Are income differences necessarily "unfair?"?

Question

Some people make more than others.

Generally speaking the differences are a matter of timing (most of us spend some time in four different income "quintiles" over the course of our career, and the average age of the top "quintile" is about 20 years older than the average age of the "bottom" quintile), geography (you're paid more, and it costs more to live, in Manhattan than in Fayetteville), decisions (college-educated workers are generally paid more per year than non-college-educated workers, but they started work four or more years later and went $100K or more into debt), and for what we do (blue collar workers generally perform a repetitive, straightforward task for a set period of time per day, while high-paid white collar workers use analytical reasoning and judgment to solve problems as they arise, have to stay until they solve the problem and if their solution doesn't work, they can be fired).

How is any of this "unfair?"

And if it's not "unfair," why change it?

Answer 1

I totally agree; I notice the only people who consider this unfair are the ones who don't think they should have to work harder to achieve higher pay.

Answer 2

I appreciate the opportunity to grapple with a new word like "quantile"...it's not going to be fair to you that I haven't totally embraced the concept...

There are a few cases where incomes are parceled...in particular aerospace - - a new hire cannot expect to earn more than 15% above the previous salary at another aerospace company...

My sense of your question is to ask myself, what kind of income would I give someone if I were the hiring manager...I tend to be unfair, because I might like someone's looks or weight and cheat myself out of a good and effective employee because of my prejudices...

I was in a situation where the salary I asked for was 10% than the manager of a different department...my manager's manager didn't like my intuitive reasoning and said so...in his viewpoint, he wouldn't have hired me...

In another situation, the salary I requested (the same as the previous job) required me to produce the units from every class I had taken in every university, college, and every school...

If I were a little more enlightened, I would try to match the salary to how effective that employee would be...people who are chatty might be good customer relations people...

Stellar employees do not necessarily make the best employees...someone with a college degree or nearly so might work much better in groups than someone from Mensa with a masters degree or a doctorate...

Answer 3

Fair or unfair is an ethical, moral, and political question. Economists can only describe what is happening, and offer some explanations about why. My ethical judgment is that people in the bottom half of incomes distribution should get a bigger share as they did in the US in the past, and as they still do in the other industrialized nations in the world. My political opinion is the growing inequality in this country is beginning to cause unrest as is shown by the anti-immigration and anti-trade movements that are gaining importance in our politics.

Answer 4

Income differences are not unfair in and of themselves|

Different jobs involve different degrees of experience, training, and education|

So differences in recompense are in order there|


But what *is* perverted are the absolutely vast discrepancies in income that are prevelant today|


For example, what oil exec gets off getting a $400,000,000 severance package?

How does kicking a foot-ball around merit a $10,000,000 a year salary?


Is something wrong with this picture?


Income and recompense in our society today have nothing at all anymore to do with the value that is added to society|

And false stigmas are set up too|


If one is not working in the conventionally accepted way, one is labeled as a slacker| This is true even if the person is contributing greatly to the society around him in his own way|

On the other hand, there is the wheeler and dealer, who flips properties and makes a great profit, while adding absolutely no value at all to society, and he is held up as a pillar of the community|


Society is screwed up in this way because the *Free Masons,* who have their hands in practically everything now, have engineered it that way|

A Free Mason is a particularly low form of life, as they get together to enrich themselves, while putting the screws to anyone who does not join with them|


Free Masons are *absolutely* despicable people|

One will rip a pensioner off (all legal of course), leaving him in destitution, so that he can get the next higher grade of golf clubs|





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Answer 5

Hey all that doesn't matter when our environment will be sending us back to the begging of time, so get to plowing the fields, print up all the things you'll need to know and lets get ready to live by the bon fire' and sing songs with the hillbillies. We need to regress not progress, it's all out of control just so some high and mighty corp man can get his cut anyway... that's the real deal here while you work your butt off to spend all your money on gas and idle plastic crap from Wal Mart that is just rejected lower cost items which you will be replacing anyway with is over consumerism. Which leads to excess air pollution and processing of recycled materials and land fill...Really... money sux and your just going to spend it to kill yourself, so learn to live way within your means and you'll for sure have great success

Answer 6

ok, you just spent 100 thousand going to college, up to eight years of your life in school and working part time jobs to be able to support yourself and finally get into the business world to have a fresh out of high school ,no training or experience, get your job because he knows or is related to the person offering the good paying job. Fair?Women at Wal-mart work their long hours, paying for childcare out of their hard earned wages while the men get the promotions. Fair?

Answer 7

is that a question? when you ask a question, you should know that you expect an answer, and not try to answer yourself. oooh!! waste of time!!