WHAT TEACHER SHORTAGE? Fabio at Marginal Revolution looks at proposals to raise the pay of schoolteachers, reminds readers "The salary one makes is determined by supply and demand. A price doesn't indicate how important the job is, or even if people think it is important. Take a simple example: water - it's cheap because there is plenty of it, not because we don't think it is important!" Apparently the National Education Association and the certification cartel have not done well at restricting output and raising prices.

Some solutions for low teacher pay are non-starters. For example, simply demanding higher pay for public school teachers isn't going to cut it because that means shifting money from other public services. There is a political solution - limit by fiat the number of teaching certificates awarded each year. That's why the orthodontist makes a lot of money - there are few orthodontists relative to the demand for nice teeth. This might have undesirable consequences. Wealthier school districts might employ all the teachers. Perhaps the best response to low teacher pay is to realize that it's a signal that fewer people should go into teaching. Next time you see someone express a desire to be a teacher, just tell them that we have too many!