StopUsingTheKids.com
Will underfunded teachers’ retirement plans REALLY affect our children’s education?
The California Teachers Association (CTA), the powerful union which represents most, if not all California public school teachers, would have you believe such a thing. This is, of course, a perfect example of the straw-man fallacy. The financial security of teachers’ pension program has nothing to do with our children and everything to do with the teachers’ union, the State-run monopoly, and political cronyism.
California is a fiscal train wreck-that much is true. Defined benefit pension plans, the mismanagement of the teachers’ investments and the subsequent annuity payments however, are the cause of the problem. The underfunded teachers’ pension plans were created, gamed, and administered by past politicians and union bosses. In the private sector, companies like Enron, MCI/WorldComm, and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities operated in the same fashion. Each miscalculated their assets, income, and expenses, intentionally obfuscated that miscalculation, and funded current distributions with current contributions, ignoring the fact that they would eventually run out of money. Like those private sector crooks, the CTA and government-run monopoly got caught, and now they have to pay the piper. Rather than pay the piper, they choose to blame California taxpayers for their misdeeds.
Can you imagine Bernie Madoff turning his victims against their grandchildren and demanding they pay for their losses rather than holding Madoff accountable for his scam? If that sounds ridiculous, you should question why the current CTA bosses and current politicians are asking the teachers to blame the California taxpayers for their former colleagues’ shenanigans.
The CTA “State of Emergency” campaign is a “blame the victim” scam and it won’t work. Californians are the highest taxed citizens in the nation and they won’t pay more. Californians serially defeat ballot initiatives to raise their taxes. When the union-elected legislators collude against those taxpayers, and create back-door tax programs, Californians head for the more fiscally friendly neighbors: Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Simply put, we have stretched the tax rate to its elasticity, our lenders are balking, and we can’t print money (although we tried). California is broke and its taxpayers won’t foot the bill for the failed policies of the past.
The result will be bounced pension checks for our teachers. They might not bounce next month, they might not bounce next year but they certainly will bounce next decade. We, at Stop Taxing Us, think that’s a horrible way to treat the folks who educate our children. We intend to shine light on the lies the CTA is telling its members.
If you are a California public school teacher, we commend you for having an open mind about our plan to preserve your retirement fund. We hope to give you control of your retirement money, incentivize you for being the responsible educators which we know exist, and align your interests with your customers; the taxpayers of California.
If you are concerned California taxpayer, we invite you to learn more about our plan, the issues which face all of us, and hope you will use it to educate the educators. These teachers are angry and they have a right to be. Educators have been lied to for at least forty years. With your help, we’ll preserve their pension funds and get these costs under control.
What should you do next? Get Educated and Become and Educator’s Educator
PRIMARY EDUCATION--- History
SECONDARY EDUCATION--- Public Economic
POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION-- Public Investments and Annuities
GRADUATE LEVEL EDUCATION-- The Current Problem
COMMENCEMENT-- Pension Preservation Plan
