When a friend who teaches in Texas told me about this, I thought she was kidding. Unfortunately not. It seems the Governor of Texas wants to balance the books of the state teacher retirement system by taking out life insurance policies on retired teachers and adding the death benefits to the treasury. It sounds like something Montgomery Burns would come up with. Come to think of it, former Texas Senator Phil Gramm, who’s promoting the idea on behalf of the company he works for, looks a little like Mr. Burns.