Do you think teachers should get tax breaks, pay increases, or other subsidies? It is often stated that teachers are underpaid, but they are the ones educating the future of America. How can this be? In an article by renouned columnist Thomas Friedman, he argues that part of the upcoming $1 trillion economic stimulus bill should be directed towards teachers.
Friedman states that “One of the smartest stimulus moves we could make would be to eliminate federal income taxes on all public schoolteachers so more talented people would choose these careers.”
He also calls for doubling the salaries of math and science teachers, extending residency rights to foreign students who graduate math or science programs, and greatly expanding scholarship and grant programs to send needy students to college for free.
Friedman argues that using the stimulus funds for renewed infrastructure projects will create nice highways and bridges we can all use to drive to the unemployment office to collect our checks. He claims, rightfully so, that once you build a road or bridge, it is done. You’ve created temporary jobs, but done little in the way of long term prosperity-making.
What Friedman doesn’t get is that his calls for subsidizing education are just as productive as the infrastructure projects to which he is utterly opposed. Education just happens to be his thing, his special case that he considers worthy of your money. There are likely many people who agree with him, but this is just another case of social engineering in which the hypotheses of some are imposed upon everyone. There is no research, no quantification of objectives and measurable progress towards them.
It is undeniable that education in generally a good thing. But it has a purpose and relative value to society. The fact is that American students largely receive higher per capita expenditures than students in any other part of the world. This has not helped the success of our system. Rather, it is widely understood that the American system is breaking down and quantifiable measures of performance are getting worse with time. More money into a bad system rarely makes it better. With education, it almost never does.
So Friedman and millions of other Americans can demand we all flip an increasing bill to educate Americans, but in the end it makes as much as sense as bailing out General Motors or setting a price for bread, like Soviet pricing committees used to do. Resource allocation should be left to the natural distribution mechanisms of markets, not the unilateral demands of some.
Two more crazy thoughts to spice up your day:
- Funding education is not within the federal governments scope of authority as defined by the Constitution
- Maybe markets should play a bigger role in our educational system, rather than government controlled solutions that seem to be failing more every year. Education is too important to leave in the hands of bureaucrats!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Not much opinion on the actual subject but I will note that I’ve argued for a long time the importance of teachers. It would be great to see some of the money go for education.
I don’t know about the US, but in Canada, there are tons of high school teachers who can be replaced by monkeys, and it’s ridiculous because these people determine the future of the nation. They have a huge huge stake in influencing students to become contributing members of society.
Granted, not sure whether now would be the time to invest in further education, seeing as the country is already broke, but it should certainly be a future issue to keep in mind.
P.s. great picture choice for the article. Must have gotten it from another business article, huh?
Teachers make a lot more money than people think.
http://www.alleducationschools.com/faqs/teacher-salary.phps
Education stinks is this country because it is administered by the government, not because of lack of funds. The average amount a family spends for homeschooling a child is less than $1000, yet the government spends close to $10,000. Guess which student performs better?
Excuse me while I go jump off the bridge!
@Daniel Eskin – America is broke, yet there are still calls for throwing more money at every interest group loud enough to demand it. Lack of funding is not the problem with our system of education. The problem is that we allow bureaucrats to control it. More funding will not fix that.
@Rob Viglione – I can summarize the failure of our public school system with two words – TEACHERS UNIONS!
Dear Rob,
I am a conservative educator interested in your website. I have been teaching in the public school system for 25 years and I love my job. Since I have an MA I am on the higher end of the pay scale but have never felt underpaid, even as a new teacher. I have worked second jobs during the summer and find tutoring to be a lucrative business which my career provides.
I think unions are the biggest problem. We pay over $500.00 a year for nothing but encouraged griping. My district was famous in the 1980′s for its merit pay system and a large testing scandal. Teachers were encouraged by two administrators to increase test scores to earn merit and more pay. Then we got a union “to save us” but does nothing!
@AnnB – Thank you for the comment! Of anyone in this forum you are the expert on this topic. I really appreciate the input.
From my limited experience, unions have long held students and their parents hostage to their demands. I wish education had more choice and freedom to align resources with what works best for children.
The fundamental issue is lack of flexibility in capital allocation to educational practices and institutions that work best. Without this kind of feedback mechanism we are doomed to declining quality and increasing costs.
Any other insight you can give our readers?
Dear Rob,
After a recent union meeting I feel compelled to vent some frustration. I feel the whole system is mismanaged from administration to union. Teachers are talking more about what is or isn’t their job than looking at teaching as a profession. Our curriculum is not about history and the future but more about trends and pop culture.
@AnnB – The further along we march towards centralization of education the more bureaucratic and union-run the system will become. Children are ultimately the ones who suffer, with the dangerous consequence being that a central authoritarian will be able to dictate precisely what is taught to everyone. Good luck developing individuals who question the status quo when the system is rigged.
Sorry you have to waste your time with union meetings! I think they will only become increasingly powerful and pervasive with this administration and unilateral Congress. The best thing we can all do is make the most difference we can within our own spheres of influence. As a teacher, you certainly have greater responsibility for influencing people than most…good luck!