A Post from former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich
A wealthy businessman told me recently that American teachers were paid too much. I said the truth was the opposite. They’re paid far too little. I asked him: “Which is more important, the nation’s financial capital or our human capital?” He said it was our human capital. Then I asked him: “what’s the average pay for those who guide and develop our financial capital, investment bankers and portfolio managers?” He guessed $1,200,000 a year, which isn’t far off. I then asked: “What’s the average pay of those who guide and develop our human capital, America’s teachers?” He guessed $120,000 per year. I told him that, in fact, high school teachers earn an average of $56,260; elementary school teachers, $56,320; and middle school teachers, $56,630.
In other words, investment bankers and portfolio managers are earning about 20 times what teachers are earning. Yet if the nation’s human capital is more important than its financial capital, that ratio is absurd. The law of supply and demand isn’t repealed at the classroom door. If we want talented men and women to become teachers rather than bankers, we need to pay them far more. He nodded, caught in the net of his own logic.
What do you think?
In other words, investment bankers and portfolio managers are earning about 20 times what teachers are earning. Yet if the nation’s human capital is more important than its financial capital, that ratio is absurd. The law of supply and demand isn’t repealed at the classroom door. If we want talented men and women to become teachers rather than bankers, we need to pay them far more. He nodded, caught in the net of his own logic.
What do you think?
