That notion of paying workers a minimum salary of $70k seemed like a good idea at the time

Some skills are inherently worth more than other skills. There's nothing petty or assholish about acknowledging that and expecting employers to act accordingly.

 

Sorry, that's not correct. In this vale of tears, nothing is inherently valuable.

 

That would be ego.

 

Don't let YF hear you say (or, as Hammond might put it, write) that. We're supposed to magically know everyone's previous handles.

 

You mean the currency in my wallet or the gold in a wedding ring isn't magically worth something?

 

That's the only difference between, say, thoracic surgery and changing bedpans?

 

That's true, as screwed up as it may seem.

My wife's parents were among the lowest paid professions in her country.

Their jobs? Pediatrician and civil engineer.

In this country, we've decided that a night in the ER is worth a month's salary. Other places don't view it that way.

 

Because when the practice goes broke, everyone is out of their job.

 

Is good when all comrades make same. Is good for Fatherland, too.

 

But they didn't. Some jobs paid a lot more. Jobs that did not require as much education or that we would not think of as important.

There is nothing inherent about a 10-mile ambulance trip being worth $1,100. Or a 10-minute CAT-scan costing $3,000. But that's what they cost here.

 

There IS something inherent about the skills required to surgically repair a human heart being worth more than the skills required to mop jizz off the strip club floor.

 

MC, suppose that tomorrow they come up with a pill that does away with heart disease. Said pill has no side effects, no risks. It's so safe and effective it can be bought over the counter.

What kind of a salary would a cardiac surgeon be able to command in the immediate* aftermath of this innovation?

*i.e., until such time as he/she retools for some other specialty.