[swingdjted]

I could argue some of your numbers, but that wouldn't help much. Also, if I lived where you lived, I could see some of the frustration. Oregon (actually, the Pacific Northwest in general) has an extremely high cost of living for some reason. You get charged a lot for everything from what I have been told. But see, I'm also told that incomes are often high there too for some people, although like anywhere else you'll find poverty and working poor too. I'll not see 50 grand unless I leave WV. With a masters, experience since 2001, an extended-day contract, lots of coaching, the after-school program, and the Saturday trainings that I have to lead, I just hit my first year of even seeing 40. My wife does the same job, same credentials, but can't do the extras due to our baby, and sees several thousand less. In most other professions we'd be easily be making more than double that. For now we're stable; when the student loans are finally gone in a couple years, we'll be comfortable, so it wouldn't be fair for me to complain.

You really can live on $10/hr. but it would be tough; dependent on fringe benefits above and beyond, and no kids. I did it for a couple years when I worked at the Boys & Girls Clubs. I had 3+me room mates and an old inexpensive pickup truck. I got by and could still afford decent beer every now and then. But, no wife, kid, health insurance, cable TV, cell phone, etc. Dial-up internet to post here and search for better jobs. Basic utilities and needs met. Lots of parties at others' expense; all I had to do was show up with DJ gear and push play. Lots of biking instead of driving (I was in Akron, a large city where everything was bikable). The bus system was pretty good too. Get downtown for $1, transfer anywhere else for another dollar. I think that's still the same price today.

Really, the taxes do need to get a bit more steep for people at my income or above. I'll dislike it, but I can afford it. People with more can afford it more. The school systems need to be good. It's our only hope. Right now thousands of teachers in the city of Philadelphia alone are laid off. Some of those hit were only a year or two short of retirement. Bad for them, but even worse for their students. Wtf are they going to do? Who is going to teach them? A bunch of scabs who have little to no experience who can't seem to get a more competitive wage somewhere else?

If you want good education you need good teachers. If you want good teachers, you need to pay them competitive or at least middle-class salaries or they'll simply leave for higher paying jobs due to financial needs associated with raising a family, owning a home, and paying for student loans. No good pay, no good teachers; you'll be left with those who can't seem to earn those higher paying jobs. Second-rate workers who would rather be somewhere else rather than teaching America's youth rather than professionals who have good reason to be there.