What right-wing noisemakers AREN'T telling you about teacher salaries.

[FLAprogressive]

Conservative dittoheads are spouting the meme that the "Average family income in the US $46K" and the "Average teacher salary in Wisconsin $51K"....here's what they don't tell you.

Does the "Average family" have a bachelor's degree (or greater)? I think not. ALL teachers hold at LEAST a bachelor's, if not a master's or doctorate.

Average American with a Bachelor's Degree earns $59,540
Average WI teacher (based on their stats) earns $51,000

Teachers are actually paid BELOW AVERAGE based on their skillset and education.

Yet again, right wingers are leaving out a KEY detail in an attempt to fool low-information Americans.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

1. Talk to your neighbor.

Fuggetabout the media.

[FLAprogressive]

2. :)

[rgbecker]

3. I'm interested in whether the Wisconsin teachers are in the Social Security system.

Here in my town in Massachusetts, all the town employees are not in the Social Security system...any pension is just from the town/state system.

[michaz]

14. Yes they are here in NYS. My husband always paid into SS. n/t

[RobinA]

I Have a Masters

and I don't make nearly the US average for a Bachelors, nor as much as a WI teacher. And yeah, I work in my field doing what is called "professional" work.

Oh...and I AM one of those economy-wrecking, unionized public employees.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

6. La dee da!

:D

[Scuba]

11. So it was YOU who caused the recession....

[Bozita]

18. That's golden!

Except it is/was a depression on main street.

[FLAprogressive]

4. Could someone send this into Big Ed/Rachel/someone?

Don't we have some DU'ers with connections?

[JackintheGreen]

5. Don't forget: most districts "encourage" a Master's degree

Even more training, even more out of pocket expense. But what is the return on investment?

[FLAprogressive]

7. Exactly.

[TomClash]

8. I don't think most people resent teachers' salaries

The only argument that resonates with people is that younger brilliant teachers are laid off while older, less able ones stay on due to seniority. That's why Walker led with this in his shady WSJ op-ed piece. I suspect that actual examples of this are rarer than people would care to admit.

[FBaggins]

15. No. There are some who do.

It's a natural phenomenon. "Overpaid" is defined as "makes more than I do". Few people properly appreciate the differences in responsibilities and educational requirements. The media doesn't help with the perception when they report what teachers make "on average" and compare that to the average salary in the county.

This is particularly true when you're talking about some of the toughest schools. Think about the story last year about the teachers in Central Falls, RI. They reportedly average something like 3-4 times what the average family in town made. But did anyone point out that the "average" teacher there had been working for over 20 years and had advanced degrees, while the town had rampant poverty and unemployment?

The trick is to ask people "Imagine yourself ten years from now with 15 years under your belt instead of five, plust you went back to school and got your masters degree... how much more would you expect to make than you do right now?"

[mimitabby]

9. what does the average Wisconsin with a bachelor's earn?

it's best to compare apples with apples..

[Initech]

10. These right wing noisemakers are really the overpaid ones here.

[Erose999]

12. Not to mention that they are comparing "teachers" who have degrees and specialized skills

to the entire labor pool including "deep fry technicians" and "spatula operators".

The average pool is low because it includes millions making minimum wage along with the few top earners. Obviously there are more exponentially fry cooks than there are people like the Kock bros.

Looking at the teacher numbers, there's a lot less deviation, salaries will be a lot closer to the averages.

And the rightwingers will go on about how companies need to have high exec pay to attract "the best and brightest". But if school systems compensated along the lines that they accept for AIG or Goldman the Right would have a shit-fit.

Finally, one reason the right will use to justify high salaries is the "trust in making crucial decisions" or "high level of responsibility". But what level of "trust" and "responsibility" can be greater than that which we saddle upon teachers when we send them our children. I mean you if you lose a million dollar business deal, its only money... they print more every day. But if you lose a kid its a human life and thats irreplaceable.

[WoodmanII]

13. Teachers

I am a retired teacher from Pennsylvania. I paid approximately 7% into my retirement plus Soc. Sec. I also paid a portion of my health insurance. have a M.A. plus quite a number of additional credits. I also received a grant from the National Science Foundation to do research. The state mandated that teachers obtain 180 hours of additional instruction every 5 years. After 35 years I still did not make $60,000. By the way, I spent many nights preparing for my classes.

[rgbecker]

16. Welcome to DU WoodmanII. And thanks for your service to humanity.

[Angry Dragon]

17. walker has no degree and makes more