24th
All Else Being Equal… But It’s Not
Yet another article in the fight over teachers unions. I amended that opening statement because I think the fight really is far more with the unions than teachers. Given recent events here in Wisconsin, I absolutely feel that the unions really only care about preserving their own existence and will throw their members under the bus without hesitation if they think it will help that.
In my opinion, the problem with this article is the same problem with so many others: it’s a commercial disguised as journalism and skews reality by being selective with information and making apples to oranges comparisons.
It makes me wonder if the union actually paid the writer for the piece, if she’s just that bad of a writer, or if she’s just that out of touch with reality. It may actually add up to people living in metro areas. I can’t say since I don’t, but I know it won’t add up to many of us country bumpkins, which there are quite a few of. The biggest factor not brought up in the piece in my opinion is the difference in cost of living between Brooklyn and say, rural Wisconsin where I live. The woman given as the primary example in the article has a $75,000 salary but gives the impression that she has to have a second job just to survive. In what strikes me as a contradiction to that, she goes on to say, “When I hear about what teachers are making in Arizona or Texas, I think New York City is in a different place that that, and it’s the union that’s fought for us to be in that place. At least for me, it’s something I’m grateful for.” So, she has to have a second job but seems happy with her salary? Um, okay. The average household income around here, let alone individual income, is nowhere near that, not to mention that there will be no pension waiting for most of us when we retire and most of us pay a significant portion of our benefits.
So here’s the thing. Are they living on easy-street? Maybe not, but the fact is that it’s a damn bit better living than many have, so it’s going to be difficult for many to muster up any sympathy. As the middle-class erodes, those no longer in it naturally resent those still managing to hang on to it. Now, in the middle of New York city, $75k probably doesn’t go as far it does here, so they may already be amongst those who have lost their grip on the middle-class. In that case, they’re probably feeling quit unappreciated for the critically important service they provide the public. The article states that the average teacher salary in the US is $39k and roughly $45,500 in the city, which I can only assume is in reference to New York city in this context. That’s not quite a 17% increase. I suspect the cost of living in New York city is a heck of a lot more than 17% more than here. She actually talks about a maximum salary of slightly more than $100k as if it’s paltry, and maybe it is in the “city” for all I know, but it sure as hell isn’t here. She doesn’t talk about any of that though. For what it’s worth, a quick Google search led me to a site that claims that $39k where I live is roughly equivalent to just over $70k in New York city.
So maybe this concept of teachers as a “collective” is at the heart of the problem. The cost of living in one locale could be almost twice another’s, and yet they don’t get paid anywhere near twice as much. Then there’s the issue of merit based pay. Why is pay based on a damn spreadsheet essentially? Why shouldn’t someone really good at their job be recognized and rewarded for that? A person’s internal drive to make the world a better place only goes so far.
I’m not claiming to have all the answers, or even any of them, but it’s something to think about.
(Source: The New York Times)
