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Salary sheds no light
Allan de Laubenfels’ letter of March 29 speaks prosaically of the “best and brightest” people. Does de Laubenfels actually believe all we need do to get better teachers is double the salary levels for that profession?
When an individual applies for a high-paying job along with, say, 50 other comparably qualified applicants and gets the job, what has he/she demonstrated other than that he/she was able to outwit 49 other people? Does that assure the individual of an honored place among the “best and brightest”?
Yes, maybe, in some misbegotten sense, but not in any way likely to bring real benefit either to our nation or, indeed, to the whole world right now. When cronyism and patronage are factored into the equation, the outlook becomes even more depressingly bleak.
Look at the sorry state of our economy right now. If our best and brightest drove us into that, we’re in bigger trouble than we ever dared dream. What is the story of mankind if not one long catalogue of war, misery, suffering, catastrophe and disaster, brought about by faulty (maybe outrightly “dumb”) decisions made by our best and brightest holding high-pay positions in both the public and private sectors?
Dennis P. Roberts
Spokane