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Let me enlighten a few of you N.C. liberals. My family and I live in Connecticut, which has the highest paid teachers in the country. Nevertheless, we choose to home school due to various reasons. It is important for you to understand that property taxes to pay for this "excellent school system" is driving the middle class out of Connecticut, including myself. We own a modest 1500 sq. foot ranch and pay $6,000/year. We are lucky because, believe it or not, property taxes are higher in other towns (we also have hefty income, personal property and sales taxes here). The bottom line is that if you believe in educational choice because of the unique educational needs of your child, or due to religious reasons, or because your child may be bullied (whatever the reason), Connecticut is NOT for your because it will be prohibitively expensive for your family if you are middle class. North Carolina, be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.
I am not surprised. Here in Texas, when I was in high school, my French teacher was a braggart North Carolina PhD grad. She never hesitated to let us forget it or where she was from. I always wondered why the heck she was there instead of being in NC. She told me "I'm what they called underpaid." Smh. Based off this article, I now understand.
Where does NC rank as far as teacher pensions? I was always told that one of the reasons to become a teacher (which was the career I chose back in the early 70s) that the pay may not be the best but the pension and benefits were quite robust, especially in comparison to any other job (other than state/federal government jobs).
You know, most of us don't have any sort of pension these days.
When looking at statistics on compensation, one really needs to consider the whole picture.
This residents of this state are not just paying taxes to cover teacher salaries; we are also paying taxes to cover their pensions.
Let me enlighten a few of you N.C. liberals. My family and I live in Connecticut, which has the highest paid teachers in the country. Nevertheless, we choose to home school due to various reasons. It is important for you to understand that property taxes to pay for this "excellent school system" is driving the middle class out of Connecticut, including myself. We own a modest 1500 sq. foot ranch and pay $6,000/year. We are lucky because, believe it or not, property taxes are higher in other towns (we also have hefty income, personal property and sales taxes here). The bottom line is that if you believe in educational choice because of the unique educational needs of your child, or due to religious reasons, or because your child may be bullied (whatever the reason), Connecticut is NOT for your because it will be prohibitively expensive for your family if you are middle class. North Carolina, be careful what you wish for because you might just get it.
Then why don't you pack your bags and move down to Bat Swamp Alabama where the taxes are nice and low?
Where does NC rank as far as teacher pensions? I was always told that one of the reasons to become a teacher (which was the career I chose back in the early 70s) that the pay may not be the best but the pension and benefits were quite robust, especially in comparison to any other job (other than state/federal government jobs).
You know, most of us don't have any sort of pension these days.
When looking at statistics on compensation, one really needs to consider the whole picture.
This residents of this state are not just paying taxes to cover teacher salaries; we are also paying taxes to cover their pensions.
I'm not positive that's the case, or not the extent it may be in other states. In NC most government workers "fund" their own "pension". And I know it's specifically not called a "pension"... it's called a retirement fund.
There's some percentage of salary that is withheld from each paycheck (5%? 10%?) to fund their retirement account, and you have to be employed for 6 or 7 years to be vested.
It's not as sweet a deal as it sounds. I was offered a job wit the State of NC out of school (I don't want to admit how long ago that was), but I remember that the low salary was going to be even further impacted by this "mandatory" retirement fund contribution, which was considerable. I said "no thanks"...
Then why don't you pack your bags and move down to Bat Swamp Alabama where the taxes are nice and low?
"Progressive speak" for sure. But......
According to the article posted by the OP, even teachers in Bat Swamp Alabama were better off than those in NC under the policies of Beverly Perdue, Kay Hagen, and Mike Easley. It was very poor treatment of teachers.
Thankfully, Tillis, McCrory and the current NC GA have taken steps to reverse this bad treatment by giving them a raise. So logically, based on what you said about the locality of Bat Swamp, I assume you now support Tillis, McCrory and the NC GA.
According to the article posted by the OP, even teachers in Bat Swamp Alabama were better off than those in NC under the policies of Beverly Perdue, Kay Hagen, and Mike Easley. It was very poor treatment of teachers.
Thankfully, Tillis, McCrory and the current NC GA have taken steps to reverse this bad treatment by giving them a raise. So logically, based on what you said about the locality of Bat Swamp, I assume you now support Tillis, McCrory and the NC GA.
Oh, conservatives and their "skewed polls" slippery slope logic. Why is it when I read this post of yours, I read it in the same tone as the pigs from "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. Sorry little piggy, I'm not buying it.
I'm simply asking the poster why do they not pack their bags to Bat Swamp Alabama if they're so unhappy with the cost of living in Connecticut and they hate Connecticut so much.
The reason the race is so close with Hagan the most likely vulnerable Democrat to retain her seat is because NC is getting tired of the 'pubs running the show here. Even if Tillis wins, I'd be quite nervous to be Pat McCrory for his next election when Democrats usually Have a higher turn out. Gerrymandering can't save him like it can his friends
And yes, I am a proud progressive. Since when was progress a bad thing? Or is "progressive" some inside joke Rush Limbaugh makes about Democrats? "teehee, they like progress"
Last edited by Charlotte485; 10-06-2014 at 08:58 AM..
I'm not positive that's the case, or not the extent it may be in other states. In NC most government workers "fund" their own "pension". And I know it's specifically not called a "pension"... it's called a retirement fund.
There's some percentage of salary that is withheld from each paycheck (5%? 10%?) to fund their retirement account, and you have to be employed for 6 or 7 years to be vested.
It's not as sweet a deal as it sounds. I was offered a job wit the State of NC out of school (I don't want to admit how long ago that was), but I remember that the low salary was going to be even further impacted by this "mandatory" retirement fund contribution, which was considerable. I said "no thanks"...
Correct. I was a state employee for 15 years. The "pension" is funded by a mandatory off-the-top 6% taken out of every state employee's paycheck (it may be a different % for teachers?), so even those salaries that are shown are higher than what is in their paychecks. You are vested after 5 years, but cannot collect it until meeting certain requirements of age and years of service.
It generally amounts to approximately 2% x number of years as a state employee, so even someone who retired with the full 30 years would be getting ~60% of their previous salary as a "pension". Considering teacher salaries, I can't see anyone living the "Life of Reilly" on this alone, even if state plan health insurance is also covered.
I'm simply asking the poster why do they not pack their bags to Bat Swamp Alabama if they're so unhappy with the cost of living in Connecticut and they hate Connecticut so much.....
It's clear enough what you were doing. You didn't like what was said, so you changed the subject to that of the messenger. This is what people do when they can't address the point made. There isn't anything else to it.
And, in the broken logic of being against everything one party does regardless of good or bad, you got yourself caught in a logical trap. As proof of this, you bring Kay Hagen's current political fortunes into this yet she isn't involved in state government now. Rush Limbaugh, the radio entertainer, isn't either.
The point is, relative to this topic, is the OP posted an article attempting to do the same thing, but hilariously didn't read said article, only to discover it pointed fingers at their political party instead. That was clear enough too. This topic was never about teachers, it was about making a political point.
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