So, You Should Make Less, They Say

I'm seeing an anti-salary bias among people who should know better.
       PAT bus finances screwed up? Bad, overpaid bus drivers.
       School district facing a pinch? Bad, overpaid teachers.
       Lose 9, 12 games in a row? Bad, overpaid players oops

At one time it was just Jack Kelly, but now it's spreading. I'm reading a lot of comments like this: Somebody with a GED makes more than me, and I have a master's degree? That is just wrong.

Taking up the last, first: if you spent $120K on a BS/BA and can only find a job that pays $25K, or you only choose to take a job that pays $25K, or you can only get a job that pays $25K - you really didn't make a wise decision, did you? So stop telling people about it.

Does the economy owe you a certain income because you have a degree? That's a spirit of entitlement that seems directly opposed to the fiscal austerity these skinflint pity-me-MFA's seem to espouse when it comes to others.

Let's apply the Categorical Imperative. Would it be all right if everybody pursued the "I deserve xyz income level because I spent four six years in college" benefit? Do we owe our veterans who spend four six years in Afghanistan and Iraq a certain income? If we don't justify it for four years in Iraq, it's certainly not justified by four years at Podunk State.

Economic Schadenfreude

To revert to the first (and larger) issue: the desire to see other people make less is nothing but than the internalization of the Corporate desire to keep salaries low. Capital learned a lesson when they started paying Labor for their time: when you pay people more, at a certain point they'll find an equilibrium at which they're willing to curtail their efforts because they've earned enough. To prevent this employee empowerment, and to ensure a steady supply of dependent laborers, Capital will always seek to suppress wages.

I understand why Capital (and later, the Corporation) seeks to suppress wages; it's in their rational self-interest. What I don't understand is the desire among Citizens to see other people make less.

The middle class has seen an unprecedented reduction of their buying power since the 70's; that's (part of) why two parents now work to procure the livelihood that one parent used to generate. Largely because of the loss of manufacturing, the erosion of union power, and the WalMarting of America, real incomes have been continually reduced. There's a word for it: Deflation, which can lead to Depression, which can lead to Collapse.

Some segments of the labor force have managed to hold onto good salaries and good working conditions. Generally, they're established, unionized, blue collar, and they're often public employees. They "elite manqué" who've invested in certain success only to see their dreams dashed by the Corporate abandonment of the old Social Contract are presented with a discontinuity: that bus driver is making more than me, and I've got a Master's Degree. Something must have gone wrong here. Can't be me. Must be them!

Cognitive Dissonance is a funny thing. (It's a great blog, too.) When presented with the evidence, nobody races to say "gee, maybe I didn't make a smart decision when I spent $75K pursuing an advanced degree in Aramaic n'at"; instead, people race to find fault with those who are succeeding. "Gee, those rat bastard bus drivers, they have a union, they've banded together and they're screwing the whole city! And last year, one of them was rude to my cousin Effie's classmate's Aunt!"

And yet, these people consider themselves educated.

As our society becomes more complex and increasingly interdependent, there really aren't too many "unimportant" jobs.
       The plumber who keeps the sewage out of my bathtub? Priceless.
       The tech who fixes the MRI that scans the shadow in my chest? Priceless.
       The clerk who handles my direct deposit? Priceless.
       A bus driver who fights Pittsburgh traffic and deals with The Public? Priceless.
       The teacher who educates my children? Priceless.

I want more people to make more money, not less. It's okay if they make more than I do. What would happen if they made more, if they all made more? They'd have more to spend. They'd buy more. They'd be less stressed. They'd go fishing more often. They'd make economic decisions beyond survival. They'd have better lives. The stress and pressure would shift to the employers and management. That's all good.

Where would the more come from? It is a zero-sum world; it's all, who eats whose lunch? Let's shift the wealth from the Corporations, who would be considering pathological if they were really people, to Labor.

Less you think I'm naive or too theoretical, let me acknowledge that all power bases result in some abuse. Should all PAT driver overtime go to the most senior drivers, and then should it count in the retirement calculation? No. Should teachers have no accountability for the performance of their students? No. How did these abuses happen?


Who set up these situations? The "managers" who bargained with the union, who said "I need this from you, I'll give you this in return". And now that everybody isn't getting the same amount of ice cream, some people want to renounce the deal. Who picked the people who bargained? You did, Mr. Voter. Quick question: who was the last person that you elected as Mayor of Pittsburgh? Yeah, I thought so.

It's not the teachers, bus drivers, or the ballplayers. It's the school board, the Port Authority CEO, and the Management. (edit)

If working people get mad at each other and bicker and snipe at those who make more, we're dividing ourselves, focusing on the wrong definitions, and advancing the Corporate agenda.

We need a greater common denominator, not a lowest common denominator.

(And - I'm sorry about this - but you're no John Galt, either.)