Thursday, May 04, 2023

California Teacher Pay, Working and Retired

Let's start with working:

There’s a bill with bipartisan support to increase teacher pay by 50% by 2030.

The author of the bill, California Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, says teachers are paid significantly less than college graduates in other fields. It’s getting more difficult to convince people to enter into teaching if they can’t afford to live on it. 

Pay is only part of the problem.  You couldn't pay me enough to work another year past 2027.

The state is facing a projected $22.5 billion deficit. So even if this does have strong bipartisan support, there are going to have to be some tough decisions made in the capitol.

This article is dated yesterday.  I have been given to believe that the bill has been amended from completing the pay raise by 2030 to starting in 2030.  To be determined...

Now let's go to retired, which I hope to be in 49 months and a few days:

If you think that CalSTRS, the behemoth pension system that supports California’s retired teachers, is focused on pensions, you are wrong. The largest teacher-focused pension system in the country is abandoning its core fiduciary role to chase left-wing political goals. Its mission creep will hurt teachers, taxpayers and students alike.

In April, CalSTRS issued an extraordinary press release stating their priorities for the companies they invest in, including corporate greenhouse gas disclosures. CalSTRS is interested in achieving a “net zero” emissions portfolio. Of course, CalSTRS is also interested in corporate diversity, and states: “CalSTRS will vote against an entire board of directors that does not include at least one woman and against a board’s nominating and governance committee if at least 30 percent of its board members are not women. Furthermore, CalSTRS will vote against the nominating and governance committees of Russell 3000 companies that do not disclose their board members’ diversity characteristics"...

[T]he problem with CalSTRS lifting its leftist political banner above all others is that the organization has an actual role, which is fiduciary. Its job isn’t to be in the political vanguard but to caretake and grow its investments to meet its payout obligations.

CalSTRS pension payments are funded by payments from the state, from teachers and school districts. If investment gains fall short, contributions need to increase.

It would be just my luck that CalSTRS won't be able to meet it's obligations to me just when I need them to.  And soon enough they'll have to come up with 50% more....

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those sweet, sweet blue state benefits thanks of your labor union.

Darren said...

It really bothers you that I disagree with you. Why you let me live rent-free in your head, though, I just can't understand, just like I can't understand the (lack of) logic in the silliness that you post here. But please, you do you.

Ellen K said...

This is a huge problem nationwide. I'm retired under TRS in Texas. Many of the TRS board members were educated at UT. UT has become as woke as Berkeley. They have pushed hard to abandon their fiduciary responsibilities to people like me who paid into the system and how are now struggling to make ends meet on what is called a pension. There are moves being made to amend the compensation for retirees with the surplus Texas has managed to accrue. My fear is that this negotiation to get retirees more will come at a cost. No institution that REQUIRES employees to contribute to a pension fund should be allowed to consider any aspect beyond getting the best return for the retirees. BTW just like Social Security, retirement income is taxed. I think some of those yet to retire do not realize what that means.