Should teachers and govt workers pay more into their pensions and healthcare like everyone else?

We all have read or seen on tv, the controversy in Wisconsin, in which the Governor wants to end collective bargaining with the unions. Dozens of schools closed as a result of high absences as thousands of protesters, including students and teachers, marched on the Capitol building to demand state lawmakers strike down a bill that would require union concessions worth $30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years.

The new bill also requires educators to contribute 5.8% to their pensions and 12.6 percent to their health care. Currently, educators pay 0.2% for their pensions and 4 to 6% of their health care costs. Why should they be any different? Everyone else has to pay more for their healthcare and into their pension plans. What makes them so special?

State lawmakers proposed the legislation as part of an effort to close a $3.6 billion budget gap, and say they expect it to pass and eventually reach the desk of newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

“This bill isn’t about an assault on public employees. We have great public employees throughout the state, I have them in my district, hard-working folks,” said Republican state Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. “What this is is about the budget. We’re $3.6 billion in the hole. We’re not going to raise taxes to solve it. We all ran, you know, this last election cycle on saying that we are going to cut government spending. … Everybody is going to have to do their part.” Fox News

You know what is so ironic? There is supposed to be a vote on this bill, in the state senate, and the chicken Democrats are in hiding, and haven’t shown up. Police are now out looking for them….hmm time to toss their butts out of office then, isn’t it? And fine them big. In times of a budget crunch, EVERYONE has to cut back and that means even public employees. Taxpayers can’t afford to take care of themselves or their families, so why should they be forced to support others?

Of course, the Obamanut in the White House called this an attack on unions. There’s not much he can say, unions helped put him in office, and it’s payback time. Time to suck up to the unions.

“I think it is very important for us to understand that public employees, they’re our neighbors, they’re our friends,” he said. “These are folks who are teachers and they’re firefighters and they’re social workers and they’re police officers.” Fox News

I can see police and firefighters, but not teachers who sit on their butts 180 days out of the year. This has nothing to do with kids being taught. It’s about how unions have too much power, and have broken the country. At one time, they were great, they represented the average worker fine, but through time, greed got in the way.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2008, the average salary for an elementary school teacher was $51, 240 while middle school educators earned $50,950 and high school teachers earned $49, 400. Fox News

Hmm, and to think, most on Social Security and their small pensions are lucky to live on $20,000 per year, AND they paid into the system. So tell me, what makes public workers other than law enforcement and firefighters better than those who have been forced to take concessions?