January 03, 2007
There's an Interesting Discussion Going On
. . . over at
Tammy Bruce's place regarding the morality of pay raises for public servants in general, and Federal judges in particular.
It reminds me of Catherine Beecher's campaign to get women into the teaching profession, especially on the western frontier. Her argument was precisely this: cash-strapped towns in the West could get a qualified female teacher for a quarter or a third of what a male teacher would cost.
And a lot of women got work in those "pink-collar" jobs for years: it became an easy and respectable way to get out of the house. But now the entire profession is underpaid because the tradition of underpaying was established. All this flows from the notion of work as something one does from civic-mindedness, a desire to give. I believe deeply in that, but it does lead to "brain drains" in any number of fields.
The reasons for which society is willing to pay for certain skills are often bizarre and arbitrary.
Posted by: Attila Girl at
11:32 AM
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1
You say: "The reasons for which society is willing to pay for certain skills are often bizarre and arbitrary."
No, what individual corporate entities or employers pay for certain skills is determined by the worth said corporate entities/employers place on said skills. Nothing more, nothing less. That teachers (who, by any reasonable reckoning, are not "underpaid") aren't paid more is based on the fact that those entities that hire teacdhers don't place more value on the work the teachers do.
Posted by: Jeff H at January 03, 2007 12:47 PM (s927e)
2
I believe that teachers--many of whom
are underpaid--suffer from the same problem that ministers/ priests and shrinks do: the attitude that what they do should be a "calling," and they do not get to get paid for it. Or at least, they do not need to get paid much.
"Don't you
want to help people?" That's the problem.
Posted by: Attila Girl at January 03, 2007 09:54 PM (zxOEV)
3
If there were insufficient numbers of teachers willing to work for what teachers get paid, then salaries would rise. If you can't fill the slot at a given salary, you don't have a choice.
This is true of any job or profession.
The simple truth is, there are enough people who want to be teachers at the current salaries that teachers make. That's the market at work.
And if you've ever done any trading in any market, there is one axiom you must learn and learn well to survive: the market is always right, however much it may or may not make sense to one's analysis of it.
Posted by: Desert Cat at January 04, 2007 09:13 PM (xdX36)
4
"I know. But I do not approve."
I am, however, resigned.
Posted by: Attila Girl at January 04, 2007 10:48 PM (zxOEV)
5
Or, to put it differently: the market is always
correct. That does not make it morally right.
Posted by: Attila Girl at January 05, 2007 11:27 PM (0CbUL)
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