Good Intentions

Steve Baker, spokesman for the New Jersey Education Association, which represents almost 120,000 teachers, said he’s worried new people will be discouraged from teaching careers.

"Everything that’s done changes the calculation for whether this is a good career choice," he said. "At some point, people cross the line and say, I can’t afford to do this.

Give me a break! Here's what the average salary of a teacher in Bergen county makes according to Salary.com.....$84,072 per year! And this doesn't take into account retirement benefits such as generous pension benefits (from the Press of Atlantic City):

Or generous health care benefits that most teachers pay nothing toward.

I'm not against teachers making as much money as they can but at what point do I, as a taxpayer have a right to say how are tax dollars are spent. When do I get the right to say that good teachers should be rewarded and bad teachers should be let go. When do I get the right to say that those in the public sector benefits should at parity with the private sector?