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No. TRUE market forces should decide. If we aren't paying enough, then we will end up with a shortage of public employees, which will force salaries and benefits UP. If we are paying too much, there will be public outrage and backlash, as there is now. Lets shoot for the shortage and work our way up from there. As consumers, we should only be paying as much as is necessary to keep enough qualified people as we need in their jobs. Anything more, and we are getting ripped off. That is how the free market is supposed to work. If I hire someone to clean my gutters or fix a pipe in my house, I choose from several bids. That way I am sure that I am getting the best price. Likewise, someone can do that with me in my profession. Sometimes, as with doctors, or in my personal experience with the air conditioner people, we can choose to pay more for someone with a good reputation. Again, market forces are balancing the universe.
I'm sorry if you feel differently, but the lack of these checks and balances is what makes the public sector so screwed up.
IMHO, the private sector is a far bigger clusterf***. See: the banking industry collaspe, health care costs, Enron, offshoring, blah blah blah. The public sector is in no way alone when it comes to "screwing up".
IMHO, the private sector is a far bigger clusterf***. See: the banking industry collaspe, health care costs, Enron, offshoring, blah blah blah. The public sector is in no way alone when it comes to "screwing up".
This is true of BIG business. Unfortunately when businesses get so big that they can effect legislation, then the checks and balances get lost as well. This is a good argument for campaign finance reform, which is a whole different thread.
IMHO, the private sector is a far bigger clusterf***.
yeah, but at least it's consensual !
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See: the banking industry collaspe, health care costs, Enron, offshoring, blah blah blah. The public sector is in no way alone when it comes to "screwing up".
The banking industry collapse was a "public private partnership". While some banks and insurance companies played a role in fueling the credit bubble, the federal reserve played a role in keeping rates low, and the government played a role by effectively subsidizing home loans.
You can largely thank the government for health care costs. The only way to constrain health care costs is to have someone say "no" to treatment at some point. The system is set up in such a way that no-one says "no", so costs go sky high. Cost cutting measures are politically very difficult to implement. Basically, people get very upset when something is taken away from them.
The Enron collapse worked more or less the way it's supposed to work -- the shareholders lost all their money, and the company went out of business. The top players tried to run with the money, but ended up facing criminal charges.
How are the issues you mentioned the failure of the schools? How do you expect a school to function with the problems that stem from a terrible family life? As a teacher you can only teach someone who wants to learn. In your case you seemed to have moved into a "bad" town. Didnt you know the situations in the schools before you decided to settle down? Plenty of NJ towns have great family and kids which in turn lead to great schools. Of course we do have sections of NJ that are full of apathetic parents that dont place a very high regard on education.
I believe I said outside of the academic failures of the school.
How do I expect a school to function with the problems that stem from a "terrible family life"? I expect the school district and all the professionals who have degrees in education to stop thinking that (and voting for) the dumping of more money into bigger and better schools is going to "fix" anything while they don't address any real issues.
If a kid has no interest in a formal education or going on to college: weed 'em out. Send them to the vo-tech or BUILD a vo-tech in a town instead of NOT addressing what these kids who can't be taught because they "don't want to learn" need. Teach a skill that they can use along with the minimum basics. Instead of boasting "magnet" schools, realize and understand that dance, art, music, theater "future scientists or mathematicians" at the elementary school level is a joke and any extra concentration should be paid for by the parents of these oh-so-talented kids out of the parents pockets. Not the tax payers when it doesn't do anything for the "greater good" - only a few.
I'm 3rd generation in the town I live in. My family was here before the democrats took over and got a little crazy with the Mt. Laurel obligations that led to the state of the schools. And yes I did know what the schools were like which is why my children don't attend the public schools and neither did I past 10 years old.
Sure I know its about the patients. It has nothing to do with that great pay!
When you're not getting paid due to a professional obligation, you're not getting paid. Teachers don't get paid by the lesson plan and SI's don't get paid by the # of graduates who don't go to community college.
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If its not about the money move to some poor country and do it for free. Do it because you are such a great person.
And so should SI's and teachers who get all hell-bent and out of shape over having to contribute a minimum % to their healthcare and take a freeze/cap in pay. Go take the "it's for the kids" crap to another country - if it's REALLY about the kids and not the PAY. And the benefits and summers off.....
Stop crying already. We get it you are great. Would you like a prize for that? Stop crying and go to work and save the world...for free while you are at it.
Do you not understand what you are saying? You are giving carte blanche to toss every public/government employee (including SIs and teachers) under the bus and run them over twice.
If the SI's of the state of NJ were "great" and doing everything they could with no one questioning what the hell they do in a day because the outcome of their efforts WAS matching up to what they get paid for in a check/pension/life time benefits.... there would be no issue.
All public worker salary ranges are public information. By law they must be published in the local newspaper prior to approval by the governing body in the community. There is absolutely no reason for a citizen in a town to not know what the workers of the town earn. My question to everyone is, Do you know what your neighbor the attorney or surgeon earns annually? A friend of mine is 35 years old and works on Wall Street, his salary is over 3 million a year. Looking at everything in perspective the $200K the Super earns is a bargain. I am not a super, just an informed citizen that pays attention to what goes on in my town and my state.
Bill
the subject of the thread was on superintendent making over 250K, even with good ones, I am not sure how many deserve the pay they get.
the problem is that our kids are defenseless. Then when they are in their teens, we blame the kids for not trying hard. Therefore a lazy teacher has a greater impact.
seriously, I hope you did not mean teachers in a "good" school district are better teachers than teachers in a "bad" school district. What makes the difference when teachers only "teach"? The parents provide the extra help as you stated earlier "Plenty of NJ towns have great family and kids which in turn lead to great schools. " then in an earlier post you stated //www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...e-card-vs.html
it is not the teachers who make the school great. Yes, I taught my kid content and I had seriously considered homeschool my kid.
Commonly recommended in this board as good "school" district, blue ribbon school a few years ago.
To me you sound like a cry baby. Do I cry about certain things??? Sure I do and I am man enough to say it. You on the other hand are a hero. The rest of us that YOU are FORCED to pay can only one day hope of being so great. I am not worthy. I went to the hospital without insurance and guess what...they FORCED me to pay for something that I didnt want. Oh well I guess sometimes we are forced to pay for things. I think the Dr. said that was his charge. My options were pay him or ruin my credit. Thank Doc!!
So now the reason for the doc hate comes out.
I'm forced to pay close to $7K a year for a public school system I don't want to use, won't use and never will. For 20 years now. What's 5 x 20 (to average it out) ? $100K? I'd like my money back, thanks.
But I think the town said that's part of my property taxes.
My option is to not pay or have a lien imposed on my properties.
I'll pay. Even though I don't use.
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