Teacher Pay = Public Mindset Issue

All of the talk regarding teacher pay is really getting me down a little, not because of the standard issues (like all of the rancorous discourse) but because it emphasizes a mindset of so many people (that doesn't go away and that some of those people wouldn't admit publicly) and a flawed discourse. That became clear during a conversation I had at work. The conversation went something like this...


Customer: Bemoaning teachers and perceived problems with "schools these days" (even though his kids were long grown and he had no idea what's going on in schools)


Me: I'm in school to be a teacher. It is unfair to blame teachers for the current economic situation. Most people go into teaching because we really want to do it, not for economic benefits.  We have to get a graduate degree and our ability to recover that extra expense is a lot lower than most fields that require graduate degrees (i.e. law, medicine, etc.). 


Customer: I didn't know teachers need graduate degrees.


Me: Yes, that's an Oregon requirement. Do you think doctors and lawyers get paid too much?


Customer: They were entitled to get whatever they can...they put all that time and money into getting the extra schooling and they should get whatever a company is willing to pay them. 


Me: Is my graduate degree a lower level than another graduate degree?


Customer: No, any extra schooling is important.


Me: If that's the case, why should I get that degree and then be looked down on for wanting to make a decent living (one that has so much less potential than the others)?


Customer: I just don't think it's fair that you get to try and take more and more of my money.


Me: Oh, I see. (Being extra nice, changing the subject, backing away slowly and trying to prevent my head from exploding in a delirious cloud of profane epithets)


Here's what I came away with...there's such a different perspective on teachers' salaries, but it is a false perspective and it all revolves around a dislike of the idea of taxes. When someone goes to see a doctor, lawyer, etc., they understand that they are paying a fee for the service. However, when the fire department comes, their kids go to school or they drive on a road, they feel entitled to those public "services", but when the tax bill comes they don't look at it as fees paid for services. Instead they look at it as though someone is trying to steal their money. How do we change that attitude and/or how do we change the dialogue we have when discussing these issues? Maybe we should just dispense with the tax code and charge the fair market value for everything the average person uses?!