Thursday, December 31, 2009

Wages

Here’s a simple question. Why is it that if you do something helpful for society like emptying the bins or wiping old people’s bottoms you get paid about £13,000 a year? If you sit in ‘strategy’ meetings deciding whether to put ‘resources’ into things you get about £30,000 a year. If you gamble with other people’s money, lose and then fleece the people who earn £13,000 a year when it all goes wrong you earn £100,000+ The less actual use people’s job is the more they seem to earn.

‘Ah yes, but what about doctors?’ I hear the annoying twat at the back ask. ‘They have to train for 7 years’ they go on. Here’s where you get into the argument about people being suited to things and where people somehow think you’re saying that everyone should be paid exactly the same whatever they do. That’s not what I’m saying. I’m suggesting that it would be good if pay related to how hard people worked and how useful what they do is – EVEN A TINY BIT! So there!

1 comment:

Colin said...

Hi John,

Here's a really interesting piece looking critically at the value of work...
http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/bit-rich?utm_source=nef+%28the+new+economics+foundation%29+List&utm_campaign=daf4a1636f-eletter-january&utm_medium=email

All the very best!
Colin
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