PLN 31

"shoes that generate electricity" by CNN

A video viewed from the CNN website, an astonishing new device which allows you to generate electricity from your shoes. This really thin device fits into the sole of your shoe with no discomfort. As you step onto the device, it begins generating electricity. There are no risks or dangers in using this new technology so it is completely safe.

I believe this new kind of technology can really improve the environment as a renewable source of energy which is available to everyone. The technology is called "piezoelectricity" which is certain materials combined which generates electricity when pressure is applied to it. There is a con to this though, the device is really small and can only produce very small amounts of energy. This means it is not a reliable source for electricity. Not only that but this device does not store any electricity which means you need something electronic attached to the device so the electricity generated has a place to go otherwise that energy created is wasted. Overall it is a good, short solution for a small step to saving the environment; but this device in shoes will not go any farther than charging a phone or music player device. I think this is still a good start towards a clean source of renewable energy and new ideas can be branched off this device which uses "piezoelectricity" to generate power. I hope in the near future we can use this kind of technology to power our homes and community instead of burning fossil fuels.

PLN 29

This article, "2txt? Or Nt2txt? " by Garrison Keillor explains how communication through technology is affecting our society in a negative way. Texting is lowering the youth's social skills which lowers the level of intimacy they ingage in later on in life. The article also talks about how it is important for young men to develop good social skills so that they can have romance and create a family in the future. Not only are social skills used to win over a lady peer but to gain some basic confidence to use in every aspect of your life.

I believe this article is pointing out a really good topic. This is important world-wide because so much technology is used to communicate to everyone across the world but sometimes the technology is used incorrectly. Texting is an example of what kinds of communication through technology is used inappropriately such as texting someone across the room instead of getting up and talking to them. Our society today has become so adapt to using technology for all of their communication even if the person is only a few yards away. I believe this should be a wake up call for some people who do use technology in this way. They should listen to what this article is saying and actually make conversation with someone face to face so that they can gain some of that basic confidence and lead a better life.

PLN 30

This article, "Fan Tasered after jumping onto field during Phillies game", discusses how a baseball fan jumped the fence into the outfield during a baseball game and was running around on the field. The cop on duty chased down this fan and tasered him. This is controversial because some people believe this is unnecessary roughness and the cop should have made a better decision. On the other hand, other people believe this is what the juvenile deserved. The guy who rushed onto the outfield during a Phillies baseball game was 17-years-old. Usually, the cops tackle the criminal to the ground but this time was different when the man was tasered.

I think this is an important topic because of it's controversy. This is important to not only to Philadelphia but to America as a whole because this has happened before where a cop has been accused of unnecessary roughness on a person in other states. I believe if you trespass at such a sporting event then I believe the consequences will be worse than usual because of the crimes you are committing when stepping onto the outfield without permission. This issue has to do with more than the baseball game, this issue has more to do with cops and unnecessary roughness. Tackling could potentially be more dangerous and harmful to the criminal than tasering. Tasering restraints the criminal safely. Tackling could be more difficult because what if the cop cannot catch the criminal? The criminal will be running free all because the cop could not catch the man at large.

PLN 28

In the article "Our boys are falling behind in education" by Dottie Lamm, it talks about how boys are achieving less for themselves through education, on the other hand women are excelling. Women are enrolling and graduating in college at a ratio 1.5:1 to men. Also, at a younger age girl's brains develop faster than boy's brains. the author of this article believes the role of man and woman may be switched to one another.

I believe this is natural and the natural course of things are not changing. I think this does not prove anything except boys need more academic focus at a younger age. Girls develop faster at a younger age than boys do which causes problems during the boy's education. I think it is important for our country to know the statistic that girls graduate from college at a huge rate, far more than the boys. This alarming statistic should be a shock to boys who may be falling behind and realizing that they should stay focused on their education. I don't believe the statistic is such a big deal that the role of men and women will change and be switched from one to the other.

PLN 27

In the article, Oil rig spill off Louisiana could threaten coastline from BBC News, it describes how an explosion ruined an oil rig in Louisiana. The oil rig went down in smithereens on Thursday, April 22nd. The cause of the explosion is unknown. The leak of oil, which was caused from the explosion, can possibly damage beaches, barrier islands, and wetlands across the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Over 100 workers were rescued but ten more 10 have gone missing or assumed they were killed. There was a search party but it was called off due to bad weather over this past weekend. Over 40 thousand gallons of oil per day are leaking into the sea and are harming aquatic wildlife. This is important because robot submarines have been dispatched to help contain the situation although matters can only get worse without direct human interaction towards solving this problem at hand. The severe weather is a problem but is also helping by keeping the oil away from the coastlines and causing damage to the beaches. I believe the oil companies should have stricter safety policies and stricter safety checks because of how dangerous this can become. The oil can harm more than marine wildlife, it can also cause problems along beaches and endangering humans as well. This is important to our country because it affects the amount of oil we produce for ourselves in a negative manner. This is also important to the world because the oil can continue to spill out of the rig and into the ocean killing tons of aquatic life and causing problems on the coastlines of every nation near water.

PLN 26

In this article, "Thai army 'ready to use live fire against red-shirts" by BBC News, is important because all protestors in Thailand are going to be shot by the military if they feel it is necessary. The Thai army will take steps to halt any protests such as using rubber bullets and tear gas, but if that does not seem to work then the military says they will use live rounds on the protestors. The protestors have organized and have become a group known as the 'red-shirts'. The military has used live rounds on their people and military officials admitted it. The bullets were used to break up a protest on April 10th which resulted in 25 deaths. The protestors want their current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, to step down; they also demand for a new election for a new prime minister.

This is sending a strong message to the Thai people that the military is behind the prime minister and they will not let him retire. This could be evidence of a currupt government. The Thai military could be running the system behind the scenes of the public eye. This is important to the world because no one is taking action against them besides their own nation. This is also important to the Thai people because they will begin to fear their own government and they will stop revolting against the currupted system.

PLN 25

In the article, Inmates bilk Uncle Sam for millions, from CNN, it reveals a discovery from inside the jailhouse. An officer in Florida was going through an inmate's bed as usual checking of jail cell when he found papers, more specifically, tax forms. Not knowing what the officer was doing he turned in the tax forms to his supervisor and what he found out is that the prison inmates were planning on stealing over $1 million from the government. The whole operation was a tax scam and prison inmates were filling out tax forms with various social security numbers and birthdates. The inmates were also filling out the forms with jobs they have never had in order to get tax refunds from the government. I believe this is important for the government to be aware of because inmates are taking money from the taxpayers and the government. This could be a growing problem and could become even more serious because it is a becoming more common opon the prison inmates to fill out tax forms with false information. Investigators say this problem has been around for decades and it isn't a local issue. The prisoners would send the tax forms into the IRS and sometimes the IRS would send refeund checks straight to the jail. Usually, the prisoners get help from inside the jail to fill out the forms and to send them and promise thousands of dollars for whoever helped them.

PLN 24

"Chairman: Ship's paint brings instant death to Great Barrier Reef" from CNN

This article describes how a Chinese ship named 'Shen Neng 1' has an anti-fouling paint which has been scraped into the ocean off the coast of Australia. anti-fouling paint is paint that goes onto ships which prevents barnacles from sticking onto ships. The paint was scraped off of the hull of the ship from the Australian Great Barrier Reef which put the paint into the sea. Once the paint is into open water, it begins killing corals, affecting marine life. If coral is being killed in large numbers than it could affect the food chain long term. The coral obtains a lot of it's energy from photosynthesis and is eaten by fish in order to survive. If the coral population is decreased then this could affect the fish population and other marine life and so on and so on. Although anti-fouling paint can increase the speed at which a boat goes, it is not worth the potential risk it is putting on life in the water. Also this paint is supposed to increase the durability of the ship but ships are already durable enough. I believe this is evidence enough to the United Nations to do something about it. The United Nations should ban this anti-fouling paint because it affects marine life in an extreme way in which results are fatal. If China continues to use this anti-fouling paint, maybe in more quantities, then this could affect other marine life and not only coral. Overall, anti-fouling paint has more cons then it does pros which is why it should be unusable.

PLN 23

"Mobile app developers tackle Africa's biggest problems" from CNN

This article explains how African farmers are getting scammed by businessmen who are taking advantage of their ignorance to trade. African farmers are being taken advantage of by selling their crops to clients and their clients are selling the crops to consumers for a larger price, in turn making a extremely large profit. These people are ripping off these hard African workers and one person answered their cry for help, Gichamba. Gichamba has created a mobile phone app which matches up farmers queries with a database of information about local dairy markets and prices. This is making the least wired continent become more technological and more advanced than previous times of their own. Not only is this helping farmers but its helping the african people and economy. The economy could slowly rise since a lot of Africa's income comes from agriculture since they are so behind ,technologically speaking, crops take more time to grow and longer to harvest. Overall, if Africa slowly becomes more familiar with technology, they could interact with other continents, become more socially acceptable and require less help from the world.

PLN 22

"The Politics of Cowboys and Gun-Slingers" from: WorldNews.com

This article is about how Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad compared America to a cowboy. When the United States has legal issues, it goes to it's guns. More specifically, the Iran president was referring to nuclear weapons. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated Iran will not back yield to a threat of nuclear bombings from the United States any longer. Some American politicians believe that America is still on a frontier to this day, conquering land across the globe. I think this matters to the world because one nation in the middle-east is standing their ground against American military threats and Iran is not the only nation being bullied by the United States. And this resistance could set off a chain reaction against America, resisting them and not giving into their demands even after nuclear bombing threats. A good example of numerous bombing threats from the U.S. to foreign nations would be the Cold War era (1947-1991). A revolt against the United States could make matters worse across the world for America. Resulting in trades being cut off with America from foreign nations, Political struggles, or possibly war.

PLN 21

"South African white supremacist leader Eugene Terreblanche killed" from World News

This article discusses how Eugene Terreblanche, a white supremacist leader in South Africa, has been brutally murdered. Hacked with a machete and beaten by a 21-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy. On saturday, these two were arrested facing criminal charges of murder. Terreblanche once was a South African police officer before becoming a white supremacist leader. Eugene had motives to create a white homeland in south Africa and campaigned it throughout the country. Terreblanche was known for his apartheid, or inhuman acts of one racial group to the next in an attempt to oppress them. This shows that to this day there is still racism going on and to a certain extent, racism hasn't been slowly drifting away, it has been hiding. There is some historic progress in which racism has been losing its popularity but things never seem to change as this man and his team of followers try to campaign for independent white homeland. Racism is a big topic in the world today and these two boys seemed to take matters in their own hands when they brutally murdered this white supremacist leader.

PLN 20

Article: "'RapeLay' video game goes viral amid outrage" CNN News

In this article, it discusses a big controversial issue about how the objective of this game is to commit a crime of sexual assault. Many games have obscene and absurd goals nowadays such as murdering other fictional characters but nothing as controversial as this. This game created in Japan has spread worldwide, the cost: nothing. Women's rights organizations are outraged and has campaigned for the game to be taken off the shelves. Japan has censorship laws over sexual content but not censorship laws over themes or ideas of games. The game is making reality even more virtual and is allowing people to commit crimes without actually being held accountable. This can be a huge problem in society today because everyone who owns a laptop or computer with internet can have access for this game for free. This can affect younger generations since accessing this game is so easy. Some may argue its just a game, but crimes which are committed in games have been committed in reality by these same people. I am not saying that this is always going to happen but it certainly can increase the growing problem's rate in how much the crime is committed. This game is very controversial and no one can really permanently stop this game from growing in popularity but they can help eliminate this issue and work towards a common goal in removing obscene images and actions such as these from games which are being spread worldwide into every computer with internet.

PLN 19

UK outlaws cluster bombs, calls for global ban from CNN

In this article, it discusses how cluster bombs were banned in the United Kingdom and the UK is attempting to get the world to ban these bombs. Cluster bombs are bombs designed to spread smaller bombs across a wide area, these bombs cause areas to be steered clear from in more than 20 countries. Over 104 nations have agreed to this treaty that bans use and production of the cluster bombs. There are four nations who have not signed this treaty such as the United States, Russia, China and Israel claiming they need it for their defense strategies. These four nations are also the largest cluster bomb makers. Some believe that these bombs are cruel and indiscriminate, these bombs are still killing people even though the small bombs were dropped three decades earlier. This can affect people on a world wide scale because civilians in different countries are being killed from these bombs which are still being produced today. This can affect people in their own homes and country because they are dropped anywhere and can be hard to spot until it is too late. Cluster bombs are expensive to locate and remove from any area especially populated areas where they can affect civilians long after wars. These bombs are meant to destroy military vehicles and to disperse biological weapons.

PLN 18

Response to Writing with Laptops by Mr. Maas

Laptops are an essential addition to the classroom in my opinion. You have programs that check your spelling and grammar, and internet which can stream endless amounts of knowledge from one portable electronic to another from almost any place at any time. Having laptops in class allows one classroom to connect with everyone in the world. Computers in class allows students to obtain a higher grade on written essays because of the neatness, perfect spelling and flawless grammar. Typing on a keyboard is faster and neater for me than writing with pen on paper and allows me to cut down on the time needed to do homework. Classes without laptops next year would be rough for me personally because using a laptop has become a daily routine for me in class everyday. Without it I would feel less involved with my class because not only does laptops allow me to write, but it also allows the entire class to interact and share with everyone else. As a student, I have changed since using laptops in class. I have improved on my writing and how I think. Instead of using a dictionary book to look up a word I use the internet. Instead of having teachers check my grammar I have use the computer.

PLN 17

Drone silently patrol U.S. borders from CNN

This article discusses how U.A.V.'s(Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) are flying over the American-Mexican border in search of illegal immigrants or anyone suspected of being an illegal alien. The Predator B, the specific U.A.V. that is being used, flies 19,000 feet above ground at speeds of up to 276 miles per hour. This method is what The Office of Customs and Border Protection uses to keep the borders clean from unwanted visitors. This method has some pros and cons to it. A pro is that the aircraft can watch over any area of the U.S. border that Border Patrol agents cannot reach. A con is the price, the plane costs millions of dollars. The Predator B camera alone can cost $2 million dollars, to give an idea on how much the plane can cost. The drones' range of surveillance doesn't completely cover the Mexican-American border, Texas is one state who does not have a drone flying out at night unlike Arizona or California. Not only that but the U.A.V.'s can not see through bad weather and believe it or not some of them have been crashed. Crash landing endangers the lives of people, American or Mexican citizens, crossing the border. Also why does the United States government spend millions of dollars on planes that only provide a limited amount of sight from the sky for Border Patrol agents? That money can be used for other things such as cures for disease and illness. I believe the American government is spending too much money to keep our borders secure. I think the borders should be kept safe but with less funding. Millions of dollars can be used to hire Border Patrol workers instead of drones.

PLN 16

Article: Two soldiers charged with using 9-year-old 'human shield' in Gaza from haaretz.com

This article talks about how two Israeli soldiers used a 9-year-old child in Gaza City inside the Palestinian territories. The two soldiers allegedly forced a Palestinian boy to open some bags that they were suspicious of that might have contained explosive materials. The bags turned out to be harmless after the boy was turned against his will to open them. The incident occurred January 2009, the investigation was opened when the United Nations brought the incident to the Israeli army. The army has a specific rule stating that soldiers cannot use civilians as shields. Despite the United States' war effort in the Middle East, soldiers are becoming heartless and using children and civilians to keep them safe. There is another incident in where Israeli soldiers attacked civilians in a bank in search of some suspects. I believe the United Nations should become more involved and more aware of these cruel, in-human acts towards civilians during the chaos in the Middle East. Civilians begin to become angry at their government because they feel they are being attacked by their country's army. If this feeling of distrust worsens then, eventually, a civil war would be inevitable over time.

PLN 15

"Students across U.S. plan to protest education funding cuts" - CNN News


In America, college students plan to protest at across the nation because of education funding cuts affecting students nationwide. Education funding cuts are causing college students to take on more debt for their college tuitions. State universities funds being cut are causing even higher tuition costs. Also, colleges aren't the only schools having their funds cut; secondary education and even elementary schools are as well. An example of these cuts that seems to be becoming more and more common is located in the state of California. California has cut a grand total of nearly one billion dollars between the years of 2008 and 2010. Schools have to adjust by canceling classes and increasing their fees. This is important to know because this could be affecting all incoming and future college students. Not only could it affect college students directly but it could also affect elementary school students as well. Causing increased fees could cause issues in the family households nationwide, being able to pay mandatory bills will become more difficult. More difficult because of the economic recession the U.S. is currently in.

PLN 14

Chile Toll at 700 - 2 Million Are Displaced After Earthquake by New York Times

In this article it talks about how over 700 people have been killed by the earthquake in Chile. Millions of Chile citizens have been displaced from their homes. Also, American citizens who have vacationed in Chile are stuck, in potential danger, and have no way to get back home. Probably one of the greatest earthquakes Chile has ever seen, with a magnitude of 8.8 enough for Brazil to feel it. This is important to the world because natural disasters are happening all around the world which destroys buildings and homes which leaves citizens unemployed and homeless. This is important to America because it could potentially hurt the United States economy. With the American economy hurt, that leaves other nations with an injured economy as well. This is also important to people because it could affect everyone's lives.

PLN 13

"Space Junk Mess Getting Messier in Orbit" from Yahoo!

This article talks about how a Chinese rocket and a European Space Agency's spacecraft nearly collided with each other last month (January 2010). Both of the objects were only 160 feet apart, and nearly crashed into one another. If the two space objects had impacted, then there would be more problems and clutter in the orbit area around Earth in space. To avoid such collisions, NASA plans on putting Tracking and Data Relay Satellites into space. This is important to our society today because as technology grows, so does the demand for satellites to put service into radios, televisions, and even phones which are used widely on a day-to-day basis. This is important to people because as space collisions occur, more problems are being made. Space collisions costs money, time, and create a disaster in our solar system which can come back to haunt us long term.

PLN 12

Obama to urge oversight of insurers' rate increases from the New York Times

In this article it talks about how President Obama wants to pass a bill that allows the government to control the increase of rates for private insurance companies. Obama wants to regulate the health market in an attempt to make a long term impact on the nation's health care system. Controlling the rates of private insurers would require a rate board, which Obama wants to prepare with doctors, consumer representatives, and other experts who would monitor the rates and whether they should be approved. Congress Republicans disagree with Obama's act to interfere and change the health care system. I think this is important to know about because this could affect American citizens nation wide. With insurance rates being controlled by the government this can interfere with the economy and with the health market because the companies can't do what they have the power to do.

PLN 11

"Marines in Afghan Assault Grapple With Civilian Deaths" from The New York Times.

Described in this article is how a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System has killed Afghan civilians in Afghanistan. This defensive system was found non-defective even though it missed its target by 300 meters. The suspension of the machine was lifted after it was found non-defective. Some would disagree with allowing a defensive gun to be allowed back on the battlefield when it is putting Afghan citizens lives in danger. The machine has killed a total of 12 people; five women, five children, and two men. This could be a potential problem in Afghan areas where Americans are stationed because it puts Afghan citizens in danger.

PLN 10

"Judge Releases Eight Americans jailed in Haiti" by Simon Romero and Ian Urbina from the New York Times.

In this article it explains how a judge in Haiti has ordered the release of eight of the ten Americans who have been in jail; charged with child abduction. The other two remaining American prisoners were kept in jail for further questioning. This is proving some Americans are taking matters, in Haiti, into their own hands. Some of the American people are going about the Haiti chaos in the wrong perspective. This is important to know about because Haiti is recovering slowly from the disastrous earthquakes and children are being relocated by few American citizens in an attempt to be heroes. Haiti needs more awareness from the American people, but the people also should not be taking matters into their own hands and making an attempt to "rescue" the Haitian children.

PLN 9

Students Helping Students

The program, K-State Proud, at Kansas State University is making a huge impact on students because they are providing money and time to keep students college education alive. Students are running dry of college money and are in need of cash to stay around campus, without K-State Proud, students would be out of an education. This program is raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for students textbooks and education; and it is a huge success at Kansas State University.The K-State Proud program is not all about donating money, it is also about donating time for a fellow classmate. They help students in every little way to just give back to the college they belong to. This is why K-State Proud is making a huge impact on the university.

PLN 8

Action Plan

High profile professional athlete's salaries should be reduced because of how much money they are making. I plan to take action for my position on this subject by writing a letter to the NBA and MLB about putting salary caps on teams. Having salary caps would make the professional sport more fair for all teams and players because all teams would have the same amount of money to spend on their team. Even though this won't fix the sport entirely or reduce all professional athlete's paychecks, but it would be a great start.

PLN 7

Should the NFL threaten businesses and websites with lawsuits just because the National Football League thinks someone is using NFL related logos and/or phrases?

The NFL should not sue everytime someone creates a website or opens a business that appears to be using NFL trademarks. “The letters demanded they stop selling shirts featuring the phrase that's part of a popular cheer by Saints fans, citing trademark infringement.” States the Associated Press. The National Football League threatens to sue Louisiana merchants who are making t-shirts that are, supposedly, containing New Orlean Saints trademarks and other NFL trademarks. Not only that but the NFL sues anyone who seems to be using their trademarks, "We've gone after everyone that we know of who has infringed on our rights." David Proper says, NFL attorney. The NFL sends letters to people and businesses who are suspicious to the NFL of using their trademarks, then if no action is taken by the victim, the NFL prepares for a lawsuit. "We're promoting the game. That's how the area's economy benefits. I'm totally baffled by this." Yardy, a Re/Max real estate broker, says. The NFL is being harsh on small businesses and websites for no apparent reason other than they are copyright infringementing the NFL. The case between Louisiana merchants and the NFL is the most ridiculous case the NFL has put together so far. The NFL is sueing over the fact that these merchants are putting the “who dat” phrase and the fleur-de-lis, a symbol the New Orleans Saints happens to use, onto shirts. Clearly, they should not sue everytime someone creates a website or opens a business that appears to be using NFL trademarks.

PLN 6

Are sporting event ticket prices increasing because of the new stadiums being built?

“$1.5 billion stadium filled with all the hallmarks of 21st-century sports extravagance” The Wall Street Journal describing the new New York Yankees stadium. The New York Yankees weren’t the only ones who have spent over a billion on their new stadium; the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL have spent a total of $1.1 billion. With new stadiums costing over a billion dollars, ticket pricing increase to make a profit for the teams. Teams with these mammoth stadiums aren’t even selling every seat in their stadium which can cause a huge problem with profits, “Yankees, re-designating seven unsold suites as party suites, sold on a game-by-game basis” states The Wall Street Journal. Overall, ticket prices for sporting events are increasing because of new extravagant stadiums.

PLN 5

No salary cap for the Major League Baseball, is that making the sport unfair to a certain extent?

"At the rate the Yankees are going, I'm not sure anyone can compete with them," Attanasio said, from the MLB website, Milwaukee Brewers owner. Other teams in the MLB feel that without team salary caps then the sport will be unfair. Salary caps prevent teams from spending outrageous amounts of money on an owner’s team. With salary caps, the sport will be leveled on a more even playing field. Most of the other sports in the professional league have salary caps such as the NFL, and the NBA. There is still an issue with the National Basketball Association is that their salary cap is known as a ‘soft cap’, which means teams can spend over the salary cap in order to maintain a player on the team. A professional sport with salary caps helps even the chances of each team of winning, making the sport more fair; although salary caps are just the start to evening sports out it can still have lasting benefits.

PLN 4

Lots of people think that computers are a waste of money, and that students should be learning important skills like writing and reading rather than wasting time on computers. Do you agree that computers in the classroom are a waste of time and money? Why or why not?

I disagree, computers are a good addition to the classroom and students are still learning these important skills such as reading and writing. Time isn’t wasted on computers; students are getting a lot out of computers including the internet. The internet is a major part of our world today; the internet provides everything for everyone who has access to it, which includes teachers and students. Computers allow people to have access to all sorts of information from around the world. People obtain a better understanding of the world today. Not only can students have limited access to the World Wide Web but they have access to helpful programs that help us type our papers and create presentations for class projects. These programs help us correct our grammar and check our spelling, therefore students learn somewhat of the important skills of reading and writing. Computers do not eat up all the time in the class which leaves time for extra practice in writing and reading.

PLN 3

Are teachers underpaid in Colorado?

Teachers in Colorado are being paid too little for the services they provide. The starting salary for Colorado teachers is $35,086 a year. Teachers prepare people for the future of our world and help us understand things we wouldn’t be able to comprehend or understand without the knowledge teachers provide for us. Teachers should be paid more on average because of what they do for their students and Coloradan citizens in the United States. On average Colorado teachers are being paid $44,439. Four years in a private college costs $26,273, that’s over half of a yearly salary of the average Colorado teacher. Putting that into consideration, starting teachers, fresh out of college, are being paid about $9 thousand dollars less than the average teacher in Colorado. If you do the math, going to a private college for a teaching degree is about 74% of the teacher’s starting salary, and that’s if that private college is in-state. Teachers are paying off their college costs years after they graduate and for what the teachers do for the citizens of America they should be paid more on average.

PLN 2

Are too many professional athletes being overpaid?

High profile professional athletes are being overpaid by their belonging professional league. Professional athletes are getting paid more than the average firefighter, teacher, and police officer. Not only that, but these athletes have more than one source of income. A majority of their money comes from endorsements, which means they shouldn’t be paid as much from their leagues. The average salary for MLB players tops $3 million dollars without endorsements; with endorsements professional athletes can earn as much as $20-30 million in a single year. High profile athletes should be paid less from their league because that money can go to better use other than to entertainers. There are people who serve our community for a living which deserve more money considering they make little on average especially teachers, firefighters, and police officers who are rookies. People who are serving their community for a living only have one source of income unlike these high paid athletes. Most professional leagues have salary caps which limits how much money the team can have to spend on their players, but the MLB, Major League Baseball, has no salary cap which means that all their players can be paid any amount their owners seem fit. On average, professional baseball and basketball players are being more than other professional athletes. Basketball players are being paid more on average because they require fewer players on one team which leaves all players on the team to be paid more than other professional sports such as football.