If your car was something you expected to last 80 years, you'd put money into getting it done right.
It's a self-fulfilling cycle -- keep pay low, many good people won't stay, but people who aren't so good will.
The ones who aren't so good get the attention, so that is used as justification for low pay.
So many of the really good ones don't stay.
So that becomes justification for keeping the pay low.
It isn't the trite, "If it took a mechanic 12 years to fix a car non sequitor you toss that's the issue.
It's more the "me" syndrome and the need for immediate gratification.
Spend money on your car -- it makes you feel good now.
Spend money on your kid's education -- it takes longer and is something you have to put some effort of your own into.
Hey, don’t forget about the driver there. If a person invests in car repairs and then goes about ignoring “regular maintenance” issues, chances are good that future break-downs will occur no matter the original investment.
You’ve got to change the oil, fill/rotate the tires, do an occasional tune-up, top off the fluids, etc. How many of our “little engines that could” can’t because they suffer neglect at the hands of their “drivers?”
See, it takes the mechanic AND a responsible driver working TOGETHER to keep the car on the road.
“It’s a self-fulfilling cycle — keep pay low, many good people won’t stay, but people who aren’t so good will...Spend money on your kid’s education.”
Stuff it. I’m paying $5000 each year in property taxes, virtually all of which goes to the schools - who beg for more. And that is a bill that keeps on going, regardless of having any kids in school. We home schooled our daughter for 4 years, paying for materials and courses out of pocket - AND still paid $5000/year in taxes.
Teachers are well paid for what they do. If administrators would support putting discipline in the classrooms, and allow teachers to spend time teaching instead of filing lesson plans, most teachers would be happy as a pig in mud.