Thought for DISCUSSION

1. 84

   gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

   
   When will those staunch proponents of equal income for all realize that people get paid based upon their particular skill, education, expertise, brand, talent, and/or all of the above?  There will NEVER be such a thing as equal income in a society as different jobs requires different levels of skills and/or education.  Also, there are some jobs that are deemed MORE valuable than others and such people are paid accordingly.

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   1. 77

      psycheskinnerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The call is for equal income for equal work.  And I agree with it.

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   2. 60

      janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Is a McDonald's CEO more "valuable" than a high school math teacher? They certainly get paid a lot more.

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      1. 78

         Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         What is fair?
         free market!
         what is not fair?
         forced market!
         Business is business and teaching is teaching… choices were made. If the math teacher had the skills of a CEO you wouldn't be there crying for the math teacher, now would you Janesix?
         
         Frankly, teachers can't handle the real world as far as I see. If you want to make money delve into the world of marketing. Delve into the world of making and managing capital.
         
         Capital: "capital money, finance(s), funds, wherewithal, means, assets, wealth, resources, investment capital; cash, dough, bread, loot, bucks." T

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         1. 60

            janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            "Also, there are some jobs that are deemed MORE valuable than others and such people are paid accordingl"
            
            This is the issue I was addressing in my post.
            
            Are people "valued" by how much money they make?
            
            And how is a CEO of McDonald's more "valuable" than a teacher? I would say the teaching job is more valuable to society than an over-paid CEO of a large, useless company that can't even pay it's worker's a decent wage, yet the top dogs rake in millions a year.
            
            It's disgusting.

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            1. 88

               wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               "Are people "valued" by how much money they make? "
               
               Are you buying people or buying the products of their labor?  It makes a huge difference.
               
               "And how is a CEO of McDonald's more "valuable" than a teacher?"
               
               Part of "value" resides in the supply of the product - in this case the labor.  How many people could (effectively) be a CEO and how many could be a math teacher?
               
               (Personally, I think most CEO's of large corporations are grossly overpaid, but then I'm not beating the streets trying to outbid the competition to get a good one, either.  It is entirely possible that my opinion is a result of that lack of competing to buy such labor.)

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               1. 60

                  janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  This is only a matter of this being morally repugnant to me.
                  
                  I understand the reality.
                  
                  I know we could never live in my idealistic society.

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                  1. 88

                     wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Confusion.  What is morally repugnant in purchasing what someone has worked to produce?  And paying the mutually agreed upon price?

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                     1. 60

                        janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        It is repugnant to me that ANYONE would make millions of dollars per year, while many make barely enough to live on (and millions DON'T make enough to live on world-wide). I don't even understand how someone could be that greedy.

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                        1. 88

                           wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           Sounds like you are playing god and assigning value yourself, without regard to market pressure.  Yes?
                           
                           But while I might agree with you (and play god myself), the answer isn't very plain.  As a billionaire CEO, give up your salary and let it revert, a few dollars at a time, to the stockholders?  Pour it out into charity, maybe schools or something that might do some good rather than simply giving it away (with 90% of it going to bureaucrats and administrators that teach nothing)?  Take it and start a new business with a hundred highly paid workers and no profits to assuage your conscience?  Keep it and use the power it bestows to make political changes beneficial to the poor?

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                           1. 60

                              janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                              Yes.

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                              1. 88

                                 wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                                 Do you find it suspect when people describe how strangers should behave morally...when it benefits them and hurts the stranger they would apply their personal morals to?
                                 
                                 And I will go on record as saying there is probably only one job in this country that is worth millions per year, and it doesn't pay even 1/2 of ONE million.  Because it is responsible for thousands or millions of lives, including spending those lives as necessary - no other task has that kind of responsibility and that makes it very special.

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                                 1. 60

                                    janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                                    " CEOs of America's 500 biggest companies got a collective pay raise of 16% last year earning total compensation of $5.2 billion. That's an average $10.5 million apiece. Exercised stock options and vested stock awards account for 60% of total pay for this group of 500 firms. Those components of compensation is the reason these CEOs are on list of highest-paid."
                                    
                                    That's BILLIONS.
                                    
                                    http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eggh45je … id-bosses/
                                    
                                    I have said before, I would never try to force my morals on anyone else. Societies get what they deserve.

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                                    1. 88

                                       wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                                       And ours, so enamored of money and entertainment, deserves that.  Yes.

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                                       1. 60

                                          janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                                          Exactly.

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                                          1. 78

                                             Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                                             I don't think you really get it.

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                                             1. 60

                                                janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                                                What do you think I'm not getting?

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2. 56

   literarily_leoposted 9 years ago

   gmwilliams, I appreciate you using your voice on this topic, but I'm a little confused.  I have never heard anyone seriously speak on the issue of equal income for all.  I hope everyone realizes that a Doctor and a clerk at a local store won't make the same amount of money, ever, unless the clerk wins the lottery or something, or has a long lost wealthy relative suddenly leave a fortune.  The equality in paychecks issue I hear most people discussing is between men and women doing the same job.  Why should a woman who holds the same degree, who has the same experience and is doing exactly the same job as her male coworker (or peer from another company) get paid up to 30% less than him?  Maybe I have misunderstood what you meant, of course we won't all make the same amount of money, education level, economics, democracy and capitalism control that. In a socialist society wealth is shared more, but divides and gaps of income and education still exist, but the way I understand it, in certain forms of socialism lower income people receive more help than our system provides and I've heard it is cheaper in the long run to do it that way.  But all socialist governments don't work the same way.
   
   As for the disparity between the extremely wealthy and the working poor in the U.S. that is a national scandal, a blight on our history.  In 100 or more years, if we don't obliterate ourselves from this planet, historians will likely call this the era of greed and social inequality.  Look for a future blog on this issue from me. 
   Sincerely, literarily_leo

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3. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years ago

   At what point are those who work turned into SLAVES for others?

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   1. 60

      janesixposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Probably never.

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4. 78

   Kathryn L Hillposted 9 years ago

   We give our money to those we WISH to give it to...
   seeing how we have a free market and all.

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