On Friday, Rutgers professors and teachers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

A few ideas crossed my mind when I read this news. First of all, how is it possible that with a $4 billion dollar budget, there is even a question about the salaries and wages of the teaching staff? But then I looked around the state and thought, it's not that far-fetched.

We know that nurses bear the brunt of patient care and struggle to make ends meet in New Jersey while hospital administrators get rich with high six-figure salaries. As far as teachers, the average salary in the Garden State is less than $30,000 a year according to Zip Recruiter. That while superintendents are making north of a hundred thousand.

And for years the supers have been avoiding the so-called "caps" by taking perks and other allowances. It's certainly unfair, to say the least.

As far as Rutgers is concerned, a few things come to mind. First, that they are talking about a BILLION dollars every year from the taxpayers in New Jersey. Where's the money going?

Although professors are being paid above the national average at about $120k a year, the gap between athletics, administration, and teachers is wide. Take a look at the top one hundred staff members at Rutgers including the head coach of the football team making north of $3 million a year.

Rutgers Introduces Greg Schiano
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
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Looking at these outrageous numbers, it's clear that one of the very first things that should be cut in our state budget is the billion-dollar taxpayer subsidies.

So let the teachers strike and let Rutgers figure out a way to stop paying multimillion-dollar contracts to professors at the expense of the rest of the staff.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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