This past summer, Shopko held the 3rd annual “teacher discount day” at all their stores. A Shopko news release announcing the 1st “discount day” in 2006
states, in part: “Recognizing that teachers often use their personal funds to provide supplies for their classrooms, Shopko has announced that all teachers will receive a 15% discount on purchases for an entire day at Shopko.” The president of Shopko stated: “We wanted to reward teachers for the extra things they do for their students” and “This discount day is one way we can save teachers a little money…”.
Being a freedom loving American, I would never presume to tell Shopko what to do with
their own property. In fact, I think what they are doing for teachers is very nice. I would, however, be interested in knowing what percentage of dollars spent during this “discount day” are for classroom supplies verses personal items. Of course, I would also like to know what teachers actually do during all those “in service” days during the school year but I’m afraid these will remain mysteries.
In keeping with their social awareness and desire to help those that use personal funds to improve their work environment, I have a great idea for Shopko. Why not expand this program and have a special discount day for all private business owners and their employees! I think those of us in the private sector could use the discount every bit as much as teachers. Consider these numbers: According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average annual wage for all occupations in Wisconsin was $38,070 in 2007 and the average annual wage for teachers was $44,250. Considering that teachers work roughly nine months a year, their salary equates to $59,000 for a full year. This number does not include the incredibly generous benefit package available to public school teachers. Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance literature indicates that Wisconsin school districts pay over 95% of the premium for health insurance and virtually all of the cost of retirement benefits. According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, school districts pay over 35 cents in benefits for every dollar of salaries. Contrast this with private sector employees who have seen a steady increase in the percentage of premiums paid for health insurance often coupled with a decrease in the quality of coverage. This is not meant as an indictment of business owners. What choice do they have? They can’t unilaterally raise the price of their product to cover these costs. If a widget manufacturer raises his price and sales drop, he can’t whine to his costumers “You don’t care about widgets!” as the teachers union does with the often heard mantra “It’s about the kids!” every time they are trying to shove another tax increase down our throats. Besides, if it was really about the kids, you would think there would be some correlation between costs and benefits in education.
I encourage Shopko to expand this wonderful program to include those in the private sector as recognition that they are paying a substantial percentage of personal income to provide health care for their family along with increasingly confiscatory tax rates to pay for government largess.
Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teachers. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
CONSERVATIVES & LIBERALS PART II
Liberals; Who are these people?
GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATS
“He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” Thomas Jefferson was referring to King George III, but his words are an accurate description of what is happening today. The federal government has nearly 1200 different agencies and departments. Add in state employees and there are roughly 20 MILLION people employed by the government.
It’s amazing that this country was able to survive without the Federal Duck Stamp Office or the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. The people that run these types of programs are immune to the economic conditions that affect the private sector. While union membership is on the decline nationally, it remains strong in the government bureaucracy. Why? Because government can afford it. Pay is not commensurate with performance. Hell, who even knows what constitutes “performance” in some of these positions? It’s a messed up deal. Agencies created to address some perceived problem have no incentive to actually fix the problem. On the contrary, the worse the problem gets, the bigger their agency grows!
Liberals have an unhealthy faith in the ability of government to fix things and provide services and are therefore anxious to expand it. Government bureaucrats know who is driving the gravy train so, obviously, most of them are liberals.
TEACHERS
“TRUST TEACHERS, NOT TEST SCORES” That’s an actual slogan I saw on some hats at the last Democratic National Convention. I couldn’t make up crap like that! No conservative would ever utter such a stupid statement.
“Son, I’m concerned about your math scores and it appears that you don’t read or write very well either. I’m worried about your job prospects. – Don’t worry dad, the teacher has deemed me to be educated!”
Now, I want to make it clear that I am not bashing ALL teachers. I actually know some teachers that I like and respect. It’s too bad that 80 percent of teachers give the rest a bad name.
There are over 6 million teachers nation wide. The average salary is $44,700. Considering they work roughly 9 months a year, this equates to $59,600 annually.
Add in their caddilac health care plan and insane retirement package and you’ve got a pretty sweet deal. Yet, as a group, have you ever seen anyone whine and complain about their compensation like teachers do? You never hear them mention the one HUGE benefit that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. Teachers NEVER get laid off or fired for poor performance. Apparently, every teacher ever hired anywhere is doing just a wonderful job. I guess we are supposed to “trust” them. We sure as hell aren’t supposed to implement any measurable standards to judge them by.
Teachers always claim that “it’s about the kids”. What a bunch of crap. Attempts to reform the system with school choice and virtual schools are working for students and have the support of parents. Yet the teacher unions vigorously oppose these programs. They are selfish, insolent liars more concerned with union protections than professional standards.
COLLEGE STUDENTS
There are approximately 16 million college students currently enrolled in universities around the country. As a former college student myself and knowing many young people currently attending college, I have seen enough anecdotal evidence to convince me that at least 80 percent of these students are liberals. The are bright, idealistic and generally myopic. I can’t really blame these kids though. They just don’t know any better. They have spent their whole lives in the cesspool of liberalism that is academia today. They have been taught that America is a greedy and imperialist nation and that we don’t respect mother earth either! They are told that tolerance means not only accepting but also promoting anything and anyone that is in direct conflict with our traditional Judea-Christian values and beliefs. And they are taught that they are exercising their free speech rights when they shout down, throw things at and incite violence against those that disagree with them.
The good news is that many of these kids escape the cesspool with no permanent damage and go on to become responsible, contributing members of society. That is to say, they become conservatives.
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
All the major networks, excluding FOX, and damn near every major newspaper in the country are overwhelmingly liberal. I don’t really understand why, either. As their market share continues to shrink, they seem to be moving even further to the left. You would think that the profit incentive would cause them to rethink what they are doing. Maybe they will all be nationalized and become part of PBS. One thing the government is really good at is subsidizing failure.
THE NON-WORKING
I’m not talking about those hard working Americans that lose their job and spend some time on unemployment. I am referring to those suffering from “Intolerance to Effort” syndrome. People who have chosen unemployment as a career. The New Deal and Great Society programs created this underclass and they have been successfully cultivated by the Democratic party. While claiming to be advocates for these people, democratic policies actually make it more difficult for this group to climb the economic ladder. Democrats need this constituent group and they don’t want people working their way out of it.
CELEBRITIES
Many of these types keep threatening to leave the country if a Republican gets elected for president. Not only are they stupid and arrogant but they are liars too. Just leave already!
So, that pretty much covers the Democratic constituency.
NEXT UP: CONSERVATIVES
GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATS
“He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” Thomas Jefferson was referring to King George III, but his words are an accurate description of what is happening today. The federal government has nearly 1200 different agencies and departments. Add in state employees and there are roughly 20 MILLION people employed by the government.
It’s amazing that this country was able to survive without the Federal Duck Stamp Office or the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. The people that run these types of programs are immune to the economic conditions that affect the private sector. While union membership is on the decline nationally, it remains strong in the government bureaucracy. Why? Because government can afford it. Pay is not commensurate with performance. Hell, who even knows what constitutes “performance” in some of these positions? It’s a messed up deal. Agencies created to address some perceived problem have no incentive to actually fix the problem. On the contrary, the worse the problem gets, the bigger their agency grows!
Liberals have an unhealthy faith in the ability of government to fix things and provide services and are therefore anxious to expand it. Government bureaucrats know who is driving the gravy train so, obviously, most of them are liberals.
TEACHERS
“TRUST TEACHERS, NOT TEST SCORES” That’s an actual slogan I saw on some hats at the last Democratic National Convention. I couldn’t make up crap like that! No conservative would ever utter such a stupid statement.
“Son, I’m concerned about your math scores and it appears that you don’t read or write very well either. I’m worried about your job prospects. – Don’t worry dad, the teacher has deemed me to be educated!”
Now, I want to make it clear that I am not bashing ALL teachers. I actually know some teachers that I like and respect. It’s too bad that 80 percent of teachers give the rest a bad name.
There are over 6 million teachers nation wide. The average salary is $44,700. Considering they work roughly 9 months a year, this equates to $59,600 annually.
Add in their caddilac health care plan and insane retirement package and you’ve got a pretty sweet deal. Yet, as a group, have you ever seen anyone whine and complain about their compensation like teachers do? You never hear them mention the one HUGE benefit that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. Teachers NEVER get laid off or fired for poor performance. Apparently, every teacher ever hired anywhere is doing just a wonderful job. I guess we are supposed to “trust” them. We sure as hell aren’t supposed to implement any measurable standards to judge them by.
Teachers always claim that “it’s about the kids”. What a bunch of crap. Attempts to reform the system with school choice and virtual schools are working for students and have the support of parents. Yet the teacher unions vigorously oppose these programs. They are selfish, insolent liars more concerned with union protections than professional standards.
COLLEGE STUDENTS
There are approximately 16 million college students currently enrolled in universities around the country. As a former college student myself and knowing many young people currently attending college, I have seen enough anecdotal evidence to convince me that at least 80 percent of these students are liberals. The are bright, idealistic and generally myopic. I can’t really blame these kids though. They just don’t know any better. They have spent their whole lives in the cesspool of liberalism that is academia today. They have been taught that America is a greedy and imperialist nation and that we don’t respect mother earth either! They are told that tolerance means not only accepting but also promoting anything and anyone that is in direct conflict with our traditional Judea-Christian values and beliefs. And they are taught that they are exercising their free speech rights when they shout down, throw things at and incite violence against those that disagree with them.
The good news is that many of these kids escape the cesspool with no permanent damage and go on to become responsible, contributing members of society. That is to say, they become conservatives.
THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA
All the major networks, excluding FOX, and damn near every major newspaper in the country are overwhelmingly liberal. I don’t really understand why, either. As their market share continues to shrink, they seem to be moving even further to the left. You would think that the profit incentive would cause them to rethink what they are doing. Maybe they will all be nationalized and become part of PBS. One thing the government is really good at is subsidizing failure.
THE NON-WORKING
I’m not talking about those hard working Americans that lose their job and spend some time on unemployment. I am referring to those suffering from “Intolerance to Effort” syndrome. People who have chosen unemployment as a career. The New Deal and Great Society programs created this underclass and they have been successfully cultivated by the Democratic party. While claiming to be advocates for these people, democratic policies actually make it more difficult for this group to climb the economic ladder. Democrats need this constituent group and they don’t want people working their way out of it.
CELEBRITIES
Many of these types keep threatening to leave the country if a Republican gets elected for president. Not only are they stupid and arrogant but they are liars too. Just leave already!
So, that pretty much covers the Democratic constituency.
NEXT UP: CONSERVATIVES
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