Government
Teacher Wages Are Lower Than Ever
It’s not just that paychecks are shrinking. It’s that the advantages teachers once had are reversing.
Are teachers in the U.S. paid enough? It sure doesn’t look that way: They’re crowdfunding and panhandling to fund school supplies, going on strike in state after state, and leaving the profession entirely (not one state had enough teachers to serve all its students at the start of the 2017-2018 school year).
But critics of efforts to boost teacher wages often point out that educators enjoy benefits that should balance out their lower take-home pay. Teachers, after all, enjoy hefty retirement plans, health and life insurance, and payroll taxes. (And they take three months off each summer!)