http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/nj_teachers_pay_freeze_salarie.htmlThe $22,000 is for a family of four. And ask your relative if he/she thinks she will actually see any tax savings if this is taken away from teachers. Not likely. It will be used to give tax breaks to corporations and the ultra wealthy who will not create any jobs. (They haven't in ten years of the Bush tax breaks for the rich.)
Your relative should be asking why he/she doesn't receive the same health care. Or why they keep having their employers make them pay more for health care while receiving no pay raises while productivity has risen dramatically?
but note that public employee pay when compared at equal levels of education
"Using the latest federal data, Keefe said the average total compensation for workers in the private sector with bachelor’s degrees is $89,041 compared with $56,641 for public workers.
"For workers with professional degrees — lawyers, say, or doctors — the gap is more dramatic: $175,141 in the private sector, $79,330 in the public."
http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2010/05/rutgers_studies_public_versus.html