Mark Spahn sent a link to this essay by English professor Mark Bauerlein.

Addendum: My thoughts about tenure haven’t changed over the years, but my ability to articulate them has. Let me be succinct. First, I have tenure. It can’t be taken away from me even if the tenure system is abolished. It’s a bargained-for exchange. I paid for my job security. Second, what is true of me is true of others. Anyone with tenure will retain it until he or she dies or retires. Abolishing tenure would be purely prospective. Third, I’m agnostic about whether, on the whole, tenure is a good thing. There are good things about it and bad things about it. Whether the good outweighs the bad, i.e., whether tenure is, on the whole, a good thing, depends on one’s values. For some, the good will outweigh the bad; for others, the bad will outweigh the good. In short, I don’t really care whether tenure is abolished. I just hope that those who make the decision understand all of the consequences of abolishing it: for students, for faculty, and for society at large.