Progressive Ponderings: Wages, Salaries and Perks
By Joe Mayer
"You ought to be able to keep what you earn," is a frequent cliché of right-wing tax protestors including the Current Decider. It's appealing. It's persuasive. It's deceiving! It's deceiving in its false assumptions. It assumes that all wages and salaries are actually earned. It assumes that our value system is legitimate. It assumes that the market economy and capitalism distribute income on a just and moral basis. It assumes that the market is neutral regarding sex, race, citizenship, etc. with no prejudices built in.
The earnings discrepancy of major corporate CEOs versus the average employee continues to grow. A half century ago in the United States the CEO usually out-earned the average worker about 40 to 1. Today that number reaches 400, even 500, to 1. It's interesting that the market, which corrects all things, allows European and Japanese CEOs to cling closer to the older 40 to 1 ratio.
Wage discrepancies expose our value system. It is not uncommon for a collegiate coach in a major sport (football and basketball) to out-earn the University president 5 to 10 times. Entertainers, athletes, musicians, actors and actresses frequently earn within a year, month, or even a week more than many in the general population earn in a lifetime. Our value system is questioned when a new graduate moves into the market economy and immediately earns more than those who educated him or her. Again, our values are exposed when those dealing — figuratively and literally — in the financial markets (sales, investments, mergers, buy-outs, etc.) earn many times more than those doing such mundane things as making real, useful products.
The assumption that the market economy distributes income on a just and moral basis is exposed as myth when we examine wage discrimination built into the system. Last week wage discrimination against women was cemented into law by the U.S. Supreme Court as it ruled in favor of a discriminating corporate employer. Wage discrepancy based on race, gender, and color is well documented. Earned income varies widely in favor of private employees versus public employees who are deemed inefficient, superfluous leaches on society being paid out of evil taxes. The value of our uniformed armed force personnel is only a fraction of contracted military labor in Iraq and elsewhere. Immigrant versus citizen labor provides another opportunity for the market economy to exploit with impunity.
Too often, earnings in a market economy is the measure we use to evaluate human achievement and status. Worth is determined by the value one contributes to profits. Moral principles such as the golden rule surrender to market principles. Even the concept of justice is denied. "For the good of the economy" or "for the good of the markets/growth/freedom" (for some) are the dominant principles in validating human worth.
Fear, hatred, crime, imprisonment, war – should we be surprised when these dominate political discourse? What else can we expect when selfishness and greed become our sacred cows and other principles are relegated to rhetorical bombast? It's time to pursue the universal principles of respect, dignity, equality, and justice, for we all belong to One Family in which each person is influenced by the actions of others, and when all are in harmony the One Family benefits.
"You ought to be able to keep what you earn," is a frequent cliché of right-wing tax protestors including the Current Decider. It's appealing. It's persuasive. It's deceiving! It's deceiving in its false assumptions. It assumes that all wages and salaries are actually earned. It assumes that our value system is legitimate. It assumes that the market economy and capitalism distribute income on a just and moral basis. It assumes that the market is neutral regarding sex, race, citizenship, etc. with no prejudices built in.
The earnings discrepancy of major corporate CEOs versus the average employee continues to grow. A half century ago in the United States the CEO usually out-earned the average worker about 40 to 1. Today that number reaches 400, even 500, to 1. It's interesting that the market, which corrects all things, allows European and Japanese CEOs to cling closer to the older 40 to 1 ratio.
Wage discrepancies expose our value system. It is not uncommon for a collegiate coach in a major sport (football and basketball) to out-earn the University president 5 to 10 times. Entertainers, athletes, musicians, actors and actresses frequently earn within a year, month, or even a week more than many in the general population earn in a lifetime. Our value system is questioned when a new graduate moves into the market economy and immediately earns more than those who educated him or her. Again, our values are exposed when those dealing — figuratively and literally — in the financial markets (sales, investments, mergers, buy-outs, etc.) earn many times more than those doing such mundane things as making real, useful products.
The assumption that the market economy distributes income on a just and moral basis is exposed as myth when we examine wage discrimination built into the system. Last week wage discrimination against women was cemented into law by the U.S. Supreme Court as it ruled in favor of a discriminating corporate employer. Wage discrepancy based on race, gender, and color is well documented. Earned income varies widely in favor of private employees versus public employees who are deemed inefficient, superfluous leaches on society being paid out of evil taxes. The value of our uniformed armed force personnel is only a fraction of contracted military labor in Iraq and elsewhere. Immigrant versus citizen labor provides another opportunity for the market economy to exploit with impunity.
Too often, earnings in a market economy is the measure we use to evaluate human achievement and status. Worth is determined by the value one contributes to profits. Moral principles such as the golden rule surrender to market principles. Even the concept of justice is denied. "For the good of the economy" or "for the good of the markets/growth/freedom" (for some) are the dominant principles in validating human worth.
Fear, hatred, crime, imprisonment, war – should we be surprised when these dominate political discourse? What else can we expect when selfishness and greed become our sacred cows and other principles are relegated to rhetorical bombast? It's time to pursue the universal principles of respect, dignity, equality, and justice, for we all belong to One Family in which each person is influenced by the actions of others, and when all are in harmony the One Family benefits.
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Not to worry, our “Compassionate Conservative” President has already addressed this problem.
“America’s corporate boardrooms must step up to their responsibilities,” Bush stated on January 31, 2007. “You need to pay attention to the executive compensation packages that you approve. You need to show the world that America’s businesses are a model of transparency and good corporate governance.” “The fact is that income inequality is real. It has been rising for more than 25 years,” the president said. “The earnings gap is now twice as wide as it was in 1980,” Bush said, adding that more education and training can lift peoples’ salaries.
Case closed … just like many of his other decisions, it will be resolved by “voluntary compliance by industry.”
And more GOOD NEWS, with the Republican and Democratic National Committees endorsed the ONE Vote '08: Saving Lives, Securing our Future , saying that presidential contenders should include proposals to combat global poverty in their campaign agendas. Both Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will be asked to sign a pledge in the fall saying they will offer proposals to fight HIV/AIDS , tuberculosis and malaria, improve children’s health in other ways, increase access to education, provide access to clean water and reduce by half the number of people who suffer from hunger.
Now we know that World Poverty will be cured by the Next President.
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