Double Dipping

August 4, 2009

At a time when nearly 10% of American workers are unemployed, taxes are rising, families are tightening their belts, and the federal government has showered more than $100 billion in stimulus money on K-12 schools to avoid cuts, we are seeing a slew of newspaper articles about “double dipping” in education.  Double dipping is the practice of “retiring” from an education job and then, because of loopholes in teacher pension plans, returning to work with full pay and full pension benefits.  By doing so they can increase the money they take home by about 60%  for doing the same job (it varies across state plans and individual circumstances).  It’s a nice deal if you can get it.

A quick Google News search for double dipping teacher retirement yields the following 15 articles from 7 different states in the last month alone.  Maybe after seeing their ranks decimated by layoffs and pay-cuts reporters aren’t as eager to promote the false grievance of the starving teacher.

Contract allows one county to beat ‘double dipping’ law

Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Christopher Curry – ‎7 hours ago‎

But the School Board has grown divided over the DES of Florida contract this year, as double dipping has drawn increased scrutiny from lawmakers and the …

Pension limit lifted for working retirees

Arkansas Democrat Gazette – Andy Davis – ‎Aug 3, 2009‎

The income limit was imposed decades ago to “prevent the perception of double-dipping,” she said. But the retirement system had no way of making sure all …
The Plain Dealer – cleveland.com – ‎Aug 2, 2009‎
by The editors “Double-dipping” has been a fact of Ohio life for decades. In its purest form, the practice of letting some public workers bank both a full …

Teachers delay union negotiations

Winona Post – Cynthya Porter – ‎Jul 29, 2009‎

“You over-cut staff and now you’re really double dippingto bring them back.” After the meeting ended on that contentious note, Seeley said he was vexed by …

Vote postponed on raise for South Euclid-Lyndhurst superintendent

Sun News – cleveland.com – Ed Wittenberg – ‎Jul 29, 2009‎

Moores said the double-dipping aspect of a retire-rehire deal seems like a conflict of interest to him. “There are a lot of young, energetic teachers out …

EDITORIAL >>Taxpayers robbed again

Arkansas Leader – ‎Jul 29, 2009‎

After 30 years (now 28) of teaching, they could stop their payroll contributions to the Teacher Retirement System, and while they would not start drawing …

School Board ‘Retirees’ Pulling In $3.4 A Year

Broward New Times – Bob Norman – ‎Jul 27, 2009‎

Ricky Frey making nearly $320000 off of a popular state retirement scam for government officials that basically allows triple-dippingand opulant take home …

Teachers see retire-rehire practice end

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette – Angela Mapes Turner – ‎Jul 26

Lee educators get DROP on law’s loophole

The News-Press – ryan lengerich – ‎Jul 25, 2009‎

The so called “double dipping” has caused controversy, especially for elected officials. Appraiser Ken Wilkinson took all December off, just a month after …

Saturday special: Double dippers

Arkansas Times – ‎Jul 25, 2009‎

For elected officials, it’s an even sweeter double-dip because they can double-count their years of service. That means their retirement pay might equal …

More on double dipping

Arkansas Times – ‎Jul 23, 2009‎

Double dipping is rampant throughout the ranks of state government — and legal. Teachers got on the train early with the T-drop retirement programs that …

Geiler lands at Providence Day

CharlotteObserver.com – Langston Wertz Jr – ‎Jul 21, 2009‎
… come back to a new job, where he could collect retirement plus a new paycheck. “I sat at home and all these thoughts about how I’d double dip,” he said. …
Silver City Sun News – Nick Mandel – ‎Jul 20, 2009‎
Or the double-dipping practice, allowing former retired state and local government employees to return to work for public-sector organizations and continue …
Examiner.com – ‎Jul 14, 2009‎
We also need to halt the seemingly endless accumulation of sick and vacation days. Double dipping needs to end, too. No rehire after retirement. …
Muncie Star Press – Joy Leiker – ‎Jul 12, 2009‎
But school officials dismiss the notion they’re double-dipping. “I think most people see it as a savings for the corporation,” said Cowan Community Schools …
(edited for typo)

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Greg on Voucher PR Gains in PJM

August 4, 2009

Greg has long been arguing that rhetoric matters.  In a column in Pajamas Media today he notes the shift in the political rhetoric and tactics from voucher opponents.  Here’s a highlight:

Because the unions have lost the fight for public opinion, both at large and within the Democratic Party. And they know they’ve lost it. And they’ve apparently decided that they’re OK with that. So they’re just not even bothering to pretend to care about kids anymore.

Let’s not indulge in naïve optimism. Having lost the public relations battle may in some ways makes the teachers’ unions more dangerous, not less. America’s last education labor reporter, Mike Antonucci, offers a sobering observation:

The public perception battle is over, and the teachers’ unions have lost. But will it have any effect on Congress and state legislatures? The NRA, tobacco companies, PETA, the ACLU and Big Oil all have negative public images they can’t shed, yet they are still effective in getting their way. What if NEA and AFT stop caring what other people think?

On the other hand, there is a key difference between the teachers’ unions and the other groups Antonucci mentions here, and that gives us considerable grounds for hope. All of those groups have retained power in spite of their bad public images either because (for the NRA, tobacco, and oil) what they really represent is the desires of consumers who want their products and mostly just want to be left alone and aren’t trying to mess around with other people’s lives; or else because (for PETA and the ACLU) they care very intensely about a narrow set of issues that most Americans just don’t care much about.

The teachers’ unions, by contrast, are fattening themselves by destroying the lives of America’s children. That’s just not in the same ballpark.

Update: Link corrected.

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Posted by Jay P. Greene

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