Seriously

This morning I came across this link in a discussion on another blog:

McGill: Consequences to Raising Teacher Pay

State Sen. Shadrack McGill [of Alabama] defended a pay raise his predecessors in the Legislature passed, but said doubling teacher pay could lead to less-qualified educators . . . 

McGill said that by paying legislators more, they're less susceptible to taking bribes.
"He needs to make enough that he can say no, in regards to temptation. ... Teachers need to make the money that they need to make. There needs to be a balance there. If you double what you're paying education, you know what's going to happen? I've heard the comment many times, ‘Well, the quality of education's going to go up.' That's never proven to happen, guys.
"It's a Biblical principle. If you double a teacher's pay scale, you'll attract people who aren't called to teach . . . 

"And these teachers that are called to teach, regardless of the pay scale, they would teach. It's just in them to do. It's the ability that God give 'em. And there are also some teachers, it wouldn't matter how much you would pay them, they would still perform to the same capacity.
"If you don't keep that in balance, you're going to attract people who are not called, who don't need to be teaching our children. So, everything has a balance."

I am not making this up, seriously. Check the link. I posted it on my Facebook page with the comment, “Where do they even find these people to elect them?” A friend replied, “Come to Utah and I’ll show you.”

I live in Louisiana; I don’t even have to go that far.

Here’s something Senator McGill hasn’t considered. What if low paid teachers are susceptible to bribes, too? Some mediocre student whose parents have deep pockets might wind up getting admitted to Harvard, taking a place that rightfully belongs to an eighth generation legacy with a trust fund.

That would be awful! Raise those teachers salaries, I say.