Limiting The Cost Of Education

To the Editor:

Anyone who takes the trouble to look at the ever-spiraling cost of education must wonder if there is a solution possible. Yes, there is if you look at the root of the problem and compare it with similar ones we have seen in the past in our nation.

The root of the problem is that in essence we are dealing with a monopoly of labor which no practical answer yet exists. We must have schools and thus teachers and these cannot be exported to Shanghai or simply eliminated. Nor can we replace them with some type of tool or effective competition.

No, for a solution we must look to other monopolies existing in our nation and how we have managed to live with them without these savaging our economy or pocketbook. Look around you and your nearest monopoly is right in your home. The utilities! These have been regulated for years. They constitute a monopoly, but one which must exist and thus cannot be controlled by antitrust laws.

I propose the same basic approach to education, both high school and state universities. This will require the establishment of a commission which controls the amount a teacher union is entitled to charge for its services and may, if necessary, be extended to all public employees. The unions would be required to show why their demands should be met, but the commission holds final approval on the amount of raises and other incentives and fringe benefits.

An independent panel will first establish what a fair amount is as compared to private industry, taking into account all relevant facts, such as danger on the job, skill, permanence of job, pay for overtime, vacation benefits, health care, and pensions. We cannot have one sector of our society, which because of their vital necessity is able to extract concessions which a private sector union never could because of the forces of the market place, the invincible hand of economics. There is no invisible hand which corrects the market place in this case so we must provide relief.

It is time the private citizen can enjoy the same protection from gouging and this is what the teachers’ union and its organization have practiced on their fellow citizens. Should we wait until they bankrupt the state and savage our savings? The answer: a Public Employees Commission with power to regulate wages and benefits in the public sector. Any impartial person can observe that we cannot continue on our present course.

Monopolies where and when they exist must be controlled.

Oscar Berendsohn

34 Apple Blossom Lane, Newtown                             March 12, 2012