Why should people not be paid equally?

Question

Why isn't everyone worth the same?

Answer 1

Because we all have different abilities.

Imagine a world where a heart surgeon gets paid no better then the counter person at the local burger joint. What would be the point of the heart surgeon excelling in school, going through 4 years of college, then Medical school, then spending years as an intern and resident, all the while constantly updating his education and skills, and after all that getting paid the same as someone who didn't even graduate high school working at a Burger King?

Salary is simply a reward for success and achievement in any number of ways. Why should those who strive to succeed be punished while those who do nothing succeed?

Answer 2

Many of the factors that go into how much a person is paid are eductaion (college/high school), skill level how hard the work involved is. The most important factor in how much someone is paid in my opinion is competition, or how many other people could do that job. If everyone in the country is qualified to do job A, then job A will not have a very high wage. But if only one person in the world is qualified to do it they will have a very high wage because if turn down the job no else will be able to do it.

Answer 3

They shouldn't. I cannot stand incompetent people. There are some jobs where if you exchange one person for another the consequences can affect every person that lives from that point on. People really should be paid what they're worth. It's determining what people are worth that is difficult. Some people are just good at fooling employers. Some people will only become good after a phase where they look bad. It's very hard to figure out who is worth investing in but, a very good indication as to how much someone is worth is how hard they're willing to work and how much of themselves they are willing to invest into their employer.

Edit:

Nevermind hehe.

Answer 4

What you ask is exactly what Karl Marx asked except he asked with a positive infliction. He wished everyone to live simple equal lives. The idea of communism is that everyone does their absolute best to contribute to society, then the products are split evenly between all the people.

Now that is a fine idea but unfortunately in that situation people do NOT do their best but rather sit back and get a free ride in life.

Also their are always power hungry people who take advantage and try to rule the communist society.

So while it is a fine idea, until every person is completely good hearted communism will not work.

Now in a Capitalist society people are suppose to earn what they make. Unfortunately the employers often take advantage of workers, and vise verse. But in America, with the addition of unions, strikes, petitions, and a justice system it is as even as it probably can get.

Answer 5

JJ, JJ, JJ.

I have been a straight commission salesperson for decades. I now am a partner in a business that has a straight commission salesforce.

I have always been the #1 salesperson in my companies. It is not because I am the best salesperson. It is because I have always worked the hardest.

If I have a salesperson working for my company who sells $1,000,000 worth of my products, shouldn't I pay that person more than the person who sells $100,000 worth of my products.

JJ, I agree that everyone deserves the right to Life and Liberty in order to give them the opportunity to pursue happiness. That does not mean I should pay someone who produces 1/10th as much as someone else the same as that person.

That does not mean that person should be deprived life and liberty. It just means that that person's priorities are different from the person who produces 10 times as much.

More than one salesperson has told me over the years that they could sell as much product and make as much money as me if they worked as many hours.

I can respect that. I have sacrificed much to earn the monetary return to accumulate the things I have and send my children to excellent universities and be able to help others.

All we as a civilized society can hope to accomplish is to provide every person with Life ( food + water + shelter + healthcare + education ) + Liberty ( rule of law + equal justice) so each individual can pursue their own concept of happiness.

I agree that we in the USA have not accomplished the above, but many of us are fighting hard to get there.

You are an awesome person JJ. You will accomplish much.

Answer 6

That is pure communism

That takes away all incentive to excel

Result is the country stagnates. People become complacent and lazy.

Example:
During the mid 50's China tried collective farming. A farmer was paid a set amount, regardless of crop yield, and not allowed to make any profit. Thus, many farmers allowed their fields to go fallow and the local officials fearing Beijing, reported that the quotes had been met. Result, up to 60 million people starved to death. The policy was reversed and the farmers were the first in China to be allowed to profit from their work. Thus capitalism was born in modern China.

Believe me, you don't want to live in a country where incentive and individualism is discouraged.

Signed, an ex pat from the USA who lives in the heart of China who quickly realized that China is communist in name only.

Peace

Jim

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Answer 7

I responded to a previous question of yours on socialism.

It should not be understood that socialism necessarily implies "equal pay" across the board. That's a fallacy that right-wingers use, a straw-man, essentially.

What would be just, however, would be if a worker were compensated for the value that he or she infuses into a good or service with his or her labor, minus only a responsible amount to maintain the means of production, i.e., reinvest in capital. In Marxist terminology, that would be paying a worker for his or her labor instead of his or her labor-power.

Answer 8

sorry can't afford the education when you are at the bottom, its a trap and its belitiling bu i will pray for an awakening........it seems to me that that half the people have to be poor so that the other half can be well off ..........so maybe if the poor are the victim and that the more that the poor feel like the victim, the more they cannot forgive and this then feeds hatreds towards almost anything..........and fear moves in and fear is the most dangerous it seems of human emotions........even though fear is a natural human trait which also keeps us safe, we must release fear and move to the wheel of freedom and go to forgive and love again and give your self credit for understanding this........be patient in dealing with one little fear at a time .........so that when a certain fear comes along we deal with it in a sensible manner like careers and wages and what it is that we trully want from our life and be happy in just being alive.......it seems that media promotes more and promotes hunger, to push capitilism and become number one at a very aggresive pace,........maybe i helped others so much for so little because i never tried to help me ........religion told me always to help others and some where along the way i forgot to help me.......i was always trying to help the victims as the bible said and got stupid about me .......the more i gave the more they took...........i started to feel like the victim and did not stand up for me......i took the bible in .......humble to all and sadness for all and maybe weakness for all.........back to faith i will go..........who will feed the brain surgeon if not the fast food person.......who will make his clothes and his car?......who will clean his operating room ......he is nothing with out these others........we are all on the team of life ?so i guess that the haves must give back to the have nots so the have nots can be educated to join the haves if they are not damaged from having nots........o.k. maybe things could be worse, i feel better now,...... i am going to look for the key and the key is life and the history of life and not about number one but how you play the game with a positive feeling of peace

Answer 9

Should a person with a PhD be paid the same as a person who did not even graduate from high school? The answer is no. I am sorry to be rude but this is an inane question.

Answer 10

Is a brain surgeon worth the same as a teenager working at the cash register of McDonalds? If you think that then there is something really wrong about your sense of merit.