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CAT Tracks for April 5, 2016
RAUNER'S THINK TANK...POSTSCRIPT |
Just received a reminder of how insidious the onslaught by the anti-teacher, anti-union forces is. I was so focused on the attack, an attempt to renege on promises made, that I overlooked the false premise upon which most of the argument is made...
...namely, that teachers don't pay for their pensions.
From the think tank's 5-part proposal:
Teachers, I suppose, are suppose to hang their collective heads in shame...
...while an unknowing public shakes their heads in disgust at such largess, and joins the anti-public sector forces and demands change.
Well, not so fast!
A fellow retiree fired off an e-mail response to my CAT Tracks post, succinctly exposing the lie at the very foundation of the attack on teachers and their pension system:
Guess that's why they say two heads are better than one...
...gives a different perspective!
Fighting the Raunerites is like playing the old Whac-A-Mole game, knock down one lie only to see another pop up.
One big difference...
...this is not a game, people's lives are at stake.
Fortunately for retirees...
...the Illinois Supreme Court is solidly on our side, wielding a highly accurate mallet (gavel!)
And, unlike the United States Supreme Court, locked in a 4-4 political struggle...
...the Illinois Supreme Court rulings have been UNANIMOUS!!!
"Illinois teachers are supposed to put away 9.4 percent of their earnings into their pension savings, but in most school districts across the state this doesn't happen. Instead, local taxpayers pick up that tab as a collectively-bargained contract perk. End that practice."
I have no problem with teachers paying their own pension costs. They do already! They gave up salary to get that perk. So pay them a decent wage and they can pay it themselves.
