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Daily Archives: July 25, 2014

Mid- and Late-Career Teachers Struggle With Paltry Incomes

Ulrich Boser and Chelsea Straus: “Low teacher pay is not news. Over the years, all sorts of observers have argued that skimpy teacher salaries keep highly qualified individuals out of the profession. One recent study found that a major difference between the education system in the United States and those in other nations with high-performing students is that the United States offers much lower pay to educators. But for the most part, the conversation around teacher pay has examined entry-level teachers. The goal of this issue brief was to learn more about the salaries of mid- and late-career teachers and see if wages were high enough to attract and keep the nation’s most talented individuals. This research relied on a variety of databases, the results of which are deeply troubling. Our findings include:

  • Mid- and late-career teacher base salaries are painfully low in many states. In Colorado, teachers with a graduate degree and 10 years of experience make less than a trucker in the state. In Oklahoma, teachers with 15 years of experience and a master’s degree make less than sheet metal workers. And teachers in Georgia with 10 years of experience and a graduate degree make less than a flight attendant in the state.
  • Teachers with 10 years of experience who are family breadwinners often qualify for a number of federally funded benefit programs designed for families needing financial support. We found that mid-career teachers who head families of four or more in multiple states such as Arizona and North Dakota qualify for several benefit programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the School Breakfast and Lunch Program. What’s more, teachers have fewer opportunities to grow their salaries compared to other professions.
  • To supplement their minimal salaries, large percentages of teachers work second jobs. We found that in 11 states, more than 20 percent of teachers rely on the financial support of a second job, and in some states such Maine, that number is as high as 25 percent. In these 11 states, the average base salary for a teacher with 10 years of experience and a bachelor’s degree is merely $39,673—less than a carpenter’s national average salary. (Note that teachers typically have summers off, and the data on teachers who work second jobs do not include any income that a teacher may have earned over the summer.)”

Groundwater Depletion During Drought Threatens Future Water Security of the Colorado River Basin

NOAA Earth Observatory: ” Long-term drought and aggressive seasonal wildfires have consumed property, lives, and farmland in the American West. The dry weather and blazes are battering regional economies and putting residents and agricultural businesses in several states on a path toward water restrictions. At least part of this story of water woes lies underground. The map above combines data… Continue Reading

Census Bureau – Industry Series Report on Semiconductors and Related Device Manufacturing

“The U.S. Census Bureau today released additional figures from the 2012 Economic Census Industry Series reports for the manufacturing sector of the economy. This release includes new statistics for semiconductor and related device manufacturing (NAICS 334413). Highlights include: The semiconductor and related device manufacturing industry employed 90,244 people in 2012, down 38.3 percent from 146,152 employed in… Continue Reading

Apples and Oranges: Iceberg Trade Costs

Lashkaripour, Ahmad [Pennsylvania State University, College of the Liberal Arts – Department of Economics] Apples and Oranges: Iceberg Trade Costs (May 23, 2014). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2470765 “The iceberg trade cost assumption is embodied in all major models of International trade. However, empirical evidence to support this rather conventional assumption is lacking. This paper… Continue Reading

Women of Color in Legal Education: Challenging the Presumption of Incompetence

Gonzalez, Carmen G., Women of Color in Legal Education: Challenging the Presumption of Incompetence (April 10, 2014). The Federal Lawyer (July 2014) . Available for download at SSRN:  http://ssrn.com/abstract=2470660 “Female law professors of color have become the canaries in the academic mine whose plight is an early warning of the dangers that threaten legal education… Continue Reading

State-by-State Map: Where Migrant Children Are Placed

“During the first six months of this year, 4,280 children awaiting deportation proceedings were placed with families in Texas. Just one went to Montana. The uneven distribution of children can be traced to the uneven distribution of Central American families. Children who travel to the U.S. illegally alone from countries other than Mexico and Canada are placed… Continue Reading

Improvements Needed in EPA Efforts to Address Methane Emissions From Natural Gas Distribution Pipelines

EPA IG – Report No. 14-P-0324 – July 25, 2014: “We conducted this evaluation to determine what actions the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken to reduce methane emissions from leaking pipelines in the natural gas distribution sector. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide. In… Continue Reading

Obama Drone Order Fails to Safeguard Privacy

EPIC – “According to reports, President Obama is set to issue an executive order on drone privacy. The order would call for the development of voluntary best practices for the commercial use of drones. Senator Markey and Representative Welch immediately responded to the reports with a letter to the President urging “strong, enforceable rules – not voluntary best… Continue Reading

Insecticides Similar to Nicotine Widespread in Midwest

“Insecticides similar to nicotine, known as neonicotinoids, were found commonly in streams throughout the Midwest, according to a new USGS study. This is the first broad-scale investigation of neonicotinoid insecticides in the Midwestern United States and one of the first conducted within the United States. Effective in killing a broad range of insect pests, use of neonicotinoid… Continue Reading