Solution to high costs is living within your means

Recently, some teachers and the Idaho Education Association have complained that teachers are not being paid a livable wage. One teacher told me that his wife only made $58,000 here and could earn over $70,000 elsewhere.

The question is: What, in fact, is a livable wage? If you live in a million dollar house, a livable wage would be $150,000 to $200,000. But, if you live in an adobe house with dirt floor and hand-made shake roof, a livable wage is $3 per day and happy to get it. The solution is learning to live within your means, not demanding more money.

Studies have consistently shown that education does not improve simply by spending more money. And, the spectacle of teachers threatening to call in sick if their demands are not met certainly does not give our children good role models, let alone teach them how to balance their budget on their current earnings.

There are many excellent teachers who are worth every penny we pay them, but demanding more money for children so they personally can have more income is not really honest, is it?

JIM HOLLINGSWORTH

Coeur d'Alene