Teachers and Taxpayers
The president of the Michigan Education Association stated on the radio recently that school employees have "given and given and given and given." Comparing teacher salaries to personal income demonstrates that the taxpayers who pay for teacher salaries have "given" a lot more.
The National Education Association just released its annual report that compares average teacher salaries throughout the country. For 2009-2010, Michigan ranks 8th. Here's the list:
| State | Average Teacher Salary |
| New York | $71,470 |
| California | $70,458 |
| Alaska | $69,864 |
| New Jersey | $68,703 |
| Connecticut | $68,412 |
| Massachusetts | $68,000 |
| Maryland | $65,902 |
| Michigan | $65,285 |
There's nothing necessarily wrong with Michigan teachers earning high salaries. In fact, even if they took home less pay, benefit packages for public employees are still on average much more generous than those in the private sector. Public school teachers are government employees and are paid with tax dollars, and therefore their wages are inextricably linked to the economic well-being of the state and the wealth of its citizens.
A standard measure of state wealth is per capita personal income. Here's a list from the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the same states above and their per capita personal income rank for 2008.
| State | Per Capita Personal Income Rank |
| New York | 4 |
| California | 9 |
| Alaska | 8 |
| New Jersey | 2 |
| Connecticut | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 3 |
| Maryland | 6 |
| Michigan | 37 |
Michigan has many difficult decisions ahead, especially if Lansing continues its failed economic policies. Based on the numbers above, one issue that must be addressed is whether Michigan can continue to pay teachers "rich state" wages while the taxpayers footing the bill have "poor state" incomes.
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You need to focus more on over-bloated state government salaries, benefits and number of employees employees and supervisors. The State of Michigan has about one supervisor per every six workers. Most states have a ratio of one for every 10-15 workers. Plus salaries and benefits are higher at the state level than for teachers.
More fuel...
You have been complaining about teacher's health care, salaries, and anything teacher-related for a long time now--since your conception. Now you just have more fuel to add to your fire due to our state's economic situation. Have you ever compared a teacher's salary to any other occupation? Further, have you ever been in a classroom as a teacher? Yes, I am a teacher, and I think that after working as a special education teacher for nine and a half years straight out of a major university with a master of arts degree, I should be happy that I have a stable job. But don't tell me that I make too much money and that I should be living in the "real world." What do you think I make? Must I remind you that I am a taxpayer too? When I looked up my job salary online, specific to Michigan, I noticed that I receive pretty much less than everyone else with a degree, except a police officer. Lest we forgot, when times were good around here, teachers were not getting "bonuses" from our "companies" to squander on second homes. Maybe if I am privatized, I would make more money! Regarding health insurance, conservative think-tank, why would you want all public school employees to be in one large pool? That sounds like a government-led plan? Are you swinging to the left?