Arizona teachers are poised to follow the footsteps of their colleagues in a growing nationwide movement. Arizona’s teachers are among the lowest-paid in the country, dead last when compared to cost of living. Raising these teachers out of poverty is as simple as reducing the state’s corporate welfare.
Q: How do we pay for a 20% teacher pay raise?
A. Reverse the irresponsible corporate tax giveaways.
When you adjust for inflation, corporations paid $617 million less in taxes in 2016 than 2007 – Which just so happens to be about as much as we need for a 20% raise
— AZ Economic Progress (@AzEconCenter)
Arizona lawmakers to the issue by saying teachers have second jobs to pay for their luxurious lifestyles.
“They want to pay for a boat. They want a bigger house,” said Republican state House Majority Leader John Allen. “And [teachers] have a long summer. What a great opportunity for people like us and teachers to go out and get a second job. Let’s all get a second job this summer.”
Raising teacher pay by 20 percent ($628 million) is no cheap proposition. But reversing some of Arizona’s corporate tax breaks could easily fund education. The Arizona Center for Economic Progress has a plan to correct where it feels corporate welfare has gone too far.
Since the Great Recession in 2008, America has seen a sharp drop in education funding, and Arizona has seen a sharp drop in corporate tax revenue. The $610 million Arizona gave away in corporate welfare would almost completely pay for teachers to have a living wage.
But, the disinvestment in education is a national trend. So is the response.
In , Oklahoma and , teachers have protested for better treatment and pay in recent months. Despite some success, teachers still face dire situations, from pension cuts and a shoestring work budget to bigger, shocking troubles.
A Texan teacher in February because she couldn’t afford her $116 copay. And rather than pay teachers a wage that could afford rent, Miami is looking at building teacher dormitories. And across the board, teachers are than similarly trained professionals.
Fueled by these stories and a broader slate of cuts to education nationwide, Arizona teachers are poised to join the movement. There’s some speculation that Texas may be next to join the fight.