10,000 Educators Need a Cost of Living Adjustment

   While Oklahoma teachers certainly need a pay increase, as they are the lowest paid among all states in the nation - another group of educators have also been neglected and disparaged by our Legislature - and that would be a portion of the 175,000 retired educators. Those teachers and other educators who retired before 2006 (approximately 10,000?), have received nothing in cost of living allowances (COLA) since 2008 - even though unavoidable basic life expenses have increased dramatically. In 2006, the Teachers Retirement System changed for the better in providing more benefits for members who continued to work beyond their normal retirement age (62). Before 2007, teacher retirement benefits were peanuts, just as their salary was before retiring. Before 2008, retired teachers received a cost-of-living adjustment every now and then to keep up with inflation and living expense increases. Then, "starting in 2011, lawmakers... made the decision to require that cost-of-living adjustments be fully funded. Most retired educators knew this made good sense, but didn't count on what corporate lawmakers would do for retired teachers, the same thing it does for active teachers - never provide a dedicated revenue stream to fully fund a COLA. The moral to the corporate lawmakers non-action story is this: Corporate legislators will always look out for themselves first.
   Now, I know many corporate legislators have been guests of retired teacher groups around the state, so their must be some conversation centered on the peanut benefits afforded to retired teachers. I'd like to know what has been promised to the retired groups, so if you're a teacher who retired prior to 2006 and have heard the remarks of any corporate legislator - I'd like you to contact me. I have not been privy to any of the meetings, but I can guess as to what many heard from his or her local lawmaker: I really feel your pain, so I'll see what I can do or I really feel your pain, but my hands are tied... a law was passed in 2011 outlawing COLAs without a dedicated revenue source, and the state just doesn't have any money right now. HOW ABOUT PROVIDING A DEDICATED REVENUE SOURCE, MR. CORPORATE LAWMAKER!
   It makes me sick to my stomach listening to the excuses lawmakers have for not providing teacher pay raises... but it makes me even sicker to hear their excuses for not providing cost-of-living allowances to our "most vulnerable".