Charts
How Much Teachers Spend on Their Classrooms in One School Year
It was twenty years ago that the educator expense deduction was set, and today, tax time is always a difficult reminder for teachers across the United States that the deduction itself isn’t quite enough. The educator expense deduction has allowed teachers to deduct up to $250.00 for out-of-pocket classroom expenses since 2002, and the maximum amount has remained the same today.
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One of the major issues lies in that on average each year, teachers are spending an average of $750.00 of their own money for classroom expenses, which is an astounding three times more than they’re able to deduct around tax time. In the United States alone, teachers have spent about $2.8 billion of their own money, for their students, on supplies like pencils, paper, cleaning supplies, books, software and more.
A look at this visualization, found via My eLearning World shows the breakdown of how teachers are spending on their classrooms, with this pie chart broken down into six different areas. The leading area of expense is the non-consumable supplies, which includes books and software.
- Non-consumable supplies (books, software, etc.): 23.6%
- Class decor: 21%
- Consumable supplies (pencils, paper, etc.): 17.4%
- Food & snacks: 14.8%
- Prizes: 14.6%
- Cleaning supplies: 8.6%
Teacher salaries have not been keeping up with inflation either. Since 2015 alone, the spending on classroom supplies for teachers has increased approximately 25%, yet they’re still only able to deduct $250.00 at maximum at tax time. Some have even said that the cost of classroom supplies is $250.00 each month.
Per NPR, it’s reported that about 55% of those who are still teaching as a profession are strongly considering leaving the career behind for something else, much sooner than they had originally planned to. With an estimated 567,000 less teachers than there were prior to the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the shortage of educators in the United States is alarming, but perhaps with good reason.
If you are reading this on mobile, there is a 55.79% chance that you have an iPhone in your hand right now. So it is now wonder that Apple is the most profitable company in the United States with a mind-blowing profit of $94.68 billion in 2021! It pays to be a tech company in America – Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Intel all reign supreme for profitability in the U.S. However, America is a land of opportunity and innovation, so there are many industries that massively lucrative! The team at Cloud Peak Law Group has provided minimalist but striking visualization of the most profitable companies in every industry, including aerospace and defense, apparel, energy, health care, media, finances, and beyond.
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The color coding makes it easy to spot trends in the industries that excel in the United States – lots of purples and grays (technology and investing/banking). Pfizer is the first healthcare company to appear on the chart – I wonder how different the rankings would be if COVID-19 never happened? According to The Guardian, Pfizer made nearly $37 billion in sales from its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, making it one of the most lucrative products in history. The article is titled “Pfizer accused of pandemic profiteering as profits double”, but we desperately needed the vaccine, so can that really be considered predatory? It is certainly a topic of moral ambiguity and debate. I appreciate how quick and easy it is to interpret this chart. Simple can be so effective!
Charts
These Are the Careers You Should Pursue If You Don’t Want Your Job Stolen by Artificial Intelligence
The debut of ChatGPT has sparked a frenzy of curiosity, excitement, and concern about what artificial intelligence is capable of now and in the near future. Will robots be able to perform surgeries? Will they be able to create artistic masterpieces? Will they be able to perform music that moves the soul? Most alarmingly, will they be able to take jobs away from humanity? While some jobs are definitely at risk of automation, there are many kinds of jobs that artificial intelligence is deemed incapable of performing (for now). The team at U.S. Career Institute has created a fascinating visualization exploring the 65 jobs with the lowest risk of robotic automation. Check it out:
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First off, I absolutely LOVE this design, especially the header! How could I not scroll down after seeing that eerily realistic robotic hand touching the globe. Is it trying to penetrate it to take over our jobs? Or is it merely curious? The color scheme, typography choices, and background all come together for an aesthetically pleasing effect. I was surprised to see choreographers as the 2nd occupation with a 0% probability of automation. I imagine artificial intelligence would be capable of scouring countless dance videos online, distinguish patterns, and string together moves that would be appealing and catchy. But perhaps the art of interpreting music and words with movement is purely human. Many of the top occupations involve social skills and emotional intelligence, so that makes a lot of sense. Are you worried about artificial intelligence becoming too embedded in the economy and daily life? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
It is no secret that grocery bills have become much more painful in recent months. Post-pandemic consumer demand, ongoing supply chain shortages, unstable weather patterns, geopolitical crises like the war in Ukraine, and overall inflation all contribute to the high price of food. Food prices have increased 13.5% between August 2021 and August 2022, which is double the overall inflation rate! As with most trends, the increase in prices varies across the United States – many cities are experiencing a significantly higher increase in grocery bills. Take Indianapolis, Indiana for example – grocery bills have increased a staggering 50.6%! The team at Nadric & Cohen Accident Injury Lawyers have compiled information from multiple databases to create a fascinating (and terrifying) visualization of how much more seven common foods cost in the 50 most populous cities.
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The foods they have included are eggs, bread, whole milk, cheese, potatoes, apples, and chicken. It is getting more and more uncomfortable being an omelet enthusiast! I cannot believe that 16 ounces of cheese cost $10.39 in Oakland, California and 12 eggs cost $5.66 in Las Vegas, Nevada! I will say though that the exorbitant price of food these days has compelled me to become more creative and less wasteful with meals to get the most bang for my buck. How much is your grocery bill on average? Do you have any frugal but delicious meal ideas? I would love to hear about it in the comments!
From a design perspective, this visualization is well-organized and pleasant to read despite the abundance of information. The header is beautiful, although it pains me to imagine how much all of that would cost in real life. Whoever is buying those groceries is living large because they bought not one but TWO dozen eggs!
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