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3/27/2008
WEAC has created an unsustainable monopoly
This piece in the Journal Sentinel reflects my sentiments – EXACTLY - and is a must-read. More taxpayers simply must get this message – financing of public education in Wisconsin as we know it (a monopoly controlled by WEAC, completely unreactive to any law of supply and demand) is NOT sustainable.
How often have we heard, "Education is underfunded; teachers are overworked and underpaid"? Many, many times.
How often have we heard, "Citizens do not have their priorities straight in terms of funding education"? Many, many times.
…. The teachers union can be considered a monopoly. When a business is considered a monopoly, we often hear, "It's not fair. The company can charge whatever it wants, and we have no choice but to pay. So we must regulate the companies as they can't be trusted, and we need to be protected."
I have news for many of you: The monopolist cannot hide from the laws of supply and demand.
…. Teachers are able to bargain for above-market wages and benefits (health and pension) funded by taxpayers. Yet, when do we hear about price-gouging by the WEAC monopoly? And the biggest insult of all is that the union is able to hold the taxpayer hostage by threatening to strike if citizens do not meet its demands.
…. Finally, I must address the crux of this column. According to a 2006 Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance report, Wisconsin spent $2,404 per pupil on benefits in 2003-'04, the third-highest in the United States and 57% higher than the national average. Benefits accounted for more than 26% of Wisconsin school spending, compared to the national average of 18.5%.
This is not sustainable. As benefits continue to rise faster than inflation, fewer dollars are available for instruction, leading to large class sizes, reduction in extracurricular activities, elimination of the arts, etc.
As benefits continue to escalate, fewer dollars are left "for the children." So the next time you hear, "It's all about the children," what you are really hearing is, "It's all about the benefits."
Where is a Ronald Reagan (who broke the air traffic controllers union) when you need him?
Barbara Fischer of Port Washington chairs the business and economics department at a local private university.
COMMENTS
Teachers do not make "above market" wages when compared with persons of equitable education. And in Wisconsin, it is against the law for teachers to strike.
And this sarcastic "it's for the children" thing you work into every anti-education rant takes your position from reasonable taxpayer concern to mean spirited shrillness. Do you really think you need to be so disrespectful of hard working valuable community members in order to make your point?
Tina Haffeman (Fri Mar 28 20:21:32 2008)
Mentioning "It's for the children" is sarcastic? Not at all. It's to make the point that WEAC is NOT in business to protect our state's children. Pleeeeze. How can you defend the opposite position? WEAC is in business to get as much as it can for our state's teachers. WEAC is in business so our kids' teachers can get however many holidays and vacation days and personal days they bargain for. WEAC is in business so they can bargain for Rolls Royce benefits - paid for by taxpayers that don't have anywhere near the same benefits.
I just don't buy your point Tina that teachers' wage and benefits are above criticism. We taxpayers pay those wage and benefits. In a time when public school budgets are badly strained, why should those same benefits continue? It's supply and demand. If our teachers think their job conditions, wages and benefits are so bad, why are there very long lists for most public school job postings?
The fact is that public employee wage and benefits are unsustainable. The point was brought home well by Ms. Fischer - and me - here - last month.
Jo E. (3/28/2008)
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