Socialism, Teachers, and Doctors.

[MrWonka]

I keep hearing about how Single payer systems cost less than what we have now. Often times they are much cheaper. They achieve this but using the bargaining power of the federal government to negotiate lower prices. That sounds like a really nice way of saying we're going to give the government a Monopoly, and while monopolies can be nice for the people that control them they can be ****ty for those stuck dealing with them.

Teachers don't get paid ****. A typical Daycare provider can generally make more money than the typical teacher watching less than 10 children out of her own home. A teacher is usually dealing with closer to 30+ children, and her job isn't simply to make sure they survive, it's to help them learn how to thrive. The education necessary is higher, the expectations are higher, the job is far more difficult, and yet the pay is usually worse. Why? Because they work for a government that essentially holds a monopoly on education. Yeah, technically they could work for a private school, but realistically private schools know who they're competing with and know what those schools are paying so there's no real reason to give them excessively more.

Teachers have no choice, but to rely on unions to negotiate with the government for decent pay, and as we've seen Republicans are doing everything in their power to destroy those unions eliminating the collective bargaining rights of teachers, police officers, firefighters making them powerless as individuals. If teachers are already getting screwed with a Union I don't want to imagine how bad things will get if those unions are undercut.

If we move to socialized medicine this same situation will start applying to medical professionals. You're going to need a nurses union, a doctors union...

I know most Bernie Bros are pretty favorable to Unions and absolutely support the Teachers Union rights. I'm curious how exactly they imagine this working if we go to a single payers system. We essentially have single payer education right now. When Conservatives use the bargaining power of the Federal government to make education cheaper Bernie people are appalled by it. Yet, the whole plan for making health care cheaper under a single payer system would seem to be dependent on treating Doctors, nurses, the scientists who do drug researchers the same way we currently treat teachers.

How do you jive those two concepts?

 

[celticwar17]

I think it's BS to say Teachers are underpayed. If we look at actual hours worked, plus health benefits, etc.

they earn considerably higher than a lot of professions... though it's arguably not entirely a full time job.... because people in other professions work much longer hours with much less vacation.

If teachers want more money... pick up some seasonal jobs... or start an online business or something.

And Public Sector Unions should not exist... there is little to no incentive to stave off corruption because it is not profit driven. Teachers wages should be ENTIRELY dependent on the local government and the people who live there.... If teachers do not like the wages... don't teach in that location... if people want better teachers, have government official implement increase in funding for wages.... and have it based on performance, and not low long you've been a crappy teacher signed up for your lobbying cult.

Unfortunately for teachers.... there is a HUGE demand for a lot of their positions. That means... there are a LOT of people out there that want to be a teacher regardless of them being apparently "underpayed".