Lightning Rod

The Daily Show Looks at Teachers' Pay vs. CEO Bonuses

Comedy Central
Erik Hayden 4,465 Views Mar 4, 2011

When salary and benefits are considered, public school teachers are being paid far higher than the average private-sector employee. That's one of the most widely-traveled conservative talking points to emerge from Wisconsin's recent proposed anti-union legislation and the sustained protests that emerged in its wake. So, naturally, last night on the Daily Show it proved useful fodder for Jon Stewart to pinpoint the hypocrisy of singling out public school teachers as examples of generous living on the public dime while bailed out Wall Street bankers get away with little discussion about their exorbitant bonuses.

In trademark spliced-clip fashion, Stewart—who noted later in the show that his mother was a teacher—observes the same cable news pundits who attacked public school teachers, helped prop up Wall Street's talent by rationalizing the reasons why the executives needed to have higher pay. Stewart asks: "I wonder how those same people who would have the government limit teacher pay and benefits would feel about the government limiting CEOs at bailed-out-with-taxpayer-money-firms?"

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