Constructing Arguments (Digitally) Draft 3 - Counterargument

Because education is the foundation of everyone’s future, teacher’s salaries should be raised to complement their work efforts. Teachers/instructors are the torchbearers of the entire countries future. Although this may be true, others may argue that since teaching is a government paid career, there would simply not be enough funds to raise the wages of the entire countries working teachers. According to the BLS reports, the annual median salary for high school teachers, in America, was $55,050 in the year of 2012. And, according to nces.ed.gov, there are 3.3 million working public school teachers in the United States as of 2012. If these stats are true, this means that in order to raise funds to pay each teacher in the U.S., the government has to raise well over $181 billion in tax money in order to pay each teacher. According to usgovernmentrevenue.com, the government collects about $3.2 trillion in a year income and payroll taxes. If this information is indeed correct, then it’s more than evident that the government holds enough money that has been raised in government taxes to accommodate teacher’s, that are working in high schools, salaries without breaking the bank. If the government raised the median annual salary for high school teachers by just 20%, this would not place a dent that is even noticeable in the revenue that the government collects.

With all of these stats, you may be wondering what the main point is. The point is that the distribution of funds within the United States should be distributed a bit differently to ensure the stability of the states’ future. This is more than possible considering the gargantuan amount of funds collected every year. In order to do this, we would have to ensure that the teachers in the education system feel appreciated, thus wanting to work harder to provide the country with this stability. These are YOUR children that the teachers are instructing. The government is going to take money out of your checks for taxes whether you like it or not, so why not be sure that it’s for a good cause. What better cause than to ensure that your child is getting the best education possible? Although, it may seem like raising the salaries of our countries teachers may be a huge stretch on the countries funds, it won’t be. Besides, BILLIONS of dollars go to waste that have been collected by the government each year. According to articles.sun-sentinel.com, about $125 billion is wasted on improper payments in federal programs.

This money that is being wasted could be used to help raise the wages of our countries teachers, and more. So that leaves the question of why not?

Sources:

-"High School Teacher: Salary." High School Teacher Salary Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2014.

-"United States Government Revenue History - Charts." Federal State Local Government Tax Revenue in United States for 2015 - Charts Tables. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.

-"Federal government waste." Sun Sentinel. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.