Dear Editor,
In a feeble attempt to rebut my letter comparing Gilroy and Palo
Alto, Dale
”
More Money
”
Morejon (June 21) yammers about statewide education spending.
This local teachers union mouthpiece parrots,
”
The Rand Report stated that Californians have he ability to pay
more taxes on public education.
”
Dear Editor,
In a feeble attempt to rebut my letter comparing Gilroy and Palo Alto, Dale “More Money” Morejon (June 21) yammers about statewide education spending. This local teachers union mouthpiece parrots, “The Rand Report stated that Californians have he ability to pay more taxes on public education.”
With the median price of a home at more than half million dollars, and mortgage rates increasing 20 percent last year, I would really like Morejon to explain from where all this extra money is supposed to come! Does your little report address private-sector wage stagnation (even a two-percent increase is nearly unheard of these days)? If you really think private-sector workers are so much better off, you are far more ignorant than I thought. Each year, the rest of us are expected to do more with less and for less, and you have to gall to parrot something that says we have all this extra cash?!
Morejon whines that California teacher salaries rank 26th out of 50 when adjusted for the cost of living. That’s above the median – hardly “underfunded.” Did your Bureau of labor “wage disadvantage” propaganda, stating “because teachers work more hours per week,” consider hours per year? – 186 days at 10 hours per day amounts to 116 hours less (per year) than the 247 days at eight hours (minimum) required by most other jobs. And most of us work “at will” jobs, so do account for risk. Any secure (tenured) job is going to pay less; it’s the price of security.
Did you conveniently leaving out the myriad of state holidays for public employees?
Morejon moans that “teachers … receive much less base pay, almost no paid leave, no paid vacations, no wage bonuses and no Social Security.” When comparing total retirement benefits, public-employee pensions, especially in this state, pay far more than the rest of us will ever hope to get, including the Pyramid Scheme (Social Security). The annual 67 additional days by private-sector workers well compensate for the paid leave (usually limited to five to 10 days) and paid vacation (10 days if you’re lucky).
And you can quit whining about the special election. The $80 million cost is less than one percent of what the state legislature wants to deficit spend.
Alan Viarengo, Gilroy
