The teachers union in Oklahoma is demanding more pay, saying that teachers in the state rank near the bottom of the country in pay.

Brandon Dutcher and J. Scott Moody point out that a better metric is not teacher salaries across the country, but teacher salaries compared to the state average income. In other words, you can't expect people in Oklahoma (where the average income is below the national average) to pay teachers salaries found in Connecticut (near the top in state average income).