The sentiment of Chris Christie's response to a New Jersey public school teacher was pretty much the same, and it was heartening to hear. Christie, who is among the few politicians brave enough to take on his state's powerful teachers union, held a town hall meeting the other day. A public school teacher, Rita Wilson, rose to object to Christie's suggestion that tough economic times require teacher pay to be frozen for one year. Christie also insists that teachers contribute a measly 1.5 percent of their salary toward benefits — which were previously picked up entirely by the taxpayers of the Garden State. Ms. Wilson didn't take those suggestions well.

I welcome it, too. It's getting a little tiresome hearing sob stories from members of all-powerful teachers unions about their taxpayer-funded salaries and benefits — and it's even more grating from those in New Jersey. According to The New Jersey Star-Ledger, the average salary for public school teachers in the state is "$63,154, with more than half of the teachers earning from $40,000 to $60,000." Furthermore, the paper says, the public school teachers in New Jersey are the fourth highest-paid in the nation, behind only California, New York and Connecticut.

That is not a princely sum, but with benefits (and more tenure) it's quite comfortable — and higher than the median annual income in the United States. Good on Christie for informing Ms. Wilson of the reality of the situation in New Jersey: The state's broke. Belt-tightening is required. And if you don't like it, there is an enormous private sector out there in which one can take their chances.

Not exactly "Drop Dead" ... but, to my delight, close enough.

(HT: Cubachi)