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The Dept Of Education could trivially distribute $100 bln to supplement teacher comp... No matter where you live in the US, your teachers are underpaid, no one

The Dept Of Education could trivially distribute $100 bln to supplement teacher comp... No matter where you live in the US, your teachers are underpaid, no one has brag points If you need more examples of how the Federal government could distribute $100 bln to elevate parts of the US above third world standards, use your imagination

quickthrowman 3y ago
Trivially? Their entire budget was $174B in FY 2023 [0], it’s not trivial to get a split Congress to increase education funding by 57%. The executive branch can’t just unilaterally decide where to spend money, they spend money that Congress allocates. [0] https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education?fy=2023 https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education?f... I am not arguing against increasing teacher compensation, I’m just explaining why it isn’t trivial to address it.
- woooooo 3y ago
  If we had our priorities in order it would be trivial. One fewer carrier group would probably cover it with no loss to national security. Also worth noting that an extra 100B of deficit is no big deal as long as it only buys unproductive weapons.
  - o1y32 3y ago
    I am just seeing a bunch of talking in this HN thread, which is honestly a waste of time. Anyone who actually wants to see some change, please call your local politicians to increase the budget on schools instead of posting useless comments here.
    - woooooo 3y ago
      Vouched to reply, I have tried local politics, the local politicians don't have the money. It's all in Washington.
deleted 3y ago
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jandrewrogers 3y ago
In what way are teachers underpaid? They make the average wage for someone with a college degree in the US. That aside, per the OECD the US already spends far more per student than the rest of the developed world — how is spending even more going to improve anything?
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
The department of education has minimal resources and control of public education in the states. Education is mostly paid for via property taxes, and to federalize education funding would entail sending those taxes to Washington DC to redistribute to schools. Conservatives would hardly be happy with that. The Washington state Supreme Court in 2013 decided that education funding in the state should be more equitable, so now Seattle sends part of their property taxes to poorer districts in eastern Washington, who otherwise would have cheaped out on education because conservatives don’t believe in higher taxes to fund it (but have no problem receiving subsidies from richer liberal areas). Teachers in the Seattle area also aren’t really underpaid. Not making FAANG salaries, but most clear $80k.

quickthrowman 3y ago

Trivially? Their entire budget was $174B in FY 2023 [0], it’s not trivial to get a split Congress to increase education funding by 57%. The executive branch can’t just unilaterally decide where to spend money, they spend money that Congress allocates. [0] https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education?fy=2023 https://www.usaspending.gov/agency/department-of-education?f... I am not arguing against increasing teacher compensation, I’m just explaining why it isn’t trivial to address it.

woooooo 3y ago
If we had our priorities in order it would be trivial. One fewer carrier group would probably cover it with no loss to national security. Also worth noting that an extra 100B of deficit is no big deal as long as it only buys unproductive weapons.
- o1y32 3y ago
  I am just seeing a bunch of talking in this HN thread, which is honestly a waste of time. Anyone who actually wants to see some change, please call your local politicians to increase the budget on schools instead of posting useless comments here.
  - woooooo 3y ago
    Vouched to reply, I have tried local politics, the local politicians don't have the money. It's all in Washington.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

jandrewrogers 3y ago

In what way are teachers underpaid? They make the average wage for someone with a college degree in the US. That aside, per the OECD the US already spends far more per student than the rest of the developed world — how is spending even more going to improve anything?

seanmcdirmid 3y ago

The department of education has minimal resources and control of public education in the states. Education is mostly paid for via property taxes, and to federalize education funding would entail sending those taxes to Washington DC to redistribute to schools. Conservatives would hardly be happy with that. The Washington state Supreme Court in 2013 decided that education funding in the state should be more equitable, so now Seattle sends part of their property taxes to poorer districts in eastern Washington, who otherwise would have cheaped out on education because conservatives don’t believe in higher taxes to fund it (but have no problem receiving subsidies from richer liberal areas). Teachers in the Seattle area also aren’t really underpaid. Not making FAANG salaries, but most clear $80k.