This may come under the topic heading of Flights of Fancy but I think I've come up with a fix that could turn the economy around immediately! It's so simple it's almost scary.
Unemployment is rising at an alarming rate and reached nearly 10% in Oregon as of yesterday. Economists are concerned about a worsening the recession as more and more Americans curtail spending after one or more household paychecks are lost, and displaced workers are looking for retraining at local universities and community colleges just as schools are cutting academic programs and putting proposed vocational/technical programs on hold.
Here's the idea: (Warning to college sports fans - you may want to stop reading now.)
What if all college athletic programs required the athletic coaches to be licensed and qualified to teach at the college level in the state of their employment? They are, after all, instructing athletes in a public or private institution. Their pay would be on the same scale as professors in academic disciplines and the various auxiliary coaches (special teams, etc.) could be recruited from adjunct instructors. And what if the players were required to major in a related career field such as sports medicine or physical education? Millions and millions of dollars would be made available to fund college housing and retraining programs as well as restoring our nation's status in science and engineering and paying enough to attract quality teachers to primary and secondary education.
After the recovery I see farm clubs and minor leagues for football and basketball emerging to feed talent to the professional scouts much as baseball has traditionally grown teams. Taxpayers would no longer be funding the semi-pros.
So, rabid sports fans and alumni - put on your school colors and break out the pompoms. You can still enjoy the games since the playing field will be leveled when teacher/coaches take to the fields or courts across the country. I'll bet the ticket prices will be cheaper, too.
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