maybe...
but you really think that getting paid more means you're better at what you do?
lookit how much baseball players make, as an example. the highest paid player right now is alex rodriguez. and, sure, he's great!! but... i could name, off the top of my head, 10 players that are both better and more important to their team.
i do agree that education needs to be MUCH more financially supported by our government (teachers should make good, not decent, salaries), however... i think, more importantly, the education system needs to be completely re-evaluated, to ensure its effectiveness. ideas like "tenure," for example, need to be obliterated.
sure, my idea for space exlporation and sea exploration is more to please the kid in me, and my sci-fi fantasies and dreams... but... there's also monstrous amounts of scientific data that could be gained from doing one or the other (or both!).