• FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Headlines like this are a good reminder of my prime directive: Don’t donate money to political parties. Both Harris and Trump have billionaires in their corner and they don’t need your money.

    Instead, donate to your friends’ mutual aid requests or invest it in your own stocks and investments. These candidates aren’t going to do anything meaningful to change your station in life, but they will make a trillion dollars appear out of thin air overnight to avoid a major drop in the stock market and your $10-$20 could mean the difference between skipping a day of food and eating for someone you know and love.

    • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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      3 months ago

      they will make a trillion dollars appear out of thin air overnight

      that’s the federal reserve, which does what it wants and doesn’t answer to anyone, including the president

      • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 months ago

        The fed chairman is nominated by the president… But more importantly the fed and the president almost never disagree, even under different presidents. That’s because every president is first and foremost a servant of capital.

        • solsangraal@lemmy.zip
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          3 months ago

          I haven’t seen anything to suggest that the fed “chairman” is anything more than a public talking head to give the impression that the government has something to do with what the fed does.

          it doesn’t matter whether potus, or anyone agrees with them

  • callouscomic@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Average cop starting pay is significantly more than teachers. Which one requires the education? Which one contributes more to society?

    • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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      3 months ago

      My firefighter/emt job I’m at 54 hours a week starts at $41k a year. That’s after getting all the certs and all the ongoing training and emt refresher classes etc. Most of us work two jobs.

      • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Most of us work two jobs.

        This is what I think about every time the soundbyte about Biden creating 16,000,000 jobs is played. How many of those are second or third jobs?

        Probably most, because nothing meaningful has been done to curb inflation, price gouging on rent, and progress toward living wages.

    • Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Cops should be paid a lot, but the danger should be part of the job and risk. I’m thinking specifically of those Uvalde cowards who did nothing and let kids get killed. Their job should be the risk, to take the bullets, so as to save and help the innocent. That’s the risk they should take, and get paid well specifically for that.

      Many of our cops are overweight lazy traffic cops who give poor people speeding tickets who are late for their shitty job they can’t afford to be late to. Or parking wrong, or whatever.

      Teachers deserve a lot more too, way more for different reasons obviously. Unless they’re forcing some religious nonsense poison into the minds of growing kids, fuck that.

      • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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        3 months ago

        Exactly

        Underpaying cops is what leads to Uvalde. Have high standards, throw the fuckin book at cops who abuse their power, and pay the rest of them properly. Cops, teachers, construction, bus drivers, all the people who make things operate should get paid a fuckin living wage, and the jobs that are skilled in addition (I.e. most of those) should be able to demand a higher wage and limit the people who’re allowed to do it to the people who can do it properly.

        • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          all the people who make things operate should get paid a fuckin living wage

          Agreed. Unfortunately, it’s just not going to happen in America. This entire country is founded on the principle of extracting as much value from labor as possible without compensating them fairly.

          • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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            3 months ago

            The best place to live I have ever been aware of in history was the US during the post-labor-movement environment of the 1940s through 1970s (for the white people). We just gotta have a second one of those that’s capable to demand that again, and extend it to all races.

            Nothing’s inherently wrong with the US governmental system; the economic system just tends to get out of whack (and also distort the government along with everything else) if there isn’t a strong labor movement keeping it the fuck in check.

            • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              the US during the post-labor-movement environment of the 1940s through 1970s

              Uh, there might have been something else going on during that time period besides the labor movement - like a war and the consequent near-destruction of the rest of the industrialized world.

            • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              if there isn’t a strong labor movement keeping it the fuck in check.

              Agreed.

              Maybe the best thing about how awful the last two presidents have been for working people is that unions had to become stronger and more aggressive by necessity, and they did.

              • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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                3 months ago

                Kinda had a feeling that’s where you were going with that

                Speaking as someone who actually supports unions and working class wages and things that help them, please back up what you’re saying

                Like this or this

                • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  I realize Biden said a few things and has performatively supported unions.

                  I give Democrats credit for their actions, not broken promises and pretending that they are powerless. (Particularly so in a time when they have control of two branches of government.)

                  I’m sorry if that offends your sensibilities, but I live in a country where my 80 year-old parents have to work for DoorDash (using my car) or starve. I’m disinclined to be affected by mere words anymore.

          • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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            3 months ago

            You need to read the fact check you sent me. It explains that the actual number is much lower.

            In actual reality the police almost never investigate themselves.

            In some departments, that’s true. I am proposing that fixing that is a high priority. I think it’s been reformed to a pretty substantial degree already, though – most of these conversations about cops doing something fucked up, in the modern day, come alongside them getting charges because of the fucked up thing that they did.

            That didn’t used to be true, and more is needed, yes, but the old days where it would never happen are definitely not true anymore.

              • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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                3 months ago

                You said 40% of the city budget. It’s 17% of the city budget. Don’t throw out random numbers that are distorted into the shape of the reality you would like to perceive.

                Other PDs are doing far far less, more likely nothing.

                Your assertion is that Uvalde is at the leading cutting edge of the best departments in the country?

  • Lexam@lemmy.ca
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    3 months ago

    Unpopular opinion, teachers should make top dollar. A teaching position should easily be in the six figures. It should attract and demand the best people in their fields.

    • Default_Defect@midwest.social
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      3 months ago

      AS long as they’re held accountable for actually teaching at that payrate, I’m all for it. I had too many teachers that did the bare minimum to make sure we could pass the standardized test and that was it. I hated science in high school because of it and can’t get enough of it now that I can learn it from people that give a shit.

      • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        As long as they’re held accountable for actually teaching

        the bare minimum to make sure we could pass the standardized test

        It’s possible these two attitudes are related somehow.

        • Default_Defect@midwest.social
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          3 months ago

          Maybe, but some classes that could have been a slog were enjoyable because of those teachers at least trying to NOT make it purely memorization. For example, my biology(?) teacher assigned us 2 hours worth of copying down words and their definition every night. She ended up getting injured or sick and got replaced by a substitute and he had us make a model of a cell out of food and/or candy for homework. Same class, same semester, guess which one I can actually remember now because it wasn’t insufferably monotonous.

      • fxt_ryknow@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Working in a school district currently, that is pushing AI in a massive way. It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.

        There is a major push here for teachers to use it as much as possible. While I get it to a certain degree… I’m also not sure how I feel about it. Just seems like a more convent way for teachers to do less, and be less “involved”.

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    In America, we have collectively decided that we prefer our teachers to be poor and starving, that way our kids stay stupid and can be good little wage slaves.

  • Got_Bent@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    We would have to first value education, and that counts for parents and home life as well.

    Instead, we’re at war with education trying to water it down as much as possible if not outright eliminate it.

    • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      We do value education. Look at how much people are willing to pay for private school when they can afford it.

      We just don’t value education of other people’s children. That wouldn’t be a good competitive advantage for our own spawn.

      Or so many people think. I personally love the idea of education for everyone as it means fewer people resorting to crime with no other option. But an educated populace is a threat to many powerful institutions, so they convince their sheep to vote against it.

      • Queen HawlSera@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I have no kids, but I want strong education…

        Because I don’t want to live in a society where everyone’s fucking stupid

      • PsychedSy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        3 months ago

        We’re paying like 15k/yr per student. More in lots of places. We’re paying shitloads to educate other people’s children.

  • Obinice@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    …in the USA.

    A key piece of information missing from the title, which made it a waste of my time.

    I don’t live in that country, and while I feel very much for the plight of any foreign education system in distress, I must focus my energy on things upon which I can affect positive change.

        • Aisteru@lemmy.aisteru.ch
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          3 months ago

          By that, I meant “It’s probably also true in European countries”. You must be fun at parties.

          • rowdy@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            I am, thanks! I’m willing to bet this is happening in Asia too. Probably not Antarctica though.

      • Amanda@aggregatet.org
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        3 months ago

        Teachers are fairly decently paid where I live but the job is shit so nobody wants it. They don’t employ enough teachers so everyone is being worked to death, and they keep adding new admin tasks, reporting tools, standardised tests, etc that makes everything worse. Also they keep doing stupid reorganisations all the time.

        • Aisteru@lemmy.aisteru.ch
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          3 months ago

          I agree that it’s not one of the worst paid jobs overall, but if you apply the logic of the headline, I’m pretty sure no teacher in Europe can buy a house with their income

          • rekorse@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Its one of the worst paying jobs that requires specific training and schooling to get into. How could they possibly pay for that plus the COL?

      • Persen@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        *in the greatest parts of europe, aka the balkans (how is the slovenian school system still decent?)

    • Cataphract@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      Triple would just mean they would have a chance with proper savings and enjoying the perks of having disposable income while continuing to educate and create the future members of a society, that’s asking too much.

  • quantumantics@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Let me pop in as a high school teacher in the US. I make decent pay, but it took me over a decade climbing the pay ladder to reach this point. It’s only been in the last five years that I’ve made enough to afford the mortgage on a house (well, prior to all of the rate hikes, but that’s another issue entirely). But there’s another problem: You’re expected to put in 10% of the value (even with first-time buyer incentives) as a down payment (I last looked with any seriousness in '22). I have yet to be able to put away 5% of the average costs in my region, much less 10%. Every time I start building back up, other costs drain most or all of that within a year or two. Unless the housing market bursts big time, I’m not likely to be able to afford a home anytime soon. Note: I would rather keep renting than take a variable-rate mortgage; the last three years have seen previously affordable mortgages with variable rates go sky-high.

    • papertowels@lemmy.one
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      3 months ago

      FYI, it’s a long shot because there’s not much availability, but HUD homestore will give teachers half off the list price of a house in its “good neighbor program” (aka in a rougher neighborhood ) if you stay there for 3 years.

      In addition, I think you need lower down payments for houses in general through HUD.

    • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
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      3 months ago

      I make decent pay, but it took me over a decade climbing the pay ladder to reach this point

      What do you consider decent pay?

      My last job had two former teachers. Good people. They switched from teaching to like entry level software testing (not “full stack”. QA engineer) and like doubled their pay.

      This was in the NYC area.

  • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    The wild thing is that it gets even worse at the college level. Adjuncts get like $25k per year. It’s not much better for temporary faculty, etc. It’s a steep pyramid with admins and football coaches far away at the top.

    • chiliedogg@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      My side gig is teaching at a major university as part of a third-party contract with outside businesses. I’m still university faculty, so have to do all the HR training, maintain my credentials, etc, but my pay is a little different…

      The university literally doesn’t pay us for the classes. The syltudents have to pay a $215 “lab fee” directly to us that’s split between me and the business. So I get paid $107.50 person student per semester while the University gets paid about $3,000. Our business provides the staff, facilities, course materials, and even the liability insurance, so the university’s only real expenses are having the course listed and taking the tuition money.

      My official title at the University is “Lecturer : Unpaid”

    • Horsey@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I taught research methodology in oncology for 15.81$ in Arizona; work as a cowboy for 20/hour. It’s really bad here in AZ.

  • mryessir@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 months ago

    Hey Americans.

    Shouldn’t exactly teacher be capable of sustaining the American lifestyle? Since they are prompting (read advertising /s) the values to the pupils, your children on an level matching doctrine?

    Just for a reference. Full-time teachers with an academic degree earn the same amout of an IT-ler in Germany. Though our education system is one of the worst in Europe. So you should elect another idol from europe tbqh.

    I know that Lemmy will blindly support this claim. My point is why did I never heard such obvious claim in the Internet yet? If you are about to reply: Go influence your politics please. We are directly influenced by your decisions.

    Anyhow, I am not capable of replying to replies and assume others chime in.

    Much love, A European Citizien.

    • technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      3 months ago

      sustaining the American lifestyle

      TBH the “american lifestyle” is completely unsustainable and literally destroying the planet. We would be utterly doomed if the entire planet lived like the usa.

      But I’m definitely not blaming teachers or any other working people very much. It’s quite clear who’s actually profiting (cars/oil, military, billionaires, etc.).

  • Zier@fedia.io
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    3 months ago

    Public school teachers need to be paid properly. We need to move huge chunks of funding from the National Defense to Public Schools. Not private schools, for profit schools or ‘school vouchers’ but public secular schools. We don’t need that much military to defend a nation of uneducated idiots, we need smart Americans.

  • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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    3 months ago

    I am somewhat shocked that teachers could start affording houses if you doubled their pay. Maybe like a house in a shitty neighborhood in conjunction with a partner… maybe. I don’t really know but if I had to guess I would say it’s like $40k income for teachers and $150k family income to afford a house.

    • Irremarkable@fedia.io
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      3 months ago

      This varies heavily state to state and even district to district, but generally after you’ve been teaching for a while, you’ll be making ok money. The issue is how low starting pay is and how long it takes to get to that point, often 10+ years. 10+ years where you’re scraping to get by and don’t really have the ability to set any money aside.

      • mozz@mbin.grits.dev
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        3 months ago

        Yeah makes sense. Good thing that this critical role for our society is done by people who basically have to live in their cars for a few years. No way that could go wrong.