In “Curing a pension hangover” you observe that the state legislature should “deep-six end-of-career sweeteners for teachers.” I must ask: In what manner is the career of teaching “sweet” or “inflated”? You fail to consider that:
Most teachers’ salaries top out in the 20th year of teaching because school budgets are woefully underfunded by state money at the expense of local property owners. These veteran teachers receive regressive pay for their best, most qualified work. Their salaries become frozen at the top of their pay scale for years on end.
The pension money belongs to teachers. It is our retirement money deducted from our paychecks. It’s money that state legislators raid annually to balance their general fund deficits and to repair roads.
Do we want quality education? Then we should pay for qualified teachers. No profession can draw public employees when their careers, vocation and salaries are marginalized by patronage and politics. You advocate for police pensions because they have “riskier jobs.” But shouldn’t we value and pay teachers whose work keeps kids off the streets in the first place?
