, but what will be divided up to pay me yearly. This covers Ten years working at a state hospital and 15 years working as an educator. I won't meet the 40,000 a year average.
 
An average of 40,000 doesn't seem out of line to me. And that is with a few rather large ones pushing up the average. This means most do on less than 40,000.

$40,000 as an average isn't an accurate picture. It's just a base salary without accounting for the fact that 3 months of the year they are off. Add to the the compensation for meeting continuing ed requirements, matched pension, coaching and student group sponsoring, etc and you get a great deal more than 40k a year on average.
 
$40,000 as an average isn't an accurate picture. It's just a base salary without accounting for the fact that 3 months of the year they are off. Add to the the compensation for meeting continuing ed requirements, matched pension, coaching and student group sponsoring, etc and you get a great deal more than 40k a year on average.

Few are actually off during those three months. I know I have never been. Not only that, many put out their own money for supplies and continuing education. Yes, there is often some compensation, but not enough to make all things equal. my compensation is no more than another 5,000 each year. Again, not something to match her claim, or equal to hours I work not compensated.
 
Few are actually off during those three months. I know I have never been. Not only that, many put out their own money for supplies and continuing education. Yes, there is often some compensation, but not enough to make all things equal. my compensation is no more than another 5,000 each year. Again, not something to match her claim, or equal to hours I work not compensated.

Welcome to the real world. We all work hours that are not compensated whether it be putting the finishing touches on a proposal or dumping red ink all over some student's spelling test. It's just the nature of being an adult and having a real world job. :shrug:

And I have never heard of a teacher having to pay for their own continuing education requirements. In the newsletters the teacher's union I contracted for put out, it was pretty much across the board that continuing education only increased their salaries every year.
 
An average of 40,000 doesn't seem out of line to me. And that is with a few rather large ones pushing up the average. This means most do on less than 40,000.

Grabbing a letter to the editor and saying, "It doesn't seem out of line to me," doesn't cut it. In fact, your other link puts the average into the $50K's. I didn't bother to post that, but will now. Letters to the Editor are a poor way to prove anything.

Or, you are simply mistaken. I work in the field, and few make the kind of money you're talking about.

No, I'm not mistaken. Illinois has a Watchdog group that extrapolates data right from the school's website and posts names/positions/salaries/degrees. That information is very different from the "official report" and is fully verified and accepted as truth.

Teach kids and your average pension is $40K a year. Ruin the Gulf of Mexico and you get a pension of a million bucks a year. « Fred Klonsky's blog

This is a blog or somesuch written by "preaprez." Not credible.

I currently have 73,000 dollars total in my pension package. That's not a yearly salary, but what will be divided up to pay me yearly. This covers Ten years working at a state hospital and 15 years working as an educator. I won't meet the 40,000 a year average.

I don't understand what you mean by this. $73K in your pension? If that's all that's divided up to pay you yearly, something is wrong. There should be an online link to your pension calculator. Send me there. (With no personal information. That's not what I mean.)
 
Few are actually off during those three months. I know I have never been. Not only that, many put out their own money for supplies and continuing education. Yes, there is often some compensation, but not enough to make all things equal. my compensation is no more than another 5,000 each year. Again, not something to match her claim, or equal to hours I work not compensated.

No, you're not laid off for those months. You're picking up extra money for elective work. Also, by the way, not included in posted teacher salaries.

I'm not claiming anything. The link is right there. The Chicago Tribune article is right there. These aren't "idle claims."
 
They need to feel the effects of reality, like the rest of us have had to deal with.
the 'misery loves company' reply of the envious
so, having insufficient teachers to educate the next generation in a globally competitive environment is ok with you
as is not having enough firemen on call to respond to those emergencies
and since no one worries about crime during an economic downturn, in your estimation, eliminating a sizable portion of the police force is an excellent idea
ready - post - think ... not the correct order to express oneself and still be found credible
 
the 'misery loves company' reply of the envious
so, having insufficient teachers to educate the next generation in a globally competitive environment is ok with you
as is not having enough firemen on call to respond to those emergencies
and since no one worries about crime during an economic downturn, in your estimation, eliminating a sizable portion of the police force is an excellent idea
ready - post - think ... not the correct order to express oneself and still be found credible

Here comes the sacred cow again.
 
No, you're not laid off for those months. You're picking up extra money for elective work. Also, by the way, not included in posted teacher salaries.

I'm not claiming anything. The link is right there. The Chicago Tribune article is right there. These aren't "idle claims."

Little about it is eelective. And I pointed out in your article that what you quote is not the majority, the norm, the average, including any not ****ed income. You are claiming teacher saleries are out of control based on a very small (I think your artile said 4%) minority of tachers in one small area. Can't you see the flaw in what you're arguing?
 
I don't understand what you mean by this. $73K in your pension? If that's all that's divided up to pay you yearly, something is wrong. There should be an online link to your pension calculator. Send me there. (With no personal information. That's not what I mean.)

It's the money in my retirement account. 73,000 dollars. Whe I retire, it will be divided into monthy payments to cover a number of years. I won't be rich.
 
Here comes the sacred cow again.

you should have more self respect; do not refer to yourself as a bovine in the future
 
It's the money in my retirement account. 73,000 dollars. Whe I retire, it will be divided into monthy payments to cover a number of years. I won't be rich.

Boo, no offense? But you've got the worst public pension in the United States of America, if that's true.
 
Boo, no offense? But you've got the worst public pension in the United States of America, if that's true.

It's true, and I'm in better shape than some. We lost a lot of money during the recession and stock market slides. Our money is invested. Unlikely that I'll get back to where I might have been.

But, this is part of my point. You're looking at one small area and not nationally. I haven't found a national average on pensions, but I doubt it will meet what you suggest. But I'll keep looking.
 
It's true, and I'm in better shape than some. We lost a lot of money during the recession and stock market slides. Our money is invested. Unlikely that I'll get back to where I might have been.

But, this is part of my point. You're looking at one small area and not nationally. I haven't found a national average on pensions, but I doubt it will meet what you suggest. But I'll keep looking.

If your pension lost a lot of money i nthe market slide, you are not on a public pension. Public pensions are guaranteed regardless of investment performance.
 
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