Originally posted by Teeky
reply to post by sad_eyed_lady
It's funny how people complain about how much auto workers make but would you rather all the profit go to the coporation? Really it's like saying
athletes shouldn't make as much money as they do because they really don't do anything.
But the professional sports industry makes tons of money so it's only fair that that the athletes reap some of the benefits. In the hay day of GM it
was very reasonable and fair to pay it's worker $30 an hour.
But now it's not such a good idea.
You're missing the point. The athletes themselves provide the value to the industry, not the other way around. That value can be measured by the
output they command in productive possibilities, so it makes sense that they deserve an appropriately scaled salary. It's not about what you earn,
it's about what you deserve. That's what Capitalism is all about. That's what being an American is all about. You receive more money as a reward
for your contribution to society. An athlete is not some pawn that does their job because they're told and the companies profit from them; they
provide entertainment, community engagement (city rivalries), marketing opportunities for unrelated firms. They accomplish more than make a buck by
throwing a ball in a basket. And they do that because you and hundreds of thousands of other individuals are
willing to pay for that
entertainment. If you weren't willing, then they wouldn't deserve such a high pay.
It's sad. Everyone uses the manual labor mindset. If you ache and pain and struggle everyday for your country, your family, your honor... at the end
of the day, you deserve more money than the guy that sat at a desk and signed documents, having never dropped a bead of sweat? Right? No, in fact, the
manual laborer is expendable. He is the merely cheapest means of production.
Although that individual forms the basis for the operation of all society, if one individual were to quit on this principle, another would be gladly
willing to fill that person's position. Those individuals don't command a lot of value. They don't bring any future production possibilities to
their industries. They don't' grow extra limbs for having worked a certain amount of years. There will always be a limit to their use.
On the other hand. Entrepreneurs and businessmen provide so much more to society, despite many of the negative consequences of profit-seeking
businesses. They risk their own personal wealth and finances to provide better technology, better entertainment, and an overall more progressive
society, so it makes sense they deserve to reap a little more profit than the next guy. It makes sense that they get to take out their yacht and have
a party on the Mediterranean, whereas the manual laborer, who didn't take those risks, should be satisfied living out his bleak existence.
I'm not belittling the value of hard work, or even manual laborers at all. You can be an entrepreneur and a plumber. Your value is that you bring a
certain unique edge to your field, possibly providing lower prices in your neighborhood or city for your service. In the end, you make more money than
the plumber that never took those risks his whole life, deciding to stay employed by the same company for his entire career. The end goal is that at
some point in one's life, everyone should be an entrepreneur. You take jobs for the value of education. And when it's your time to hire, you hire
young, budding technicians or whatever. And the cycle continues.
That's what being American is about. That's what free enterprise is about. Not sweating all day and demanding more pay. Before you get to make that
claim, you have to risk your own finances and provide a little extra for your society.
Interesting how this post has greater Christian overtones than your own. Teach a man to fish... Build yourself up before you attempt to build up
others around you. Charity can only go so far.
[edit on 19-11-2008 by cognoscente]
