Let's think of it this way. Cable companies aren't doing anything wrong. They are charging for a service and paying people based on what their company brings in and can afford. It's not illegal, it's not wrong, but is it right?
Professional athletes and upper echelon entertainers make obscene amounts of money. It's money they've earned. These earnings aren't wrong, they aren't criminal, but are they right? When my mother grew up a professional football player (Sam Huff from the Redskins) lived in their neighborhood. How did this happen? My grandparents were filthy rich, of course...WAIT. No, they weren't. Granddaddy was a colonel in the army in a modest, pretty neighborhood near DC. They were what you might call "normal" -- comfortable amounts of money. Not overpaid but paid enough. It's hard to imagine a colonel these days living in the same neighborhood as a professional athlete. Both jobs are hard. Becoming a professional athlete is very challenging, and a small number of people, comparatively, work hard enough and have the talent to rise to these ranks. They should be well-paid but are they overpaid? I think so.
I read that there are nine million millionaires in the US. Wow, that's quite a lot of money. They must have worked extremely hard. These people are surely upstanding citizens who have left an impact on the world. Good for them. I sincerely mean that, and I'm impressed with those people. They do deserve to be rich without a doubt.
But is it possible that some people are too rich? There are children who live in homeless shelters. Mentally ill people living on the streets. And of course, the all too familiar fact that there are starving people in Africa. Why do we all feel so entitled? I include myself.
Almost no people could achieve success without a teacher. Children don't just think up multiplication, or by some divine intervention does the periodic table just appear in their minds. I've never heard of a CEO who couldn't read. Someone taught him or her that letters have sounds and those sounds form words. Most people learn necessary skills through school either public or private by a teacher.
And North Carolina feels these people should receive such low pay? Master's degree increased pay eliminated? What about restructuring our payscale system? Why is that not the option? I don't know how this would happen. I know I sound naive. I don't know how to fix it, but I know it is wrong.
Maybe I'll start a kickstarter. Fair pay for teachers. We are willing to fund a Zach Braff movie, but ignore the fact that teachers work second jobs. It just doesn't add up.
