Next Time You Hear Teachers, Politicians & Other Government Employees Are Underpaid

[Cerowyn]

@mhendo

Well, for one thing, salaries for academics in certain fields are often based on that academic’s record of attracting grants and other investment monies to the university. For example, if you heard that a professor were paid $500,000, but that he was attracting $25,000,000 in grants to his institutions, would you think the salary excessive?

Woah, dude, you do realize you’re arguing the same point as me, right?

[Cerowyn]

@Vice

Well the University of California system is the largest academic patent holder in the US, so even though state schools have different priorities, they still have incentives to attract the brightest talent

Is this intended to refute my point? :dubious:

[Dinsdale]

Just want to state the obvious, that generalizations will lead to inaccuracies. I’m sure there are some government employees who are paid more than they deserve, and others who are paid less.

I’m a career federal employee (not academic), and consider myself fairly compensated. On the one hand, I could certainly be required to work harder, but government pay systems generally provide little/no incentive to greatly exceed the average. I am very appreciative of the benefits such as job security, COLAs, and retirement benefits. I am able to afford a very comfortable “middle class” life, including sending my kids to public colleges, and I desire little more in terms of material things.

I am certain that I could make far more in private practice than I currently earn, but I am equally certain that I would be putting in a lot more hours and bearing considerably more stress, which would decrease my perceived quality of life.

At the federal level, there are very very few people (in terms of the entire work force) who make over $175,000, and practically none who make more than $200,000.

[Vice]

@Cerowyn

Is this intended to refute my point? :dubious:

Well I wasn’t sure what your point was in the first place… that state schools and private schools have different priorities?

I think the priority of any institution is to provide the best education it can for it’s students… and not go broke in the process. R & D can provide millions of dollars of much needed revenue especially for state schools. So I used the UC system as an example of how state schools rely on R&D, and I’m sure many of those professors who are generating that income are getting paid decent salaries - a well justified expense in my opinion.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

And I’m a Tenn State Employee, & I make $23K.

Photo Lab Tech.
Been there more than 10 years.

[mhendo]

I guess the OP realized he was talking crap and decided not to embarrass himself by returning to the thread.

[Voyager]

@friedo

Over here in the real world, boards of directors are elected by shareholders, instead of appearing magically in the boardroom after the corporate secretary burns the sacrificial proxy motion.

That’s the funniest damn thing I’ve read in weeks! What’s the last time a board has been voted out not connected with a takeover or something?