Joel Klein
1/10/2011

Throughout the country public-employee pension plans have been massively underfunded and defined-benefit systems aren’t merely Ponzi schemes. They discourage talented teachers who would prefer front-loaded compensation. Defined-benefit pensions helped bring the once-vibrant US auto industry to its knees. The promised benefits just proved too costly. The same kind of pension is now hollowing out public education. Because there’s essentially no competition in education, however, the effect has been hidden from public view. Today incoming governors–Democrats and Republicans–faced with this dismal equation are looking for a way to undo the damage and get out from under these unsustainable promises.

Klein, former chancellor of New York City’s public schools, is the CEO of News Corporation’s educational division.

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