Does the method of earning reflect society's priorities?

[ogre]

Originally Posted by stan4

Yes, Memphis, most expensive overtesting and overmedicating is because of patient expectation and defensive medicine. Good point.

The "defensive medicine" part of this plays a substantial role, I suspect. The potential for malpractice suits if anything goes wrong leads doctors to feel compelled to be able to demonstrate that they've left nothing undone with treatments, in case they are called on it in court when there is a bad outcome.

I'm not sure that I agree completely with the premise in the opening post. While it is true that some entertainers seem to avoid criticism for the millions they make, professional athletes often do seem to be the objects of some envy over the money they make for playing games. I've often thought that this may be due to at least two reasons: 1) Though it dates back to the late '70's or early '80's that even journeyman athletes made good money, this is still a more recent development than big paychecks for movie stars and popular musicians. It may be that people still have not completely accepted big salaries for athletes, when there are still many people in middle age and older who remember a time when only a few of the biggest stars in sports made big money, and even they made salaries more like what highly paid professionals, like, um, well doctors, make, not millions. 2) There is a blue-collar element to the fan base for sports. Lots of sports fans like to think of athletes as basically being regular Joes like themselves, who happen to have extraordinary athletic talent. Lots of regular guys who follow sports like to think they would give anything to live their childhood dreams of playing in the big leauges, so it somehow seems unfair that someone actually living that dream also gets paid mega bucks for the privilege.

I think that Memphis1979's point about how people will have a negative reaction to being billed large amounts for visits to emergency rooms when doctors' offices are closed (post # 4) offers a clue to the phenomenon the OP is talking about, to the degree that the OP's point is accurate. When we feel we really need something, we feel put upon when it costs us. With entertainers, we have more of a sense that we can choose not to pay the price of admission if we think it's too high. Of course there are market forces at work that contribute to the high salaries of big-time entertainers, but we also may resent paying big money for doctors, teachers, etc., because it makes us feel as if we are being forced to shell out lots of money for something we HAVE to have. The sense of being able to take it or leave it if the price is too high leads us to have less resentment about the big money made by star entertainers.

[stan4]

Interesting post, ogre. Though I have never heard anyone bemoan any athlete's salary (except when peeps got mad at the baseball strikes).

And teachers and police, etc, do seem to get the short shrift.

[Pandamonium]

Originally Posted by stan4

So I have a question...I was watching some real estate shows about high dollar properties. And most of the people buying were in the entertainment industry or manufacturing or dealt high dollar real estate themselves. It made me think...


Why is it ok to make a ton of money if you are affiliated with entertainment, making a cool product, owning restaurants/hotels, making video games, or buying/selling real estate (basically what can be considered luxury items and not necessities of life), and it's not cool to make a lot of money for providing services and making products that people really need like being a doctor, pharmaceutical production, etc?
In fact, people seem to get really bent out of shape about it.

That seems a little backwards...or does it reflect our priorities as a society?

I cam across a book that was written by Stuart Ewen called Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture and it came out in 1976. Not for nothing, but as time goes on it is going to be harder to find material like this due to the media conglomerates.

So, here we are backtracking to mass production and the creation of wants, needs and desires for social control through classes. What was needed, during the 1920's and 1930's, was the ability to break down traditional norms in cultures in this country because they did not trust capitalism. Initially, this was not geared towards the poorest. It was then manipulated in education. And still is, consider the privatisation of the education system.

When shorter work days were achieved, this created leisure time. How that time was spent and where that time was spent was capitalized on. If a steel company purchases land, builds the houses, rents or sells the houses, builds and operates stores and builds and operates skating rinks and schools, then the money that the steel workers make goes right back to the steel companies. At one time, this is how it was done. This illustrates social control.

Leisure time and leisure items demonstrate having achieved a higher level of status. This is democracy or that which has been drummed into people. Even the poorest can participate by choosing between two loafs of bread. Video games are popular and while you have to be able to afford the system, you have a choice in games.

Yes, it does reflect societies priorities.

I think teachers should be paid more, cops should be paid more and firefighters should not be voluntary. Doctors should be allowed to make money.

But, health care and mental health care are commodities. Treatments are denied to people based on insurance. Pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies have made it to where it is medication or food or housing.

It should not cost over $600 to take an ambulance ride to the hospital, it should not cost over 80k for a pacemaker. But hey, charge it. By the same token, I don't want to see any little smiling faces on websites or hospitals or doctors offices (or wheel chair providers) with some "care" slogan.

I want to see little smiling faces that say things like, "I care as long as you can afford me".

[markg91359]

]So I have a question...I was watching some real estate shows about high dollar properties. And most of the people buying were in the entertainment industry or manufacturing or dealt high dollar real estate themselves. It made me think...


Why is it ok to make a ton of money if you are affiliated with entertainment, making a cool product, owning restaurants/hotels, making video games, or buying/selling real estate (basically what can be considered luxury items and not necessities of life), and it's not cool to make a lot of money for providing services and making products that people really need like being a doctor, pharmaceutical production, etc?
In fact, people seem to get really bent out of shape about it.

That seems a little backwards...or does it reflect our priorities as a society?

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Stan,

I just barely read this post, but I had to comment. Where did you get this idea that we don't value doctors and pharmaceutical companies?

Yes, there are some high paid actors and athletes who earn much more, but give me a break. The average physician income for a family doctor in this country is just under $200,000 a year. If we take orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and cardiovascular surgeons as a group than the average income shoots up to about $300,000 or more. The healthcare sector of our economy accounts for about 14% of GDP at present. My wife is a nurse who works for the government and probably earns less than the average wage for nurses with twenty years experience. Even so, she earns about $35 an hour, has a defined benefits retirement plan, a 401K with matching funding, and a good health insurance plan. I would say the salary she earns is such that society attaches a high value to what she does and we aren't complaining.

We hear alot about famous athletes and entertainers. The part that is left out is what a small percentage of the population this is. These people are highly paid precisely because there are so few of them. I can guarantee you they don't account for 14% of the entire GDP in this country.

I get bent out of shape over the cost of medical care not particularly because its expensive, but because of the rate at which medical care costs increase. I don't understand why an MRI still costs $1,300.00. The technology is not new, its been around now for over 20 years. Yet, costs for an MRI just like anything else continue to move upward.

Please, let's be reasonable...

[Aptor hours]

People in those type of industries actually live out our dreams which are in fact priceless