I have a neighbor in VA who works as a substitute teacher who commuted over an hour to MD to teach because the compensation is better.

Mostly I was reacting to the "where's my car" headline. A teacher is more likely to drive an older Ford than the newer BMW their similarly educated private sector neighbor working as a contractor does because of the way private / public sector employment practices have evolved.

The first causality in the private sector was pensions. By the 1980s after changing jobs every 2-3 years to advance I realized I wasn't going to be able to rely on the same type of pension my engineer father did in the private sector. I changed my personal goals from short-term gratification — foregoing the expensive cars, jet skis and boats I could afford to buy on my salary — for the goal of retiring early and comfortably. It's hard to beat public sector employment when that is the goal.

In places where the teachers are getting screwed by the elected officials? I fully support their right to protest, but don't think they should lower the level of discourse over their grievances to the level of those politicians by taunting and waving keys. Instead they should be shouting "You make $X for 100 days of work, isn't $X per year for more work educating your kids a good investment for the future?"