Labor’s Wedgie Worsens

The wedge between the income of wage-earners and executives/professionals is increasing, and, according to the Washington Times, it’s all the fault of teacher’s unions:

Government report shows income gap increasing, By Patrice Hill, The Washington Times:  Fresh evidence emerged yesterday that the income gap is widening between wage-earners and executives and professionals … A Commerce Department report showed that incomes rose a strong 0.5 percent in June and were $23 billion more than estimated last year.  But most of the gains were not in wages. Growth in business income, dividends and interest -- which goes primarily to top-income households -- accounted for most of the gains, while wages continued to stagnate. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and business leaders warn that the public educational system has failed to provide most workers with the math, science and technology skills needed to secure high-wage jobs. … Melinda Gates … said … "We have a crisis in the American high school system," ... "They're failing to prepare people for college. ... They cannot teach students what they need to know to hold a job." ... Former General Electric Chief Executive Officer Jack Welch maintains ... unions ... focus only on increasing teachers' wages and benefits while doing little to stem the rapid decline of educational standards and preparedness. "If I were CEO of America's public school system, I'd fight ... to get rid of public school unions. They're the bane of our children's existence," he said in remarks to the Potomac Officers Club. "I'd take them to the mat. ... It has put us behind the eight ball long-term. Until that is dealt with, we're spinning our wheels."

Teacher's unions are not the first place I would have looked for the answer to the widening income gap.  The argument is that workers aren’t educated enough to compete so it must be the fault of their teachers.  It couldn't be factors like parental involvement, declining school funding, the undermining of science education, rising tuition, cuts in Pell grants, peer effects, etc.  And it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with those tax cuts…

Comments

[Bruce Wilder]

"Teacher's unions are not the first place I would have looked for the answer to the widening income gap. The argument is that workers aren’t educated enough to compete so it must be the fault of their teachers. It couldn't be factors like parental involvement, declining school funding, the undermining of science education, rising tuition, cuts in Pell grants, peer effects, etc. And it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with those tax cuts…"

Nor could it have any thing to do with the hollowing out of American corporations to pay "Hollywood" salaries to top executives like Neutron Jack.

[c.]

parental involvement. That's got to account for 80% of the variance in student performance. how the hell is anybody going to get parents to teach their kids to learn?

[cm]

Perhaps somebody can enlighten me what they need to hold a job that one doesn't learn in school. Kiss butt?

[pgl]

CAL's teacher unions are expecting Governor Arnold to start in with this pathetic theme. First, the scientists, now the teachers. It's sounding like a Pol Pot regime here in America.

[anne]

No, no; it's more than teacher's unions it's teachers. If only there were none of us about, how lovely.

[cl]

Here's a good counterfacutal --What about the math and accounting education of the latest crop of corrupt CEOs? In the last few trials and in congressionial hearings Skilling, Ebbers et al. claim not to have understood the the accounting shenanigans that ran their firms into the ground. Yet their annual pay was in the millions. So, what is it that these slimy idiots are being paid for? Can they blame their ignorance on the teacher's unions?

[ken melvin]

To Patrice and others great minds at the Washington Times,
To our good and great governor Arnold and like freaks everywhere,
To Grovers all where ever they may be:
Economics is about us and them; us being the wealthy and them being those who work for a living. Economics is about getting the most you can get for the least you can get by paying when you're buying and getting the most for the least when you are selling. Society? Society doesn't extend beyond the fence. Greedy teachers who want to make a living must be put in their place and besides it's all their fault if they can't educate a child for $6k/year. Property taxes on a $6million dollar house eat you alive.

[TDM]

The teacher's unions do deserve a big share of the blame. The top priorities at the NEA annual meeting (http://www.nea.org/annualmeeting/raaction/nbi.html) were opposing Wal-Mart for not transferring money from poor shoppers to rich union bosses and opposing companies that oppose "Transfernomics". Education is barely on their agenda. And after massive increases in school funding the unions just demand even more money while opposing any accountability. We are paying for the best public schools on the planet but are not getting what we pay for. Liberal pundits have been praising foreign public school systems recently (Canada, France, etc.) and they are right. Foreign state run schools are outperforming our labor union run public schools. Politicians have a much higher priority for education than union bosses. It would be a big improvement if our politicians supported education and not the unions.

[TimW]

Teachers unions?!?! TEACHERS UNIONS?!?! Rich union bosses?? ROTFL. Education is barely on the agenda of teachers??? From this teacher's son... you're way off base TDM. Plain and simple. Those damn unions demanding better compensation for our educators. Sure.

I'm sure Jack Welsh is real jealous of those rich teachers union bosses out there. I'm sure he and other CEO's are jealous of the piles of cash and stock options, swanky Manhattan apartments, gulfstream jets, etc... that the union bosses are lavished with... oh wait...

[ken melvin]

I 've little doubt that better education improves the individual American worker's odds of having a good job. In doing so, education effects the distribution of jobs. Can better education provide more and better jobs for American workers in a global economy? Different question. I think it 's safe to assume that, here again, better education of the nation's workforce could somewhat shift the distribution of jobs amongst nations. But that isn't the same as creating news jobs, is it? Given the current arrangement, a better educated American work force might mean PhDs operating taxis and anyone with less than a Masters scrubbing bathrooms and sweeping streets.

[Deborah White]

I quoted the last paragraph and linked to this post at the blog on my About.com homepage.

(Interesting blog. I found it via Technorati.)

[Mark Thoma]

Thank you Deborah.