"SB 1040 isn't fair." Not if you wanna retire at 47, it isn't.

We're talking teachers and teachers' unions. But this time, not in Wisconsin - but Michigan.

So the state of Michigan wants to renegotiate health benefits for teachers. What's new? From the article, "The proposed legislation continues the 3 percent employee contribution to retiree health care and further increases out-of-pocket contributions to a total of 8 to 11 percent of salary. And current employees would have to be 60 years old before they could receive any health care benefits. Retirees would see an increase in their health care premiums."

But it gets better. The Michigan Education Association (the union), offers testimony by a number of teachers on this senate bill, but leads with Terri List. Ms. List had planned - (now pay attenton to this) - to retire in three years at the age of.....(ready?)....47. Under SB 1040, she wouldn't qualify for health benefits until aged 60.

“I understand we have to tighten our belts, but we don’t have to use a tourniquet and cut off the blood supply entirely.” - Ms. List

Ms. List is 44. She wants to retire at 47. And the teachers' union in Michigan is making her a martyr.

It probably would've been a smarter move to leave Ms. List's comment about retiring at 47 out of the article, no? And the unions wonder why they're not liked by many. More on Ms. List...if you can stomach her. (There's a teacher pictured in this article but she's not identified as Ms. List so I didn't put her picture up. So I posted Van Halen's "Hot For Teacher" instead. Smile!)