Jim R wins most ignorant comment of the week.

Mouse
Very well thought out retort. Must be a teacher blinded by the $$$$.

Jim, you might want to step away from Fox News and into the sunshine. And no, I am not a teacher..but I do know where to put the blame for out of control school spending: the ninnies who insist that it is all "for the children" when in fact it is school boards manned by taxpayers who should know better.

Mouse
Sorry Mouse, but I do not listen to Fox news which I consider to be second rate. The school boards, teachers, and politicians are all at fault. I specifically blame the teachers for their bloated pensions and their dishonest plea to the public to help the children who need education by handing over more money to teachers for pensions, medical care, and salaries that are not underpayments as many parents are mislead to believe.

Yes, I taught for several years in 2 different universities and a small college. Will not deny abuse of pensions, but the problem is much wider than that from corruption. If more people knew the amount teachers received in pensions, they would be furious. Too many teachers claim low pay, but with whom are they comparing themselves. An above link allows people to see some of the salaries and another link has some pensions. Not all of the debt here is from the government corruption. Much of it results from the greedy teachers with school administrators being another major problem.

Unfortunately people have given from their heart to help their children, but they have not used their minds to see how much teachers have been causing themselves more problems in supporting their families.

How many people can retire at 66 on social security while teachers retire at 60 or less on pensions and medical care.

Sounds like a phoney excuse, pun intended.

Sorry they are all part of the problem. I am not a billionaire and cannot afford the debt these miscreants have created for me and other taxpayers.

If their contract was violated, why were they negotiating. Oh yes, their contract ran out. You have to wonder about people who are trying to rob us blind and claim they are underpaid and need even more excessive benefits.

The teachers show today the children and their parents are not a major concern of theirs. My wife has worked 3 years without a raise, and none is expected this year and she does not have a pension. She has a BA and an MA, so her education is much better than many of the teachers who are also paid more than her. A guaranteed increase over 4 years is absurd. My feeling now is to lock them out and bring others to teach with sufficient qualifications and less greed. Also it should be stated now, current salaries and benefits will be decreased as the strike continues or they are replaced.

Thanks for the insight into the CTU mentality.

I am happy to say he is an adult and was not subjected to the overly greedy unprofessional teachers like those walking picket lines. They are an embarrasment to dedicated teachers and those who wish to serve in what was once a noble profession.

Wait a second here. You pay only $229 a month for health care and you have the balls to complain about someone else's benefit plan? Listen up, bud. Some of us pay close to $1000 a month just for major medical with a $5000 deductible, and are subsidizing you while we do it. I'll bet you're one of those dolts who chant "keep your government hands off my Medicare!".

The state pension situation is indeed out of control but you are part of the problem, too.

Mouse your vocabulary reflects your intelligence. And this month it is going up another $30 since I reach 67, and I had been paying into that plan from the beginning. The amount is doubled to include my wife and myself so we will be paying 538 for the next 2 years and you can add another 80 for medicine so that is 618 a month. And the insurance is not pretax. Our rates will take another big jump at age 70. Those on the public books have insurance free and neither their contributions if any are no where near enough to handle these costs beyond just a few years. Medicare and Social Security were taxes we paid for years while we were working, and our insurance policies varied depending upon where we worked. Losing a job left us to pay for the insurance ourselves since we did not have the umbrella of a free benefit program which is paid by all tax payers here, but receive no benefits from it other than the cries of a union and those in line with them who are driving our taxes.

My son went through a period of unemployment and had to pay the rates you claim to pay.

Nice ad hominem attack, Jim. Since you've run out of ideas you have started to attack people instead.

I don't know which union member backed over your childhood pet, but you've got some real issues. How about instead of ranting away here you do something about it, like get elected to your local school board and put your time where your mouth is.

Mouse, the comment dealt with your use of foul words when you replied. I will stand by my comment relative to your previous post. Personally I see a place for unions, but some have gotten out of hand and the general populace suffers. My objection is not with unions, but the abuse of power of some unions.

I will go so far to say that for certain professionals to go on strike shows how irresponsible they are. Their priority is not with the people they help but only with their own benefits.

You make a number of statements yourself with no backing. About the only item about wages was a possibility of 16% over 4 years which was requested by the union according to the news. We can all find people who make more than ourselves. I am an ABD in Sociology having taught in 2 universities, one small college, and one community college. With my background the demands that a dedicated teacher may face is well known to me, however I would not dare make the assumption that all are dedicated. Some put in less time than others. Eventually I moved to IT since much of my enjoyment in sociolpgy was working with computers. During a career change many were afraid to hire me because of my education. When working at one professional association in the 70's a director commented when reviewing a resume, he commented that he would never hire a person with a Ph.D.

My salary was good and I made more than the average worker, but keep in mind that the average salary for teachers in Chicago is $76,000. Regarding social security the payout does not even come close to what a pension is paid to a teacher. Under social security you cannot collect it until 62 and then you are penalized for the rest of your life. Mentioned earlier about the school teacher who retired at 55 and she was penalized for the early retirement but that was just for awhile. She now makes $76,000 annually from her pension. Many retire on social security at $2,000 a month which is a wopping $24,000 a year.

"...relatively low pay in consideration of the importance of our work, you will be rewarded with a pension that will help you retire comfortably" That is the excuse used over and over again which too many people have believed. With an average salary of $76,000 is paid in Chicago, it is was above the average salary with a pension plan that is much more than people receive other than government workers or business people with a golden parachute. People should stop falling for that excuse and consider why you should give teachers a good salary along with a pension program far superior than what they receive. Yes teachers can retire at 60 or younger while many of us cannot retire at 66. Most receive $24, 000 a year from social security which is far below the pensions teachers and other government workers make. Should the rest of us compare ourselves to sports figures who are people over paid with poor or little education.

Sorry but the sobbing excuses to put ourselves in debt no longer is sufficient. Even those outside of education have advanced degress. For myself I have an abd in Sociology with all but my dissertation completed. Left my 60 page proposal go when I found myself seen as over qualified. My background includes teaching in 2 universities, one small college, and a community college so I know what dedication is required of a good teacher.