Spread the wealth

Our workforce is made up of numerous careers, each with a relatively different pay scale. Logically, one would think that as pay increases the responsibility and importance of a job would increase. This, however, doesn't seem to be the case. Actors, musicians and athletes, for the most part, are the highest paid professionals, with their yearly incomes ranging into the millions. It's unjustifiable that those working to entertain people are making more money than those educating our children, protecting us and promoting wellness.

According to CNN, the average high school teacher makes approximately $50,872 per year. Closely behind a teacher's salary is that of a police officer, who will make an average of $48,254, and, with a dramatic drop, a firefighter will make an average of $38,165 per year. These people who are dedicating their lives to the betterment of their fellow person are receiving average pay for being our guardians and leaders.

With gas, food and other living expenses increasing rapidly, it's ridiculous that our educators and defenders are forced to live paycheck-to-paycheck, while people who are considered entertainers - no one would have suffered, if the last Pirates of the Caribbean movie was never released - are making millions of dollars for work that doesn't help the advancement of our people.

The only saving grace for salaries of careers that require much compassion and time is that of a medical doctor, whose salary can range from $80,000 per year into the millions. Doctors, however, dedicate the majority of their time to their careers - constantly being on call - so it seems almost impossible to even enjoy a salary such as that.

Soon, no one will want to become a teacher, a police officer, or a firefighter if the benefits don't increase. Because it is so hard to convince a person to become a math teacher, those willing to take the position are given a salary bonus, an increase of a mere couple of thousand dollars. Even when we offer our teachers bonuses, the pay is nowhere near comparable to that of a celebrity.

What we need to do is spread the wealth. Instead of allowing the New York Yankees to have a payroll of $209 million dollars, let's distribute more money to the educators, police officers and firefighters who are barely making ends meet. There's absolutely no need for our entertainment industry to have so much money, while our educational system barely has enough money to provide their students with the necessary supplies.

Americans do hold their entertainment dearly (who doesn't enjoy a good movie or football game?), but the vast rewards given to these people leave those who teach and protect us feeling as if they are in a thankless job heading nowhere. The cost of living increases every year, and the personal feeling one gets when he or she has helped another person doesn't pay the bills. How much longer will people do work that benefits mankind, when one could train to be an actor or an athlete and make millions of dollars per year?

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com