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Rumors are rolling through the Transit and Teachers unions of Massive Layoffs , and now a few Unions are threating to Strike , which would cripple millions. Christie Better wake up and smell the fresh air , this is NJ Not his online fantasy world. Infact , i would mind if every union in the state went on strike , we need to stand up to this bully!
there are no rumors of massive layoffs. That funding cut has nothing to do with day to day operations plus salaries. That was considered a rainy day fund for districts to use for anything above and out of the ordinary programs. That money funded things like summer workshops, kindergarten screening programs, after school acitivity programs, sports programs etc.
I agree , theres alot of over paided ppl and ridiculous pensions , but can we slim that down before we talk about cutting things and laying off 1000s. Becuz what purpose does that serve , the economy is starting to rebound and your going to cut things? To me Christie , is just another greedy Trenton Pigeon , who doesn't care about the people and will see how New Jerseyites turn on him. Now i'm hearing a All-Union Strike is in the works and a March to Trenton. Personal maybe he should take a pay leave.
~Corey
The state is 21 billion in the hole. That's why the cuts are necessary. The 375 proposed cuts won't even scratch the surface, really.
It's not the salaries that are the problem, it's the benefits.
blame the townships that negotiated the CBAs. The unions asked and the townships gave. I dont understand how some of you can't comprehend that.
I go buy a car and 2 years Later my income is reduced and I call the automaker and say, my income is reduced and you sold me that car 2 years ago for too much money. I agreed to the price didn't I. After all I based that purchase on my income at that time, not knowing 2 years later that my income was reduced.
Thats exactly what the problem is. The problem is no one saw the economy taking a collective dump like it did. No state was prepared for it. NJ has the highest taxes in the country and has the most corruption in the country. The problems arent the teachers or transit unions, its you political leaders that hold three offices with three different benefit packages, it's the slush funds, it's the fleecing of state funds to pay for political projects. People like to point all the blame on Corzine. Sure he wasnt that great all but this problem started more than a decade ago with Keane and Whitman.
there are no rumors of massive layoffs. That funding cut has nothing to do with day to day operations plus salaries. That was considered a rainy day fund for districts to use for anything above and out of the ordinary programs. That money funded things like summer workshops, kindergarten screening programs, after school acitivity programs, sports programs etc.
Actually a few Conductors told me that. On a Major Railway site , there not to happy either.
blame the townships that negotiated the CBAs. The unions asked and the townships gave. I dont understand how some of you can't comprehend that.
I go buy a car and 2 years Later my income is reduced and I call the automaker and say, my income is reduced and you sold me that car 2 years ago for too much money. I agreed to the price didn't I. After all I based that purchase on my income at that time, not knowing 2 years later that my income was reduced.
Thats exactly what the problem is. The problem is no one saw the economy taking a collective dump like it did.
If the pension plan is supposed to be risk free for the beneficiaries, it shouldn't buy risky investments. The problem is, they need to "assume" an 8% return to avoid requiring much larger payments into the plan. Basically, defined benefit plans are a scam.
The towns can't break their promises (unless they're bankrupt) but they can and should shut down the gravy train to the best of their ability.
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No state was prepared for it. NJ has the highest taxes in the country and has the most corruption in the country. The problems arent the teachers or transit unions,
That's a big part of the problem (teachers union, that is). Another part of the problem is that payrolls are carrying all kinds of bloat. Paying teachers a little more wouldn't be a problem (I'd argue some of them need to be paid more -- ~50k isn't even close to good enough for a qualified 9-12 math teacher), but when you're paying an army of administrators, nurses, support staff, maintenance workers, and all of these people are on the same gravy train, basically standing in line to kick the tax payer to the curb, it's a disaster.
A couple of double dippers make a good target for outrage, but they aren't the disease, they are one of many symptoms of a systemic lack of accountability.
but i guess no one will mention the fact that NJ has the highest graduation rate in the country right
Actually, that depends on which statistic you look at- in some rankings, NJ's graduation rate is high, but not "the highest". That said, is "graduation rate" really the number you want to base education quality on? I can push students through a program and have a high graduation rate, but that doesn't mean I'm providing them with a great education.
All that said, I'll readily admit that NJ has some good schools, but so do many of the other states that often get slammed in comparisons. The question is, are the schools that much better that it justifies the extreme difference in taxes? Besides- it's more about the student than it is about the school- I'll put my daughters in any school in any state- provided it doesn't require that they wear body armor- and I'll guarantee that they'll excel.
No Bob you don't get it, us in New Jersey like to pay for steak not big macs. We get all these extras that u don't get that justifies the astronomical tax burden.
No Bob you don't get it, us in New Jersey like to pay for steak not big macs. We get all these extras that u don't get that justifies the astronomical tax burden.
If the pension plan is supposed to be risk free for the beneficiaries, it shouldn't buy risky investments. The problem is, they need to "assume" an 8% return to avoid requiring much larger payments into the plan. Basically, defined benefit plans are a scam.
The towns can't break their promises (unless they're bankrupt) but they can and should shut down the gravy train to the best of their ability.
That's a big part of the problem (teachers union, that is). Another part of the problem is that payrolls are carrying all kinds of bloat. Paying teachers a little more wouldn't be a problem (I'd argue some of them need to be paid more -- ~50k isn't even close to good enough for a qualified 9-12 math teacher), but when you're paying an army of administrators, nurses, support staff, maintenance workers, and all of these people are on the same gravy train, basically standing in line to kick the tax payer to the curb, it's a disaster.
A couple of double dippers make a good target for outrage, but they aren't the disease, they are one of many symptoms of a systemic lack of accountability.
My sister was a teacher in the Paterson school system for many years before moving to Arizona some 20 years ago. Boy, are things different out there!! They have one school superintendent who has to cover a number of schools in their district. Most towns in NJ have their own superintendent, with huge salaries. When my Mom taught in Prospect Park - many years ago - they had a superintendent for one school! We need to consolidate some of these jobs. Services also should be consolidated so that schools can get the most bang for their buck. Everyone is so concerned about building their own little fiefdoms and ultimately the children and the taxpayers suffer.
After discussion with Viral MD, I beleive that I have made the necessary changes to my original post to ensure it is compliant with the TOU.
Thanks for the flexibility
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Originally Posted by MG
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Originally Posted by zhelder
THIS is exactly where we need to trim the budgets, not by cutting the paychecks/benefits of hardworking employees.
My first year of teaching in my district, I had this exact same argument. The social studies department at my school was thinking about buying a new TV, and in one of those ridiculous catalogs, it was like $800. I said, "Hey, we can get the same set at 6th Avenue Electronics for about $250. Why spend $800? "
Well I got a good drubbing about "state approved vendors" and a bunch of other ridiculous nonsense. It made no sense then, and it makes less sense now.
Forcing employees to pay for health benefits is simply going to make the unions hold out for larger percentage increases in raises. And in a state where starter homes still sell for nearly 500K in decent towns (if they're available at all) and the taxes on those homes often top 10K per year, even public workers at the top of their guides are not living in the lap of luxury.
There are plenty of ways to cut state spending. It shouldn't be done on the backs of public employees.
This person is the sum total of everything wrong with this country.
Lady, your title is "Public Servant" not "Public Entitlement Sponge". I don't care what you can afford, what you think you should be paid or what you feel about whose "back" this state's issues should be balanced on.
I don't use the public schools, yet I have to pay your salary, hell, I even just got soaked for an extra 140 million 1 year tax to support the teacher's pay raise.
Eat chalk for all I care, you people all need to remember where your salary and benefits come from, and a lot of us "Earners" are out of jobs, or have frozen salaries.
I can get a teenage girl to teach the Three Rs and she'll do it without all the political indoctrination. As it is, Private teachers do a better job than you do and they do it at a lot cheaper price.
Stop your ******* (please), accept that you are a low skilled servant who is over paid, over pampered and over entitled, do the right thing, give half your salary back, pay for your own benefits, and say thank you to all the rest of us who struggle to pay you more than you deserve.
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