Chicago teachers asking for 30% raises over next 2 years

[opebo]

I'm completely befuddled as to what krazen's on about here.  krazen, 75,000 is a middle class salary. 

[opebo]

krazen, you would do better to blame the rich,who absorb a far greater share of the worker's production than the humble teacher, and thus leave children in a state of poverty and hopelessness.

[opebo]

krazen, you would do better to blame the rich,who absorb a far greater share of the worker's production than the humble teacher, and thus leave children in a state of poverty and hopelessness.

Well, the massive tax hike inflicted on the 'rich' and everyone else went directly to the chosen constituency.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-state-0223-20120223,0,3088174.story

In the next budget, virtually every penny of that $7 billion in new revenue goes to pension obligations.

Well, that's good, but you're missing the point that the entirety of the incomes of the rich are theft in the first place.

[opebo]

krazen, you would do better to blame the rich,who absorb a far greater share of the worker's production than the humble teacher, and thus leave children in a state of poverty and hopelessness.

Teacher unions that try to prevent the termination of teachers whom can't or won't effectively teach children adds to hopelessness of the unfortunate students whom have to study in those teacher's classes.

Not at all, BSB, the hopelessness of those students is entirely gained from their oppression at the hands of the rich - they are poors, and their lives are utterly without hope, and no poor overworked public servant, teacher or other, will ever change that as long as the rich are allowed to continue their predations.

As cited at

http://www.illinoispolicy.org/blog/blog.asp?ArticleSource=4685

average family income in Chicago is $46,877.

Those people are about 40% unemployed, 20% cleaning ladies, and the rest mostly garbagemen and sandwichmakers - only a tiny elite in places like Chicago have proper incomes.  The new America is one of appallingly low incomes - a reality caused by you right-wingers, not by the poor downtrodden public servant.

[opebo]

This guy wearing communist red gets $75k.

Um, krazen, do you seriously propose that a teacher in Chicago should make less than $75,000?  How could they possibly live?

Teachers in rural Missouri start at about $28,000 and max out around $45,000 - this is merely a subsistence level salary there, as is $75,000 in a large, expensive urban center like Chicago.

Salaries for public workers should be doubled across the board and the money taken from the wealthy.

[opebo]

The same way that others do with $45k household income.

So, we should really all make the same income?  Are you a communist?

[opebo]

I would start by firing all the teachers who are functionally illiterate, and there are a lot of them.

Be very careful, Torie - intelligence and even knowledge does not predict the ability to 'do a job well'.  In fact, for many - perhaps most - jobs, a kind of doggedness which is usually associated with the moderately stupid works best.  After all, what is more stupid than getting up early every day and spending your life at a job?

[opebo]

while on the other hand, the best and brightest after 10 years or whatever, become master teachers, and make like 150K a year, adjusted regionally by the cost of living.

"oh God, go to Hell"  - my spontaneous reaction

Haha, well, to be fair, this is a natural reaction to any pontification by the insulated rich. 

After all, what is more stupid than getting up early every day and spending your life at a job?

My initial reaction to this statement has to be 'not doing so'.

Meh, dead end either way.  And anyway of course I was being facetious - for 99% of people there is no choice but to get up every day and go to work.

[opebo]

Their compensation structure makes it far more logical to get rid of the worst dinosaur tenured teachers.

See charts.

http://illinoispolicy.org/blog/blog.asp?ArticleSource=5041

In their own words, you can get 3 new teachers for the price of 1 old one.

The unions of course went to court to keep the high paid dinosaurs and Karen Lewis is making a fuss about school closures.

Good lord man, you realize this line of thinking makes all raises impossible or very short-lived - just like in the private sector.  Anyone who gets a raise over time will inevitably be fired and replaced by someone cheaper.  Can't you see that this destroys any possibility of well-being, progress, or a decent life for ALL workers?

[opebo]

Not at all. One merely needs to display added value with something more than grey hairs.

...a person given a merit-based pay raise could more than justify the additional salary.

You poor young lad's misunderstanding of growing older is breathtaking!

You see, as you get older, you get worse, and life gets worse, and this will happen to you as well, inevitably.

People who devised these seniority systems recognized the basic despair of human life and tried to assuage the horror of it with a small palliative.  Seniority is a precious gift for all of us!  Your wanton disregard of this reality implies you are either millionaires or are entirely ignorant of the nature of human life and mortality.

[opebo]

...you can hire three young teachers for the price of a lavishly overpaid dinosaur.

krazen advocates a Logan's Run America.