> Given how important [education] is, then, you'd expect [teachers] ... to be one of the highest-paid, most-wanted jobs. It isn't. Why not?
The wages for teachers and programmers are set the same way as the price for any good, e.g. bananas.
Not by vague notions of importance, value, or respect, but by supply or demand.
When people start arguing that foo good (profession) with a low price (wage) is inherently more important than bar good, I think of a person arguing that bananas are more important than apples and should have a higher price, disregarding their supply and demand differences.
The wages for teachers and programmers are set the same way as the price for any good, e.g. bananas.
Not by vague notions of importance, value, or respect, but by supply or demand.
When people start arguing that foo good (profession) with a low price (wage) is inherently more important than bar good, I think of a person arguing that bananas are more important than apples and should have a higher price, disregarding their supply and demand differences.