William McGurn, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal explores the need for pension reform to reform education. McGurn argues that “[w]hen it comes to shaking up the status quo, however, the most potent education reform may be the one that’s too often considered a side issue: pension reform. That’s right, pension reform. Over the past 25 years, the private sector has moved from having four of five workers in a defined-benefit pension to having just one of five workers in such a plan. Mostly this means a shift to 401(k)s and the like, where payouts are related to what employees pay in. Like most government employees, teachers have not made this shift. Their unions fight bitterly to retain the defined benefit plans underwritten by taxpayers. While these plans allow some lucky folks to retire in their 50s with a generous payout, they also feature perverse incentives that punish the young (more on this below) and encourage people to hang on for dear life even when they’d much rather leave.”
Here is a video of McGurn explaining his position:
What do you think? Is pension reform needed?
Education needs a Curtis Flood. I was trapped in a school system that insisted on mediocrity. Having worked my way to becoming an accomplished teacher, I couldn’t move because other school systems preferred to hire people fresh out of college who were cheaper. True, my specialty was English, and there are plenty of us to go around. My way out was to apply for grants and fellowships, and teaching jobs after school. I retired on a relatively modest defined pension, and since I live modestly, that has been all right. Nowadays, I see even that under attack.