01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 25, 2005

When one tries to defend the indefensible, he gets the type of article that Robert A. Walsh Jr. wrote in his "Deconstructing teacher-pension analysis" = (June 16.)

I am afraid that Mr. Walsh completely missed the point. Whether the number is $64,700 or $51,076, both are still a lot of money. Whether the working days are 250 or 187, teachers work a lot less days than the private sector. Whether teachers pay 9.5 percent or not, they have a defined- benefits plan. And finally, there is health care. While most taxpayers pay 25 percent or more of their monthly health-insurance premiums, teachers pay virtually nothing.

In summary Mr. Walsh: Teachers make a very high wage for fewer days worked, have a defined-benefits plan, most have virtually free health care and will continue to have health care into retirement. I guess you do not realize that most taxpayers, who pay for this largess, have none of these benefits!

Who is pushing his political agenda?

MICHAEL MANCUSO

East Greenwich