Maybe if we were given an iota of respect and paid more than 50% of what engineers are paid, we wouldn’t have to be.
A teacher who works thirty-five years can retire in virtually all states at the age of 57 - seven years before the average person. And the average teacher who does so today, can expect a pension of almost $75,000 annually for the rest of their lives. The sixty percent of teachers eligible for Social Security can expect to have a fixed income of $85,000 annually by their mid-60s.
If teachers want to have a higher salary, they should ask for smaller pensions as a trade. Pensions cost the state more money beforehand than a simple salary raise does.
This is an argument based on logic, math and accepted economic science, but it lacks emotional appeal and a real guilt-inducing "gut punch" at the end. Therefore, I'm sorry to tell you that it has absolutely no place in discussion about any form of income inequality!
