How do we evaluate the importance of the services we receive and how we compensate the providers? Do we stop and think about everything that is undertaken on our behalf by a food service worker? A lawyer? A politician? A doctor? A soldier?
Or do we just assume that those scales have been established by someone in charge and are fair and just? What would the most important criteria be in evaluating fair compensation? The number of hours assigned to the service? The number of years of study and experience the provider has? The difficulty? How impossible it would be for you to duplicate the work? Is it life saving work? Time saving? How would you compare the services provided by a doctor to those provided by a soldier? Both could save your life and one may be called to put their life on the line in order to keep yours safe?
Does it make sense that someone portraying a doctor on TV could earn more a year than someone who is an active practicing doctor? What about a politician? They receive a salary and perks whether they actually represent their constituents. Would you pay one more if they were influencing political changes that you agreed with?
A clerk at WalMart and an associate at Holt Renfrew have similar duties but one makes minimum wage and the other could earn substantially more. Does the value of the goods or service determine fair compensation? Is it right that some people can work fulltime and still need to access social services to make ends meet? Should taxpayers be subsidizing profits of companies and corporations by making up the difference?
There use to be consideration for how much the employee of provider need to provide to the family’s income. That is why women are still paid between 65-70% of men doing the same work. Does that seem fair? In today’s environment most would believe that the luxury of choice around working for mothers is lower than in the 1970’s. How is gender a qualifier for rates of pay?
Should meritocracy reign supreme? Do we ignore age, seniority, gender, education and pay for success? Maybe that is what were doing in some measure already Sales teams can make $250k and up selling more stuff we don’t really need and earning their corporations $Millions in profit. Should we celebrate a salesman who peddles goods that are harmful to our health, our environment, our sense of community? Do we really need another exploitative company raking in obscene profits while destroying the commons?
For my perspective, we should celebrate and reward those who contribute to the greater good- education, health, safety, environment, food, and chastise and punish those who only contribute to shareholder value. Teachers, nurses, doctors, farmers, police, emergency services, scientists, explorers, writers would be recognized for their greater good efforts. The best teachers would have the best package and the worst would be encouraged to do something else. Medical professionals would be rated on the comprehensive care given rather than on billing for minutes of service and a bloated test regime. Farmers should be measured against nutrition and land stewardship. Peacekeepers and EMS for proactive action reducing the need for their service. Scientist for their contributions to improving the world, explorers for finding new and better ways for us to live in harmony with each other and our planet, and writers for entertaining and challenging each of us to be better.
What do you think? After you, who should be the most highly recognized?
Make Today Remarkable, and trust that you will be compensated fairly,
B
