Jon Stewart Calls Out Big-Shot Teachers With Their Fancy No. 2 Pencils

-sigh- those uppity teachers are living like royalty while we all have to slave for the Military Industrial Complex and Financial Elite. I hope we bust up all their unions soon. It’s obviously better to pay for the financial bail out than it is to invest in our future. /sarcasm

They just want the teachers to pay for their benefits, just like everyone else! And even FDR, the quintessential big-hearted liberal politician, didn’t think public servants should unionize.nStewart has a good point, however, about the bailout thing. In a way, those CEO’s that received taxpayer bailouts work for the American people.n

Teachers pay 100% of their benefits, you listen to FOX too much. This is how it works, you go to get a job, they tell you you get $12 an hour or salary of $28000 to start with + they pay the following benefits to you worth another 12000 a year which you pay tax on. Then the government takes the share for your benefits and send the money to appropriate agency, etc.nnTeachers pay 100% of their benefits (subject to withholding) Now, if you learned anything different Elizabeth double check with teachers and see for yourselfnnAlso, if they go somewhere else for same hours same type or class of jobs that doesn’t have these benefit package there is more cash so instead of $12 / hour they may get $16 and no benefit.

So Elizabeth your going to give your social security back?? Ceo’s making millions of dollars off the backs of working people. Without unions ,workers will be making minimum wage. My Dad when he started at General motors had no union. When they got the U.A.W.S union they had to strike to get better working conditions and wages, and overtime pay. You conservatives are crazy, my Dad raised 6 kids and had health benifits because of the union. Wall street and there greed brought this country down, as well as fat cat ceo’s. The teachers and working people didn’t!!! and who was president when this recession began???? Bush..the war criminal.

It’s also a myth that teachers get the entire summer off. Most schools end mid-June and start up again mid-August. During their time off (time they are not paid for) they attend continuing education classes, go to meetings and seminars, plan lessons for the year, etc. Many teachers teach summer school classes to make ends meet or work second jobs. During the year, teachers work many, many hours grading papers, attending conferences and professional developments, lesson planning, meeting with parents and other teachers, heading clubs, and tutoring or meeting with students that they are not paid for.

just because teachers have a job off during the summer does make them evil. Contract construction workers, also paid for by tax payers, do maybe 3 hours of actual hard work, a week and get paid for over 40 hour weeks. Tax payers pay those benefits in some manner or another. Not to mention, here in Wisconsin, our roads SUCK. If you are going to do it to teachers. Do it to police officers, firefighters, sherrifs, and EVERY OTHER PUBLIC sector job OR contract period. Oh wait, scott walkers largest contributors were the police and firefighters who magically aren’t part of this “bill”

and for those of you who don’t know ALL OF THE UNIONS SAID THEY WOULD PAY FOR THEIR PART, just let them keep the power of their union and scott walker said no. Didn’t debate it, he simply said no.

Gee–if our Congress, state legislators, governors are all so concerned they need to take from promised pensions (remember no social security) and jacked up medical etc. — then when do they cut their salaries, pay for the health insurance (which is better than the average working person’s) and last but not least give up their Congressional LIFE TIME PENTIONS? That would be a great start to show good faith in what they are asking of the people they “represent” in good faith for the good of all of us.nFIGHT ON WISCONSIN and the Honorable WIS 14u2026and Ohio, Indiana and all the others out there fighting for all of usu2026Deezie-65 year old, 99er with US Bank take overu2026that took over our jobs, but took our unpaid/unused vacationu2014the companies shares in our 401k accounts (what was left of them from the crash)u2026no severance pay after being there eleven yearsu2026do I wish I had a Union nowu2026you betcha.nPlease forgive me if this double posted, I’ve never before posted anything, let alone donated on line…but this was so important — I did both.

I wish for those who don’t appreciate the work of a teacher to come to a classroom with 40 first grade students for just one hour (not even a day) to understand why WE TEACHERS deserve so much more than the *&^%$ we get. Maybe we could pay for our benefits if our salaries were just a little bit more decent. I am also a mother of 2 and can’t thank enough my sons’ teachers. While I’m teaching, babysitting for free after school because parents are late, caring, killing myself with kids that have nothing to do with me, my 2 boys are with another TEACHER……nIF YOU CAN READ THIS, thank a the TEACHER who busted her *&^ teaching you.

So what are you implying? That teachers don’t work for the American people? Firefighters, policemen, nurses don’t work for the American people? Really? Why was it okay to protect contracts for CEOs and not protect the rights of all working people who have contracts? Teachers have been giving back! Increased class sizes, less resources, prices everywhere going up…we have been giving back. Teachers do pay for their benefits! Other public employees pay for benefits as well. This is nothing about money and everything to do with dismantling the middle and working class. This is class warfare! This has nothing to do with liberal or conservative and EVERYTHING to do with what’s right and what’s wrong!

It’s not your job.Parents come late,Boo Hoo, I know there is nothing you can do. If I was the school administrator, I would tell you to lock the door at a certain time….period. Parents, need to GROW UP

That’s their job.

That’s their job. My job consists of extensive travel, time away from family, only TWO WEEKS off per year, working/phone conferences until midnight, etc. Teachers complain about parents, “extra work” , more schooling, and not enough time off – PLEASE! This is the path they chose, knowing full well they wouldn’t become millionaires! Yes, they deserve increased pay – at least the good ones do – however, Unions recognize seniority and not talent. Such a shame when it’s the future we are shaping.

Mr. Stewart hits the pencil on the head when he uses sarcasm to defend the teachers of our great country. There seem to be a great evil or negative flow that is eager to undermine our teachers. It makes one wonder if the evil is the dummying of America. If the masses become uneducated and their powers of critical thinking are diminished then. the small group of educated, rich, and powerful people can rule the land. It is almost like the evil of slavery when the mighty and powerful kept their power by keeping the multitude of uneducated people down trodden and intimidated. I pray that this is not the intentions of those who want to ruin our public education system. What ever happened to liberty, justice, respect and honor to all who try to teach our children? The future of our country depends on building a strong and productive nation. May God Bless and Keep our teachers and America….. The home of the brave and the free. Have you thanked a teacher today?

Mr. Stewart hits the pencil on the head when he uses sarcasm to defend the teachers of our great country. There seem to be a great evil, negative flow eager to undermine our teachers. It makes one wonder if the evil is the dummying of America. If the masses become uneducated, and their powers of critical thinking are diminished then. The small group of educated, rich, and powerful people can rule the land. It is almost like the evil of slavery when the mighty and powerful kept their power by keeping the multitude of uneducated people down trodden and intimidated. I pray that this is not the intentions of those who want to ruin our public education system. What ever happened to liberty, justice, respect and honor to all who try to teach our children? The future of our country depends on building a strong and productive nation. May God Bless and Keep our teachers and America….. The home of the brave and the free. Have you thanked a teacher today?

Good for you! You hit the pencil on the head too! Dumbing down is exactly the goal and it starts with adding to the ruin of public schools and public education. It is obvious that critical thinking has already diminished greatly when you hear people parrot “Fox Lies” instead of thinking and reading for themselves. How the people who work for “Fox Lies” can look at themselves in the mirror is beyond me. They are nothing more than shills using DoubleSpeak and you can look to their master, Rupert Murdoch, one of the utmost “elite” for the source.

For people who can afford fancy tutors or high-quality private schools, extracurricular activities and college educations for their children, I suppose they don’t have to give a fuck about educators and students below their level in society.

That’s EXACTLY the POINT. As teachers (I teach HS) we do A HE** OF A LOT more than we are PAID to do. AND YOU REALLY can’t afford to not do this if you want to be a “great teacher.” BY DEFINITION great teachers go way and above and beyond the “call of duty”… A “great teacher” would NEVER do what you suggest, LOCK THE door on a 1st grader because her parents are late for pick up! And no, Admins in most schools would not help, they would just look at you with a mean eye for wanting to leave “early.”nnMy “planning period” is during lunch, and everyday I give up my planning period to tutor students and allow them to make up work. Every day I am here after school doing something I am not paid to do. everyday I go home and grade and plan for at least 3-5 hours on top of my 10 hour at school work day because i do not have time to plan at school. I do this because I sincerely care deeply about my kids, because I want them to be successful… nnIf I did what you suggest, not be there for them at lunch of after school, etc, then basically I would be labeled a “horrible teacher” who should be fired because I don’t give a d**n about the kids because I am lazy and just want to go home “early,” etc.

I don’t think Lori was “complaining”, just simply stating that a teacher’s job is lot more than most people think. I for one am so tired of being told–you have the whole summer off and only work ’til 3 everyday. I work every day from about 7:30 to 5 AT school, then put in one to two hours at home after my own kids go to bed. Then, I usually put in 6-8 hours on the weekend. Spread that over 42 weeks of school per year and it comes to about 45 hours per week if spread over 50 weeks per year. It’s just condensed into a shorter time period. Oh–and I am not even including the hours every summer spent on curriculum development and planning work that is rarely paid for. Not to mention the workshops and classes taken to stay current. I am not complaining either. I love what I do and would not do anything else. But–I just wish people would stop saying it is a “cushy” job. And–isn’t everyone entitled to complain about the hardships of the job they chose? It sounds like hkmama is complaining about her job too.

Wow. Just, wow. Generalizations, extremes to make a point. Here is the difference between you and others. No one else is exagerating for the sake of a point – because they don’t have to. You should get a job at Fox News.nnMillionaires? GROW UP. You’re way out of line. Your job has limitations, and clear expectations. If it does not, you can leave; most can – and work somewhere else, most likely on your same career path.nnSo lets use generalizations, because its all you seem to understand. Do you really think teachers have been provided with clear expectations? Do you really believe that, “if they don’t like it they shouldn’t be teachers?” Are you really making that general of a comparision to support your point? nnAmazing. Here’s something for you to do. nn1. Find a teacher – ANY teacher – that has their “Summers OFF”, or even general holidays off.nn2. Find me an elementary or high school teacher who can support kids being the primary, and *only* income of a household. nn3. Solve their budget how they pay the 4 year required bachelors degree student loans off, and how much power they have over the percentage they contribute to their pensions and benefits, to make this possible.nn4. Take away large pool healthcare accounts and their proven efficiencies – and tell me what that does to the economic model of the taxpayer. I bet you’ll love unions after that.nnGo watch Ricky Lake, overnight expert. Not all things can be cut and dried to your narrow minded, obvlivious point of view.

The solution here is for teachers to get rid of their useless union, who are more politicized, than a worker’s protection entity.nTeachers would be better off with enterprise bargaining based on their years of service, teaching abilities and loyalty to their job aspects.nOur summer school is a joke… kids are taught nothing and learn the same.nOur superintendent is over-paid and ineffective. Overall US education is too costly because it’s top loaded with fat cats and politicians are the rampant mice.

I am tired to the teaching-bashing in this country by the Right, The Tea Party, Rush, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megan Kelly and the public- at- large . They seem to think that because I am I teacher I am living a life of life of luxury. Yes on my salary, and the summer reading program I work I am rolling in the money. No, Megan Kelly, I never take a SUMMER off, because I am busy teaching children who are not on grade level in reading, how to READ, so they can get to grade level! I am a teacher, with a Masters Degree, and I paid thousands of dollars for my education. I do not live in the luxury I hear the Right speak of. I am missing something? Is there a gravy train out there somewhere handing money out to teachers, and I have missed the train? I am a hardworking educator and I love children. Why do these Right Wingers think I have it so great? Well I think I do, and it is only for the love of children! However, I am paying a large part of my salary each month to pay back my student loan. So, why does the Right want to take more of my rights, benefits, and cut my pay? Why does the Right want to cram more students in my classroom, so I have less one-on-one time with my students? nnWhy does Megan Kelly think I have my summers off? How does she know how every teacher in the United States spends their summer?nn Oh, so times are hard so take it out on the teachers. Yes, the ones who are educating your children for their future. You see Tea Party People, Right Wingers, and the Right Winged Teacher Media Bashing Outlets; I am the one you send your child to all day long. I am the one who teaches your child how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and learn algebra in fifth grade. When your child does not understand something, I am the one who sits down and re-teaches the skill. This is why teachers need smaller class sizes, so we can help students in need. Not so we can sit back and relax. I will do whatever it takes for the students to understand a concept, including giving students my home telephone number for homework help. Yes, it is I; remember me, the one with the cushy job. So, remember me, you people with the u201creal world jobsu201d when you are at Happy Hour, I am most likely on the phone with a student helping him or her with their math homework, or still at school working with the debate team, science club, or math team!nnFox News knows nothing about what goes on in the life of a teacher or the students in a classroom. It you want to know what is really happening as a teacher! Not Megan Kelly, she does not have a clue!n

I am tired to the teaching-bashing in this country by the Right, The Tea Party, Rush, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megan Kelly and the public- at- large . They seem to think that because I am I teacher I am living a life of luxury. Yes on my salary, and the summer reading program I work I am rolling in the money. No, Megan Kelly, I never take a SUMMER off, because I am busy teaching children who are not on grade level in reading, how to READ, and get to grade level! I am a teacher with a Masters Degree, and I paid thousands of dollars for my education. I do not live in the luxury I hear the Right speak of. I am missing something? Is there a gravy train out there somewhere handing money out to teachers, and I have missed the train? I am a hardworking educator and I love children. Why do these Right Wingers think I have it so great? Well I think I do, and it is only for the love of children! However, I am paying a large part of my salary each month to pay back my student loan. So, why does the Right want to take more of my rights, benefits, and cut my pay? Why does the Right want to cram more students in my classroom, so I have less one-on-one time with my students? nnWhy does Megan Kelly think I have my summers off? How does she know how every teacher in the United States spends their summers?nn Oh, so times are hard so take it out on the teachers. Yes, the ones who are educating your children for their future. You see Tea Party People, Right Wingers, and the Right Winged Media Teacher Bashing Outlets; I am the one you send your child to all day long. I am the one who teaches your child how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and learn algebra in fifth grade. When your child does not understand something, I am the one who sits down and re-teaches the skill. This is why teachers need smaller class sizes, so we can help students in need. Not so we can sit back and relax. I will do whatever it takes for the students to understand a concept, including giving students my home telephone number for homework help. Yes, it is I; the one with the cushy job and the summers off. So, remember me, you people with the u201creal world jobsu201d when you are at Happy Hour, I am on the phone with a student helping him or her with their math homework, or still at school working with the debate team, science club, or math team!nnIf you want to know what is really happening in education ask a teacher! NOT Megan Kelly, she does not have a clue!

I am tired to the teaching-bashing in this country by the Right, The Tea Party, Rush, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megan Kelly and the public- at- large . They seem to think that because I am I teacher, I am living a life of life of luxury. I work half of the day and get paid to work a full day. However, I am in my classroom at 7:30AM each day. I leave at different time each day. Sometimes 4:30PM, 5:30PM, 7:00PM, 9:00PM and 10:00 PM. Oh, and no overtimer or a thank you. Yes on my salary, and the summer reading program I work I am rolling in the money. nnNo, Megan Kelly, I never take a SUMMER off, because I am busy teaching children how to READ on grade level! I am a teacher, with a Masters Degree, and I paid thousands of dollars for my education. I worked two jobs to put myself through school. I had to pay to student teach, I could not hold a job while I was student teaching, because my University did not allow student teachers to have outside jobs. I never hear that bit of information mention in the press. Student teachers sacrifice a lot to become a teachers.nnI do not live in the luxury I hear the Right speak of. I am missing something? Is there a gravy train out there somewhere handing money out to teachers, and I have missed the train? I am a hardworking educator and I love children. Why do these Right Wingers think I have it so great? Well I think I do, and it is only for the love of children! nnI am paying for a portion of my medical benefits, like everyone else in the private sector. Why does the public think teachers do not contributeto their health benefits? Because Fox New has told them so!nn So, why does the Right want to take more of my teacher rights, benefits, and cut my pay? Why does the Right want to cram more students in my classroom, so I have less one-on-one time with my students? nnWhy does Megan Kelly think I have my summers off? How does she know how every teacher in the United States spends their summer?nnIf you really want to know what is happening in education ask a teacher, not a Fox News commentator!n n Oh, so times are hard so take it out on the teachers. Yes, the ones who are educating your children for their future. You see Tea Party People, Right Wingers, and the Right Winged Media Teacher Bashing Outlets; I am the one you send your child to all day long. I am the one who teaches your child how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, divide, and learn algebra in fifth grade When your child does not understand something, I am the one who sits down and re-teaches the skill. This is why teachers need smaller class sizes, so we can help students in need. Not so we can sit back and relax. I will do whatever it takes for the students to understand a concept, including giving students my home telephone number for homework help. Yes, it is I; remember me, the one with the cushy job. So, remember me, you people with the u201creal world jobsu201d when you are at Happy Hour, I am most likely on the phone with a student helping him or her with their math homework, or still at school working with the debate team, science club, or math team!nnI am the one who comforts your child when she is upset when you get divorced. I am the one who gives your child attention because you work too long in your high paying career, and pay very little attention to your child. I am the one who purchases the items for the treasure box out of my own pocket. Like most teachers, I supply the majority of fiction and non-fiction literature in my classroom library, so my students will grow to love reading. I never complain because it is in the best interests of the students. See my cushy, high paying job allows me all kinds of perks. Yes, to buy books at yard sales, and Half-Price-Books. nnBeing a teacher is not a u201cjobu201d it is a life choice one makes. You devote life to making the world a better place for children. So, if you think I have a cushy job, I have great summers, and great pay. I make a challenge to you: Give it a whirl! After all it is a cushy job! You devote yourself to making the world a better place for children. Look at Bill O’Reilly, he loved teaching so much, he got out!

I teach in California and when I retire I will NOT get Social Security. The retirement program that I PAY INTO every month (which is not matched with company funds like my ex-husband’s 401K) is what I will get when I retire. I also pay over $700 a month for 80/20 Kaiser, Eye, and Dental (no ortho coverage). I tutor in the morning before school, teach 2nd grade, and then tutor after school. I also work during the summer because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to survive. I have two school age kids of my own that I am supporting. My take home pay is $3600 a month…I have been teaching for 10 years and I have a Master’s Degree….and for the last 2 years my pay has been decreased because of cuts to education.

Isn’t it ironic how in times of economic prosperity, few people want to be teachers because the pay is so bad? However, in times of economic trouble, suddenly our teaching jobs look pretty darned good and everyone wants to take aim at them.nnWhen my friends out in the business world were making 6 figures, yes, I felt a little jealous. I have never gone on the exciting foreign vacations, nor bought the latest high def flatscreen TVs, etc. that they did. I take local vacations (though nearly all of my weekends and days off are taken up grading student assignments and planning lessons). I watch a 21 year old TV. In every financial way in my life I have made do with less.nnI told myself “It’s ok though, I have stability they lack.” And I like stability, which is why I am willing to put up with the low paychecks. They like the paychecks, and were willing to put up with the lack of stability. We each looked at our priorities and made our choices.nnBy the way, teaching salaries/benefits, etc are all different in different parts of the country. We do need to be careful and not overgeneralize. For example, there are some areas of the country – like mine – where teachers DO NOT GET Social Security, so their pensions are their only safety net. And yes, I pay a portion of my salary into my pension.

You have NO idea what being a teacher is like. I wish you could live the life of one for a day. You would suffer. We teachers know we aren’t going to be millionaires, but how dare you insinuate that we aren’t worth more (or only some of us are). If I got paid for BABYSTITTING I would make more money each year. Literally. But I sure wouldn’t have benefits.nUsing your logic, you must have known that you would only have two weeks off, not see your family because of travel, and yet I bet you make decent money (which would be more than the 38,000 I make a year after working in this field for 16 years). Though I will not assume so much as you have.nDo you have the opportunity to get a raise, or increase benefits? We don’t. Do you have an expense account? We don’t. Can you be paid overtime? We can’t. Can you afford to go on vacation, buy a new car when yours breaks down, or pay for a new air conditioner/heater when it’s 115 degrees out? We can’t. The only way these things are possible are for us to take on second and third jobs. I bet you don’t have to do that, and though I am offended by you, I really hope you don’t have to go through that by yourself or with your family. Ever.nThe more people bash, accuse, and abuse American teachers, the weaker the system becomes. And not just the education system. The American way of life. Our communities do not benefit from blaming teachers for the evils of our societies.nBe a part of the solution, sir. Be a part of a school fundraiser. See if your company has grants available to your local teachers, and offer them up. Go to parent/teacher conferences and put a face to the people you so quickly judge as lazy whiners. because that is what your message said to me. Good day.nA teacher in AZ.n

My questions is… Why does everyone have to have the same job requirements? I wish I was an athlete who made millions for throwing a ball around and working for 4 months a year. But I didn’t CHOOSE that profession so why should I begrudge them for what they have. If you don’t like what you have, this is American, change your situation!

Yeah, we have it now. It’s the unions against tax paying Americans. Unions have out lived their usefulness. The corruption is so thick you can cut it with a knife. I do no think any union should be permitted to hold tax payers hostage, for any reason, health, dental, retirement or any other benefits. What would happen if our military were allowed to unionize?

Why are you replying to me?? I was also a teacher in Az.. So i undestand where you are coming from. I agree with you. I was replying to Elizabeth’s comment about teachers should not unionize. I thought teachers in California are in unions. Teachers all have degrees and are not paid enough. I worked the summers too. I worked at a Catholic school here in Arizona, and i started out at 21,000 a year. Then worked at a public school.

I worked in elementary schools for 12 years as a secretary. I had to be at work earlier each day, stay later each day and work many more days of the year. I have 4 years of college and “run” the school most days because thePrincipal is out of the building. The good teachers are excellent and deserve higher wages, but the bad teachers are horrible. They show up late, leave early and I have known a few that can barley teach the material they are suppose to. They work on the sport they are coaching instead of teaching math, reading, etc. Every day that it is nice outside they take an extra recess in the morning and afternoon. I have wonderful teacher friends but I will never feel sorry for their wages. Many people in the private sector make less and deal with just as many problems and have just as much stress on the job and certainly don’t have 2 weeks off at Christmas, 2 months off in the summer and a few days for Easter and Presidents Day to boot. The good teachers should want to get rid of the not so good ones but with the unions, that can’t be done. It’s a sorry tale all the way around. And always, the students lose.

Thank you Jon!!! I have been teaching for 24 years. When I started I had 32 1st graders. We managed since the standards weren’t as high but now 27 2nd graders is a lot! We are not only teachers that have to push but counselors, moms, etc. I feel so bad for the kids! We give and give. I work most days 11 hours at school and come home exhausted and can’t make my bills and yes I have two in college. I guess I must be in the poverty level since I don’t make what Wall Street does and they supposedly are at poverty with $250,000 a year. WOW. Don’t mean to complain because I think I have the best job in the world. I go to work every day thinking I get to teach and change a life today. Thanks for supporting us Jon!!!

Yeah, and you have the option to take your pay in checks EVERY month ALL year. AND your CEU , lesson planning time, conference days are all PAID, so stop whining and just do your job. I’m a nurse and YOUR benefits are a heck of a lot better than ours are! I know, because my dad was a school superintendent and my mom was a teacher before all your paid time now was paid. nurselady243

You chose the job. You knew the pay. Everybody that has kids has to deal with/love them. Most (real jobs) require work outside of the office. This is reality, it sucks. Teachers are paid plenty, and if you are short on expenses, try cutting the extras from your life.

Yeah! Let’s all become professional athletes. It’s just a matter of wanting it, and not complaining when rich people constantly get richer and the rest of us evil socialist whiner teachers don’t.

Actually, they didn’t know the pay, because management lied to their union when they said teachers would receive X amount in benefits instead of wages, and then demanded they give up the benefits, AFTER earning them. HYPOCRITE.

I have a sister, teaching in the public school system and her husband (a police officer) left her with two kids and little support. She does very well with her budgeting and although wishes she would get more pay, never really complains, she loves what she does, is content with the pay, knew what it was when she decided to become a teacher and is looking forward to retirement with her benefits. Not a glamorous and extravagant life, but a fulfilling and content one.

Did you not watch the piece of satire these posts are about? If not please do and then answer the question it posits. Is it really equitable to agree that employees of Wall Street deserve whatever it takes in pay and benefits so that the “best” people can be recruited to get the job done, while teachers not only don’t deserve they pay they now get, but even less?nnWhy do some embrace the idea that if you want to be a teacher, then part of that is accepting compensation that makes living a comfortable, middle-class life a struggle.nnIs air-conditioning in AZ and reliable transportation really an “extra”?nnIs educating the future generation really that much less important than managing a hedge-fund? Why is merit-based pay not a good idea for those who do investment ratings that are wildly inaccurate or compile derivitive investment vehicles that collapse catastrophically, but merit-based pay is essential for teachers? nnMore broadly, should all workers just stand by and watch as hard-won quality-of-life issues such as the 40 hr work week, secure pensions and affordable health-care are converted into increased productivity bigger corporate bottom-lines and larger returns to investors?nnHow far back in time are American workers going to be forced to go just to hang on to employment?nnIf this “reality” “sucks” so much, why do you defend it so vigorously?

Modern cynics and skeptics… see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing. ~John F. Kennedy nn u201cThose who would destroy or further limit the rights of organized labor u2013 those who would cripple collective bargaining or prevent organization of the unorganized u2013 do a disservice to the cause of democracy.u201d John F. KennedynnnI am a teacher in FL. I do pay for my own benefits and have my own 403b that I contribute to. According to our now Gov. Scott, the state has a 3.6 billion dollar deficit. He wants to take 3.3 billion of that from education. He wants to take out sound retirement fund and use it to give coporate tax breaks. He wants to force teachers to contribute 5% of their salary to their 401k. Are you FORCED to contribute?? The big question is; who is going to want to bring their business here when there ends up being an uneducated work force because he’s ran all the good teachers out of the state??nnI choose to teach in a title 1 school, so that I can make the most difference in the lives of my students. I spend my own money to give these students experiences they would otherwise never have. I choose to teach in an inclusion classroom where students with special needs and autism are mixed in with general ed students. I would gladly give you or anyone a day of my salary to come and do my job for one day! I guarantee afterwards, you would be screaming I am not paid nearly enough.nnDo not judge teachers until you have spent one day in their lives!!!!n

I just want to argue with one little point… I think Wisconsin has the nicest roads I’ve ever seen… if those roads suck, PA roads are abysmal!

Nurses vs teachers!nnYou really have to hand it to Republican political strategists and the power of their message machine.nnThey certainly know how to divide and conquer.

Since Michele Bachmann had something to say about months of the year worked and who gets money from us taxpayers, let’s bring farm subsidies into the conversation. Her farmer inlaws availed themselves of farm subsidies, I think to the tune of around $250,000, and unless they are dairy farmers, they didn’t work all 12 months either. I sincerely hope the Daily Show’s crack investigative team does a little research and expose on crazy, crazy Michele Bachmann! Pleeeeeeez!

Since Michele Bachmann had something to say about months of the year worked and who gets money from us taxpayers, let’s bring farm subsidies into the conversation. Her farmer inlaws availed themselves of farm subsidies, I think to the tune of around $250,000, and unless they are dairy farmers, they didn’t work all 12 months either. I sincerely hope the Daily Show’s crack investigative team does a little research and expose on crazy, crazy Michele Bachmann! Pleeeeeeez!

Since you’ve included comments from Michele Bachmann, the crack Daily Show investigative team should look into her record. Her inlaws have hit up the taxpayers for, I think, around $250,000 in farm subsidies – and unless they are dairy farmers, they don’t work the farm all 12 months of the year, either! Pleeeeeeze research this hypocrasy! Plus, you could get maybe a week of material out of Bachmann’s craziness and hypocrasy – from the present back to her early days lurking at a gay rights rally!

So sorry about the repostings. Thought my post was eliminated and that my attempts to login had failed. I’ll try not to do that again! nnA “woot” out to teachers. So much criticism recently. Afer seeing coverage of ‘Waiting for Superman’ I wondered whatever happened to the practice of having classroom observation and evaluation once or twice every year? Back when my mom was a teacher, that practice prevented teachers from getting off-track – or was a way to provide just cause for firing those teachers who didn’t respond to attempts to get them to improve. Have evals been dropped? If so, was it due to ‘cost saving’ measures?

1) Parents should be able to choose which school their children attend. Doing so will result in the schools improving their education to compete with other schools.nn2) Pay for performance. As in many other industries through out time when performance is rewarded the overall product is improved.nnLet’s try these two simple steps to improve the education process.

Any wayu200b Iu200b canu200b interestu200b Jonu200b Stewartu200b oru200b anyu200b otheru200b intelligentu200b celebrityu200b tou200b supportu200b theu200b unionsu200b inu200b Ohio.u200b Weu200b areu200b fightingu200b foru200b ouru200b veryu200b existenceu200b againstu200b theu200b Republicans.u200b Union busting sb5 has passed the Senate and will fly through the House any day. Now a u200b referendumu200b isu200b requiredu200b tou200b haveu200b verifiedu200b signaturesu200b foru200b 6%u200b ofu200b totalu200b votesu200b castu200b inu200b theu200b lastu200b gubernatorialu200b election.u200b Inu200b thisu200b case,u200b thatu200b meansu200b 231,147u200b verifiedu200b signatures,u200b whichu200b meansu200b weu200b willu200b needu200b closeu200b tou200b 500,000u200b signaturesu200b tou200b ensureu200b weu200b haveu200b theu200b neededu200b numberu200b ofu200b verifiedu200b signatures.u200b Ifu200b weu200b rallyu200b peopleu200b inu200b Columbusu200b withu200b theu200b magneticu200b personalitiesu200b thatu200b graceu200b theu200b Dailyu200b Showu200b thisu200b wouldu200b gou200b au200b longu200b wayu200b inu200b gatheringu200b theu200b signaturesu200b neededu200b tou200b stopu200b sb5.

Oh you poor, brain-washed soul! Nurselady243, can’t you see that teachers are NOT your enemy? Why envy their so-called “benefits” that are a heck of a lot better that yours? Have you considered that YOUR employer should compensate you adequately, too? Including benefits? Have you tried to individually bargain or push for better compensation and/or benefits? Have you? If you have, and been rebuffed, or been given a pittance of a raise below what you know in your heart (based upon your professional expertise) to be commensurate with your skills, WOULD YOU CONSIDER forming/organizing a Union to plead your case with a STRONGER voice? THINK ABOUT THIS. This is what Corporate America (and their Republican puppets in Congress) wishes you never comprehend or THINK HARD ABOUT!

Bless your heart DEEZIE. Comments like this opens eyes, and are worth their weight in gold. Thanks for sharing.

The real point is that the super-rich, super-greedy have got us all blaming workers for the country’s woes, to distract us from doing something about the bankers and hedge-fund thieves who screwed everything up, were happy to take hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, but don’t want any taxpayer dollars to feed and clothe middle class and poorer folks. It’s one set of ethics for those who can buy Congress, and another set of rules for the rest of us. Pay attention, folks!

Change the subject!!!! The only teachers and public employees are in the crosshairs is to distract public debate from the real crooks, the bankers and financiers who raped the country, were happy to take billions of dollars of taxpayer money, and don’t want anyone else to have the benefits they have. Need a scapegoat? Teachers are good, because they have (ominous music..) a UNION! The same folks who taught you that Liberal means bad person are now focused on making Public Worker mean Bad Person. It’s called misdirection. Magicians and Nazis used it well.

While this video is very entertaining, it makes an incorrect premise. The financial market troubles began with Government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell into financial crisis. These Government-sponsored enterprises were set up take commercial activities on behalf of the US government who wanted to increase home ownership. Because they were making loans to consumers who would not have otherwise been able to receive a loan on the commercial market, these entities of the government had combined losses of $14.9 billion and were no longer able to raise funds on their own. Because of this, the federal government instructed the treasury to extend as much as $200 billion (teat milk) during the first round of government bailouts. Where Wall Street u201cfucked things upu201d as Jon Stewart puts it, is by purchasing these government backed loans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. When commercial banks such as Bank of America had these government backed loans go bad, their bottom line went bad. Yes, there was a government bailout of commercial banks. However, there was a moral hazard created by the government-sponsored enterprises that sold these loans to the private sector. The government started the housing crisis which lead to the financial crisis by making promises to Wall Street, that these loans would be paid back by the people it made loans to, which the government couldnu2019t keep. The situation is the same in Wisconsin. Somewhere along the line government workers were made promises that the government couldnu2019t keep up with. If the growth in the economy would have grown from 2008-2010 the way it did in 2004-2007, then there may not be the huge budget short falls that the state governments are seeing today and government employee salaries could have continued to grow. The reality in both situations is that people didnu2019t pay back the loans as we hoped and the economy and tax revenues didnu2019t grow as we hoped. Therefore action needs to take place.

Thank you John, nnWhy is it the argument that people keep wanting to use is they have good benefits and I have bad. Therefore they should have bad. nnWhy don’t you ask yourself why don’t you have the benefits.

Do you think corporate America should hold the other 99% of workers hostage?

Perhaps the unions need to be reformed. But removed goes way too far. Unless you want no teaching to go on. Do you think we are going to attract better teachers by eliminating pay and benefits?

Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachersu2019 hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! Itu2019s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do – baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.n nThatu2019s right. Letu2019s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PMnwith 45 min. off for lunch and plan u2014 that equals 6 1/2 hours).n nEach parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.n nNow how many do they teach in dayu2026maybe 30? So thatu2019s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.n nLETu2019S SEEu2026. Thatu2019s $585 X 180= $105,300 peryear. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).n nWhat about those special education teachers and the ones with Masteru2019s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 childrennX 180 days = $280,800 per year.n nWait a minute u2014 thereu2019s something wrong here! There sure is!n nThe average teacheru2019s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per studentu2013a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE yournkids

To deluded hkmama,nIf you think that everyone of us, teachers and the rest of us workers, all choose the paths we’re now on, you need a segment with Dr. Phil. So many people “choose” an occupation because they are qualified, there are openings, they have a reasonable sense that they can do the job, and there’s “decent” compensation. Do you think all teachers are in that profession because they had a “calling”? Come on, get real… People need to work to make a living, and most of us take whatever we can find. Only the very lucky few are in their chosen profession and happy as clams. The rest of us are suffering with greedy pigs and or gargoyles for bosses, and work for a lot less than they are worth or require or is fair or enough to make ends meet. It used to be that becoming a teacher was a safe bet, secure, respectable, etc. Not any more. Teachers should be paid a hell of a lot more, but besides that, given much more support from the system. As it stands teachers are only exploited to move students through the system with reasonable results, like cattle to the slaughter.

America: just bite the bullet and take the tax rates back up to Clinton’s time and enjoy prosperity and happiness all over again, or suffer, cut, scream, fight, and sacrifice, so some rich people get richer and invest their money overseas, or sit on $2 trillion dollars as they have, your choice. I say its better we all pay a bit more taxes, than some of us loose everything now, and rest of us follow them next.

gvmtscrapdept, you don’t understand the theme of this thread do you?nnCan we cut spending a little bit and raise taxes a little bit? Is there a way to do so without breaking the backs of the middle class? If not, this entire country is in deep trouble. Can you admit that? Nah, you just want the gov’t to continue massive subsidies and leave all those wonderful tax loopholes open!

Thank god for Jon Stewart…..finally somebody in the media standing up to make valid points on behalf of the truth, on behalf of the teachers. We are going to lose so many wonderful teachers this year, many who would have taught a few more years, but are being forced out by the crazy politicians who just don’t care about the future of our children, the future of public education. Thank you Jon Stewart. As a teacher of the last 24 years, for the first time in recent weeks my blood pressure has dropped and I smiled and laughed. Thank You… I so hope you read my Thank you to you….. Lisa from NJ

Yes, John, we, as nurses, tried many different times as a group, to get a union going in SE Mich., however, every time the CEOs of the hospital heard union rumblings, they either came up with some money to quiet the noisiest of the rousers down OR they would find a way to fire a bunch of us, i.e.,”your position has been eliminated,” and the worse the economy got, the less fuss was made. They can be real bastards, and they mean business! And twice, this was in a Catholic hospital! (THEIR charity did NOT begin with their own employees.) I have had to give nursing up altogether, as a 5 year old child kicked me in the face in the ER, broke my jaw, and I ultimately ended up having my neck fused, grafted and plated. As I said before, I have always been in support of the teachers and millage requests, as my dad was a school supt., so I always knew all sides of the story, but I currently know more teachers who are biting the hand that feeds them, even though the GOOD teachers continue to do their best for the kids. Everyone is making concessions now, and I certainly don’t have the perfect answers— sometimes I just get irritated when there’s so much whining. Nurses need to be included in the bargaining. Teachers, luckily, have made more progress in that area than we have. I wish all the teachers out there well. Our future depends on you. Nurselady243

Thank you so much for taking the time on your show to address this serious issue with your classic Stewart humor and charm. Watching you helps give me the hope that people will eventually get it and gives me the energy to battle the elements to continue to protest and try to be heard through the snow and wind in Madison Wi.nnHave you heard about all the new rules against protesting and being in the capitol? Searches and metal detectors for the first time in history. Long lists of banned behavior and materials – I am not sure if you are even aloud to fart in there anymore. Everyone needs permits to rally or parade. The message is clear: “All protesters – be silent and invisible!” It worked pretty well last night, but just wait until Saturday. We won’t be denied

A FarcennThe whole “our budget is in crisis and therefore we need to cut cut cut” is nothing but a fear-infused farce.nnYes, we are spending more than we take in. But no one wants to confront the elephant in the room. And that is that when you get down to business and try to cut, you realize that, while there is some waste in gov, and cutting funding for some areas might be a good idea, in reality, the vast majority of programs are needed.nnIn fact some areas need more, not less, funding!nnSo what’s the problem? Revenue. This is what is happening to America:nnEveryone knows that for decades, the rich have been getting richer, the poor poorer, and the middle class smaller. EVERYONE IN POLITICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE KNOWS THIS. IT’S A FACT. So why is no one doing anything about it???nnAnd instead of raising taxes on the richest to keep funding essential gov programs, what do we do? Cut their taxes. And then cut those essential gov programs. IN THE MIDDLE OF 9% UNEMPLOYMENT. What on earth is going on??? So not only will people who need gov assistance get less of it, but also hundreds of thousands will lose their jobs. nnThis whole “we need to cut spending everywhere” while cutting taxes for the rich tea-party rallying cry reminds me of the scare tactics post 9/11 to support invading Iraq. The American public has bought into this farce. And our representatives are reflecting that fear and illusion. They are all cowards.nnApparently we did not learn our lesson for the most part from the 2008 financial meltdown. The only end I see in sight is several years down the road, when the middle class finally wakes up from this fear-infused slumber and realizes there are fewer good jobs in the US, they can’t afford the soaring costs of education, and their incomes haven’t grown enough to afford the American dream lifestyle of the rich seen on their 3D TV.n

why do people keep comparing wall street to everything else? Wall street has nothing to do with the WI problem. Nothing at all. You can’t compare wall street to WI. That’s like you making decisions for your family based on what happened in your neighbors house. We can not run the country based on the wall street fiasco. States can not make decisions on their budgets by comparing it to the democrat inspired meltdown of wall street. It has to stop somewhere. While I appreciate the humor in this video, the two situations are in no way related to each other. As far as the tax bail outs …The government under Clinton promised them bail outs if the equal housing rules Clinton implemented caused banks to fail. Government seriously meddled in capitalism, forcing banks to make bad loans, and the sheeple keep blaming wall street instead of the federal government. Research Barney Frank. You’ll see how the democrats, not the republicans had more to do with the financial collapse of the US banks more than anyone else.

Being a teacher is one of the few jobs that requires passion and dedication. Being a teacher IS a choice just like anything in life. Teachers should be paid by merit and not just because they showed up.

The states are broke. This has nothing to do with demican or republicrat. Get a clue.

Whine, snivel, piss and moan. YOU made a choice to be a teacher, or whatever, and if your job is so bad then have the balls to change it.

Big, bad, evil corporations can’t do anything unless government allows them to do it. The problem, as usual, starts with government.

The problem is that government employs far too many people. Most of these slacker positions should end and be done by the private sector.

Government employee’s should never have been allowed to negotiate for anything without the approval of the people that pay their salaries (the taxpayers).

Since when did having any job make a person so entitled? No one is forcing you to be a teacher or anything else. You made a choice. We ALL make choices. If what you do for a living does not pay enough, or you don’t like it, then you have every right to do something else for a living.

It was also exacerbated by the creation of the derivative market during the Clinton administration.

Everyone is making concessions? Well, everyone with incomes less than $250.000, you mean. Or oil companies. Oh and banks. But you can’t burden them, if you just don’t tax them and deregulate, the economy is bound to take care of itself. That’s the power of the unfettered free market. The Bush administration taught us that. And in the unlikely event that these policies cause the economy to collapses around you, just make up for the lost revenue by getting it from those ne’er-do-well’s in the working class.

Reply to ratack, Yeah, guess I should have mentioned all the fatcats (or is it greedy pigs?) and others that you mentioned. The ones on Wall Street who still managed to run with millions in bonuses are some of the ones who REALLY make me the maddest — far worse than the car company bailouts, because they never have to give back one nickel, and there’s something realllllly smelly about that! Nurselady243

After 35 years in public education in Florida as a teacher and school administrator, I continue to be astounded at the misconceptions the general public has about teaching. If you are reading this, you need to thank a teacher who spent many, many hours beyond the paid duty day to ensure your success. Where would the future of our country be without dedicated teachers? Most teachers enter the profession because they want to give back to their community and country. I know that was the reason I became a teacher. Without decent salaries and some fringe benefits, we won’t be able to attract qualified and dedicated individuals to the profession. As degreed professionals who constantly update their skills through continuing education and earning advanced degrees, teachers should be appreciated and revered for their hard work. For anyone who thinks teaching is a cushy job, shadow a teacher for a week! And please compare the pay and benefits of firefighters and police officers versus that of teachers. Those public employees earn higher salaries (how many hours do firefighters work each week?) and a far higher percentagle of retirement income than public school teachers. We can justify that with their high risk profession – but if you spend a week in a high school, you’ll find out how risky teaching is! And firefighters and police officers get paid for every hour they work; teachers don’t! BTW, I never had a summer off. Most teachers are out looking for a job in the summer so they can survive. Bottom line – if no one wants to become a teacher, who’s going to educate your children? Good luck with that.