People who choose a career for money are bad and selfish (healthcare, insurance)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The reality of our economy is that it is simply a casino rigged to benefit the owners and the big players. Choosing your parents is vital to your success. Never learning ethics also helps.
I suggest a all sources income tax that exempts the bottom 85 percent and progressively taxes the rest at 5% for the 200 k wage earner to 99% for the 200 million plutocrat living off his winnings. This system would make the people that own the system pay for the maintenance. Incidentally, this tax system would leave the 200k guy with 190k after taxes and the 200,000 k guy 2 million. You can buy a lot of things with two million or enough pleasure to kill yourself. That should be adequate compensation for being a very successful whatever.
It's fine to get what you deserve. But you don't deserve to get that much.
Again, who decides? You? Obama? A priest? A social worker? Why not let the market work it out through natural selection?
Quote:
Originally Posted by smartalx
The market has been skewed to favor the already wealthy and the people who can afford to get that higher education from their parents.
My education wasn't paid for by my parents. I grew up in a shotgun house next to a mill and we didn't have much, but I saw the value in education and found a way by working to pay for it. (You have to scrub a lot of dishes to pay tuition... that's speaking from experience.) I found an employer who eventually paid for two grad degrees. Why do so many foreigners who come from cultures which value education and hard work(i.e., Asians and Indians) seem to find paths to success in this country? Is it that "luck" thing again?
Quote:
Originally Posted by smartalx
You do reap what you sow, but in today's market economy, the produce from your 100 acre farm goes to market with your neighbor's produce from across the street. He has a 50 acre farm. Yet you come home with 90% of the cash. That's not fair. You should have 66.6% of the cash and he should have 33.3%.
Well, if I was the one with 50 acres, I'd not be growing the same thing as my neighbor with 100 acres. If he grew tomatoes, I'd realize that maybe the market has plenty and the demand may not be there. Competition would kick in (that whole supply-and-demand I mentioned earlier) and prices will drop. Maybe I should consider growing broccoli instead. If there's no one else growing and selling it, I'd probably come home with as much from my 50 acres as he does from his 100 acres. And I'd could buy a new SUV!
I found an employer who eventually paid for two grad degrees. Why do so many foreigners who come from cultures which value education and hard work(i.e., Asians and Indians) seem to find paths to success in this country? Is it that "luck" thing again?
It's opportunity. Opportunity comes from luck. Not everyone can escape from their environment, no matter how smart and hardworking they are.
You ignore that 5% that did precisely the same thing that you did, yet have no choice but to continue to scrub dishes. What about them?
Quote:
Well, if I was the one with 50 acres, I'd not be growing the same thing as my neighbor with 100 acres. If he grew tomatoes, I'd realize that maybe the market has plenty and the demand may not be there. Competition would kick in (that whole supply-and-demand I mentioned earlier) and prices will drop. Maybe I should consider growing broccoli instead. If there's no one else growing and selling it, I'd probably come home with as much from my 50 acres as he does from his 100 acres. And I'd could buy a new SUV!
Not in this modern market economy where money is given to the big and powerful.
The incentive to do well, economically, is directly proportional to the risk of living in grinding poverty. That's why people in India are more driven than Americans to maximize their earning potential. The alternative is too extreme.
eggzacklee. jtur88 has nailed it.
one of the main reasons so many in india choose engineering and scientific professions is that these fields are some of the few in that country that can actually open up avenues for gainful employment. most other fields simply do not have enough jobs (and even fewer well paying jobs) that provide sufficient enough money to live comfortably on. so whereas here in the US one can still survive as an artist or say, a masseuse, in india (and other 3rd world countries), choosing that profession will almost certainly ensure that you never have enough money to get the things you want and raise a family while providing your kids with everything they need.
"Doctors' salaries are so high not only because of supply and demand but also to offset the amounts they have to invest in education and in malpractice insurance. The U.S. has 5,390 oral and maxillofacial surgeons, who earn an average of $210,710. It also has 2.7 million people who prepare and serve food, for a meager $18,120 per year. Today the average doctor graduates with about $150,000 in student loans to repay, and the costs go on from there.
Workers at both ends of the spectrum made more last year, and across the U.S. the mean salary for all workers rose 2.8 percent, to $43,460. Salary growth outpaced inflation (less food and energy) by one percentage point. That's small consolation for the 2.7 million food servers who make only $8.71 an hour.
In operating rooms across the country, surgeons earn an average of $105.66 an hour. Maybe there are worse things in life after all than taking organic chemistry and being on overnight call. "
Supply and demand, willingness to forego immediate satisfaction, etc. It all plays into the size of the paycheck at the end of the day. And should the skills of 2.7 million be equal in value to the skills of 5,400? The surgeons can serve food if needed. Can the fast food workers successfully perform surgery?
I admit to being a bad person.
98% of the time I only put forth effort for some type of reward.
Not discounting those who choose careers for reasons other than money.
If I can help it i do not plan on working until age 65 so I have to try my best to maximize my income streams in order to reach that goal.
I know and work with local people who are in their 60's and up who have to work crap jobs just to survive.
Its really sad to see.
Those who are willing to work harder (in the right way, not just physical labor), or are able to provide a relatively scarce product in high demand, are paid more.
How much longer will this lie continue to live? How many times has it been repeated that it dies such a slow death? Apparently very many times.
The world could be on the verge of virtual collapse and you will still have your fair share of Americans (and others like the prototype) parroting this idiocy to the grave, all while going to H in the proverbial basket.
Here's some "proselytizing" for you: every human being alive would do themselves a major favor reading William Catton's books (both "Overshoot" and "Bottleneck") to get a taste of the truth.
Here's some "proselytizing" for you: every human being alive would do themselves a major favor reading William Catton's books (both "Overshoot" and "Bottleneck") to get a taste of the truth.
The ONLY one there is.
If you wish to discuss the notion of carrying capacity and how it fits (or doesn't fit) into this discussion, you need to make your point a bit more succinctly than throwing out a name. It sounds as though you do not believe in the principal of supply and demand? Or is it capitalism and it's prevelance in successful (or at least viable) economic realities (not just intellectual models) that is giving you indigestion? While you're at it, take a look at Edward Wilson's theories on socialism being more suited to ant colonies than to humans due to basic biology. The floor is yours, Mr. Marx.
I recall back long time ago asking some Greek friends in med school why they came to the US to be a doc. They said they paid professionals there peanuts and it's not about how much you contribute to society, it's about who you kicked-back and dealt with under the table. That's the Greek way of wacky commerce, where you can prosper being a trash collector but toil your life away being a doctor.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
