The "State" of all things miserable...

I'm just so over all the crap that is going on in my state... it's become sheer lunacy.

I'm tired of defending what I choose to do for a living. Tired of being told I suck in every way possible. All the while caring for and educating the children of the people slinging this crap. It is bad... you can't escape it from the TV media, radio and press... It's extremely degrading, day after day.

Tired of watching my friends stress over the prospect of losing their jobs. MANY of them will no longer be employed in September... tenure or not....

I'm tired of being TOLD that I should give back some of my measly salary to "fix" the crisis that my state is in. Most teachers in this state are ranked in the lowest average earnings compared to their private sector peers. It isn't until nearing retirement are you able to survive the ridiculous cost of living in this state.

I'm tired of being told that I ONLY work part-time and have summers off. For the record... I work as much as those in the private sector if you add up hours spent outside of the classroom. AND I DON'T get paid during the summer THEREFORE I have never had a summer off... I work every summer, and have held some of the most demoralizing jobs, just to pay the bills. And I never complain, because I knew this going into it... I knew I would have to save as much of my 10 month salary (yes, people it is actually 10 months... I've been reading comments on news articles where it has gotten to the point of people saying school is only 6 or 7... I don't know exactly where these people live... but I digress) and then supplement with whatever job I can find to get through the summer and keep a roof over my head.

I'm tired of being told how ridiculous it is that I have "lifetime medical benefits". I'd love to know what district exactly is giving these... cause I sure don't get that. I will carry my benefits from age 55 to 65. Not that I'd be able to retire at 55, but whatever... even so, I only get to keep them until 65. Then I'm on my own. AND I DO PAY FOR THEM NOW... it is not free, I contribute from every paycheck.

I'm tired of being told that my pension is unreasonable. Well, here's the thing... My pension is 100% EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTED. There is no employer matching, or added funds. I PAY into it. AND I don't even get to say how much... the state decides what comes out of my paycheck into that state fund. It is not my fault that corrupt politicians have misused that money and lost a vast portion of it from bad decisions.

I'm tired of being told I need to share the burden when NO ONE else in this state is expected to.

I'm tired of private sector people whining about what they don't get. We all went to college, made the decisions to go into the careers that we were most passionate about, knowing that some jobs (mine) have security with minimal pay and good benefits, and some have (yours) right out of the gate high earnings, with the potential for loss. Don't condemn me for my choice of living paycheck to paycheck, knowing that in the end it will balance, as I don't condemn yours for living the high life now without the future security.

I'm tired of people saying we should be mad about what the unions do. Because you know what??? I despise how the union works, but as the little guy, even a whole lot of little guys together, don't have the ability to take on the union. We don't have a choice. Sure I could "choose" not to be in the union, but... Then I would have to PAY the NON-UNION option, which by the way is 85% of the current dues. And then you are also LISTED EVERYWHERE as a non-member. Try to get a better position with that in your file. This is where the politicians of this state should be focusing their efforts. Not going after us.

I'm tired of people complaining about the education their children receive in this state. Did you even know that we are ranked in the top 5 of the country. YES TOP FIVE... How could you possibly complain about that?

Tired of hearing the man in the highest position in this state put down the very people who put him where he is, educationally, and purposefully in their right to vote. Tired of him taking back the promises he made just to get into office in order to trash us and defeat us. Because in the end, all he is doing is hurting everyone who pays any kind of tax in this state. He is not making things better, or fixing anything. The years to come will be that of historical fact. Facts that will be discussed in history books for years to come... But we will not be able to teach these lessons... as NJ will never be able to afford the new history textbooks! (because god knows... that is not a tested subject, therefore of no importance... Sad)

I'm stepping off my soapbox for the moment....


(disclaimer... I'm to aggravated to even edit or revise, so sorry if in the heat of my anger I have grammatical errors!)