What do an economics professor, a major newspaper, and your mother have in common? They all agree that you get what you pay for.

A recent New York Times article on the difficulties experienced by manufacturers looking for skilled labor points out the real problem -  pay so low that McDonald's is a better career choice.

Similarly, testifying on behalf of a coalition that is suing the state of Texas to provide more money for education, Jacob Vigdor of Duke University described how teacher salaries far below those of competing states are preventing Texas from recruiting effective teachers.

We've long agreed that paying teachers as the professionals they are, including front-loading salaries and rewarding excellence, is key to attracting and recruiting the best. Like our mothers always said, quality isn't cheap.