Should Upper Middle Class Workers give up part of their pay to help out low skilled workers? (apply, degrees)

[old and tired]

There has been lots of talk recently about the unfairness of some people being poor and other people living a life of relative wealth. I have a new slant on the discussion.

I am not talking about the unfairness of one person making $10 an hour while the CEO of the company they work at makes millions. (The unfairness of this is a given.) Instead, I am talking about the possible unfairness of the Receptionist or General Clerk in the office making $30K a year while an IT Professional, Engineer, Scientist, Accountant is making $125K or more. While many would say, skilled workers who invested in their career, learned advanced skilled and got a college degree should earn more than the Receptionist or General Clerk, maybe the spread between their salaries is too much.

If you are a highly skilled and educated professional would you agree to a pay cut of 20-30% if you knew the money would go to pay the lower-skilled workers in your company a living salary? This would be implemented nationwide so people would not be able to run to the next company. The result would be the Receptionist pay would move from 30K to 50K and the Engineers pay would be cut from $100K to $80K.

Under this proposal, senior executives would give up half of their salaries and bonuses but stats say this will not be enough. The Upper Middle class need to participate too to make it work economically. (Because there are millions of poor people.)

This is a serious proposal to fight inequity.

[Serious Conversation]

I'm for training programs with a responsible use of my tax dollars. Education and training are part of the pillars of a civilized society.

With that said, a lot of this could be considered throwing good money after bad.

[Disgustedman]

Is the "Unfairness" a given? Really? That $10 an hour employee, did they try their best, attend school? Get a college education? Well, if not, then whose fault is it?

Might as well take the lottery winners millions and give it all to charity, because that's unfair one person wins millions right?

In short, why should they get more for simply earning less as they didn't apply themselves as much as others? While some may have had a lucky break, caught higher ups attention, had a million dollar idea, no, let's make everyone earning $100K no matter how low of a wage they earn...Yeah, there's the answer.

I know I don't deserve $25 an hour. I know others who do. They put in the effort, I haven't and I won't take charity. That what this all works out to be.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by old and tired

This is a serious proposal to fight inequity.

Why do you believe this is a country that all things must be equal? You are looking for a communist society.

[tnff]

Real simple answer: NO!

It goes all the way back to grade school. I worked my can off to get good grades. While they goofed off and clowned around in class.

In high school I was studying and working to save some money. They were out drinking beer and spending money on cars. We lived next to a park. I could see my classmates hanging out from my window while I did homework. I could hear them partying from my bedroom.

In college, more of the same. I went into the military to pay for my education. I didn't study some basket weaving degree, but took the hard courses and got a degree in physics. Went on to advanced degrees. Have continued by education my whole career. While they, if they went to college at all majored in partying.

Through all this they laughed at me for how hard I was working when I could have been having fun like them.

We grew up in the same town. We sat in the same classrooms. We had the same teachers. We had the same opportunities. We had the same doors open for us. They choose not to use them.

So tell me again why I should pay for their choices.

[joe from dayton]

Hell no. I assume college will be free as well, correct? How are people going to pay off loans on what used to be a lucrative career if they can't afford to pay back their loans? I must also assume that the government is going to take over real estate pricing and establish national rent control. That certainly won't create more economic problems. What do you intend to do with the auto workers who will lose their jobs because no one can afford high end vehicles, or are you going to take over manufacturing as well? Why don't we just go back to collective farming? That was a huge success.

[CarnivalGal]

Executives should be the ones to take a pay cut to increase the salaries of lower paid workers.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Low paid and no paid
Income inequality
Just envy
Every bum I ever knew thought he should live in my house, drive my car and sleep with my woman
He wanted everything I had except my job
Because if he had my job, he would have to do the unthinkable
Deal with people like him
It’s not about shaming others into giving you their stuff it’s about self improvement
Signed a former homeless and low paid worker

[SVTLightning]

Originally Posted by spencgr

Why do you believe this is a country that all things must be equal? You are looking for a communist society.

He's retired so it doesn't really affect him anyway.

[SoCal25]

There's nothing unfair about pay differences between skilled an unskilled jobs. Those that feel differently are free to give as much of their own money as they want to others.