Today’s proof that public employee/educators are some of the most out-of-touch tax revenue suckers causing our California paradise to sink into oblivion:

Five UC San Diego academic leaders are among three dozen of the University of California’s highest-paid executives to threaten a lawsuit unless they receive a boost in pension benefits they say was promised to them.

Their demand is outlined in a Dec. 9 letter to the UC Board of Regents obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“We believe it is the university’s legal, moral and ethical obligation,” to increase the benefits for employees earning more than $245,000, the executives wrote. “Failure to do so will likely result in a costly and unsuccessful legal confrontation.”

Remember that quote the next time educators bemoan the rising cost of college and beg for more money to reduce tuition costs for students. Because it isn’t actually about education…it’s about gettin’ theirs.

The university system estimates that the pension hike would add $5.5 million yearly to its $21.6 billion unfunded pension liability. In addition to that, UC would be on the hook for a one-time $51 million cost to make the increases retroactive to 2007.

To date, pensions are calculated as a percentage of the average of the last three years of pay, capped at $245,000. For a 30-year employee, the maximum pension is therefore $183,750 — whether their final salary is $245,000 or much more.

If the cap is lifted, someone making $700,000 could make a pension of $525,000.

Disgusting. “Educators” like these dweebs have spent their entire lives sucking their living out of taxpayer pockets. Example…UCSD Rady School of (Business) Management Dean Robert Sullivan…current salary $331, 373. From his University profile, let’s see what actually qualifies Dean Sullivan to know anything about “business management”…other than how to steal funds from the government:

Prior to his arrival at UCSD, Dr. Sullivan served as dean of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Under his leadership, Kenan-Flagler rose significantly in the national rankings. He initiated a weekend executive MBA Program that was ranked 5th in the world by Business Week magazine in 2001. He also launched the OneMBA executive MBA program, the first truly global program delivered in partnership with four other top-tier international business schools.

From 1995 to 1997, Dr. Sullivan served as director of the University of Texas at Austin’s IC2 Institute, a nontraditional international center for research and education on innovation, creativity, capital and commercialization. He held the J. Marion West Chair for Constructive Capitalism in the university’s Graduate School of Business. Dr. Sullivan served as dean of the Graduate School of Industrial Administration at Carnegie Mellon University from 1991 to 1995. During his tenure, the school’s rankings rose dramatically. He led a complete reengineering of the school’s educational programs, including integrating advanced technology into the field of finance and creating experiential and international distance-learning opportunities for students.

From 1976 to 1991, Dr. Sullivan served in a variety of posts at the University of Texas, including the Joe B. Cook professor of management and associate dean for research and academic affairs in the Graduate School of Business. He was co-director of the Center for Technology Venturing, director of the Bureau of Business Research and director of the Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program in the College of Engineering. Dr. Sullivan was a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia from 1968 to 1970, where he worked as a lecturer in production management in the College of Business Administration at Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa (now Addis Ababa University).

Well…he WAS a Peace Corps volunteer. Did he actually ever run a business?

No.

But he has built his career entirely on taxpayer dollars…so it’s understandable that despite running a business school, he hasn’t a clue as to how the greed of public employees like Sullivan is driving business out of California. In his little world, the State has unlimited funds to give to him and his fellow shake-down artists:

Sullivan, the UCSD management dean, said he and his colleagues are not expecting widespread sympathy for their fight. He said the issue at hand is about ethics, and keeping promises, rather than money.

“We know that benefits packages and health care have to be reined in,” Sullivan said. “We are aware that the issue of the day — salaries and retirement packages — may influence this. Opponents will not be sympathetic.”

Oh. Dean Sullivan IS aware that public employees are draining the public coffers. But heck…that’s for OTHER public employees to worry about…just give him HIS money. Because when Dean Sullivan retires, you really cannot expect him to live on a measley $245,000 a year.

Speaking of entitled “educators”, I was sad to see this letter to the editor from a teacher at my high school alma mater:

In response to “Educator pension crunch looms” (Dec. 28): The article fails to mention that public educators earn at or below median income, especially in California. Few jobs that require postsecondary education are so limited in compensation. Thus, the percentage received in pension (58 percent) may seem high, but the story connects the percentage to an abysmally low rate of pay for highly qualified and educated employees. I am in my fifth year of teaching, with a master’s degree, and I gross $53,000. A first-year California Highway Patrol officer is estimated to make about $87,000, according to the agency’s website.

If the goal is to help destroy the CalSTRS program, then realize that the lack of attractiveness of teaching will diminish from an already very low level. One of the few consolations for our meager paychecks is the promise of stable employment (already dashed by budget cuts), holiday vacations (proposed to be diminished by the White House) and a pension. Sure, most educators teach because we love what we do and that it’s rewarding. But the personal cost is becoming prohibitive to continuing a career in public education.

Chris Fanning

Valhalla High School

El Cajon

Chris Fanning is whining about a “meager” paycheck of $53,000 a year. For a job that he works 9…perhaps 10 months out of the year, has healthcare costs paid for, and a pension paying him 90% of his final salary if he retires at 55. But…he’s not in the job for the money.

Of course he could apply for jobs teaching at private schools…but oops, there would go that taxpayer funded/teacher’s union safety net.

Or better yet, he could direct his career path to university administration…so he can get the big money.

Update: I forgot to add that our President’s admonition here can never apply to a tax-sucking public employee:

Share This entry was posted on Friday, December 31st, 2010 at 12:20 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.