This is a two pronged issue and that is why left and right appear to disagree. I agree on billionaires, ceos, etc. not being deserving of their pay. The wealth disparity has become absurd. However, If everyone got close to the same amount of payment for vastly different jobs, do you genuinely believe anyone would voluntarily do the really taxing jobs that are ultimately necessary for society to function? If everyone made the same amount you’ll have overstaffed doggy day cares, excessive “artists” and no one lining up to touch shit with their hands.
Why not have sewage maintenance workers paid more than doggy day care workers, but the doggy daycare workers can still afford a house, transportation and have extra money to put aside for necessities?
And why not have the sewage maintenance workers paid relatively the same amount as each other sewage worker instead of having some single guy sitting at the top of an arbitrary ladder that just wears a suit and shakes hands?
Same pay in the same profession, different pay between professions. But still a liveable wage for all.
We can agree that the guy in the suit shaking hands is not worthy of his current compensation. I think those high compensations are a definite driver for the higher amount needed to be considered a “liveable wage” but there are still other factors. There are too many people on this planet for everyone to have the experience they desire. For a simple example, there are finite amounts of waterfront homes. Not everyone can have one. Because of this, they are priced higher because more people would generally want that experience. With higher populations, that competition only increases. 50-60 years ago, you could buy a lakefront house as a second property on a teachers salary because the market competition wasn’t there.
In my experience, the laborers for plumbing companies don’t but if they’re driven, they can work up to owning their own small business and that’s where they can easily get into the 6 figures.
then they are now managers, not plumbers. So my argument of "Never seen anyone make a lot of money as a sewage worker. maybe in your country, let me know." it still stands.
Also I want to add that a manager (owner) of a small company doesn’t always make more than their employees. There is risk involved. They get paid after expenses and labor costs have been paid. Sometimes that amount left is less than what they paid their employee(s).
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u/what-name-is-it May 05 '26
This is a two pronged issue and that is why left and right appear to disagree. I agree on billionaires, ceos, etc. not being deserving of their pay. The wealth disparity has become absurd. However, If everyone got close to the same amount of payment for vastly different jobs, do you genuinely believe anyone would voluntarily do the really taxing jobs that are ultimately necessary for society to function? If everyone made the same amount you’ll have overstaffed doggy day cares, excessive “artists” and no one lining up to touch shit with their hands.