This is going off of the "illustrators deserve more" thread
When it comes to money, especially on a capitalist society, everything has a finite value. So just because intense work goes into something doesn't mean the worker deserves more. I'm not taking any side on this one, but the answer to how much any job should pay can always be found objectively and quickly. It shouldn't be up for much debate.
A point that could be argued though is that much trouble associated with jons arises not from what they pay but what they need to pay for. Rates, taxes, service delivery and crime are what need to be improved by authorities. It is quite likely that if such things were reduced or improved where fitting, even low paying jobs would turn out to pay more than enough for a decent life.
One thing that should be worth note though is how we treat the value of jobs in the first place. Jobs should be valued for more than their monetary output. They should also be valued for the skills and practical contributions they make to society. Someone who has been a carpenter for 20yrs should be able to put their portfolio together, take it to any university and be granted something like a degree in carpentry. What is education, if not passing down the experience of past workers? So one whp has worked and has garnered experience in any field should be considered qualified to a certain degree in their field. Likewise, someone who has been a carpenter should also be allowed to buy furniture at greatly reduced prices since they contribute to the industry. Finally, the carpenter should also get a cross-field qualification in inspection of products, repair-work and marketing (due to knowing what customers want over time) of products in their field. So for any job, especially the practical ones, there should be an educational/certificate qualification it grants based on experience, a social perk beyond company benefits and cross-field qualifications since all aspects of society are connected and related.
This should apply to not only jobs, but to life experience as well. Most people over 40-50yrs should be recognised with something like a diploma in psychology, people who do charity work (directly, hands-on) should have some business management certificate and so on.
Now, by principle, I don't like this idea. It creates mentality that says anything of practical value is recognised with these certificates and perks, which in turn leads to the mentality that anything not formally recognised is worthless. The latter has proven dangerous even in the little form it carries in modern society, with the most fundamental parts of our humanity being such things as emotions and instincts which are looked down upon. The problem is that the capitalistic nature of modern society (or perhaps, the way capitalism has been used/worked out) has pushed social psychology very far in the direction of 'money or bust' that active steps need to be taken to bring people back to a balanced state. After all, governments are not there to be neutral observers but to actively help get the best from and for people in society.
When it comes to money, especially on a capitalist society, everything has a finite value. So just because intense work goes into something doesn't mean the worker deserves more. I'm not taking any side on this one, but the answer to how much any job should pay can always be found objectively and quickly. It shouldn't be up for much debate.
A point that could be argued though is that much trouble associated with jons arises not from what they pay but what they need to pay for. Rates, taxes, service delivery and crime are what need to be improved by authorities. It is quite likely that if such things were reduced or improved where fitting, even low paying jobs would turn out to pay more than enough for a decent life.
One thing that should be worth note though is how we treat the value of jobs in the first place. Jobs should be valued for more than their monetary output. They should also be valued for the skills and practical contributions they make to society. Someone who has been a carpenter for 20yrs should be able to put their portfolio together, take it to any university and be granted something like a degree in carpentry. What is education, if not passing down the experience of past workers? So one whp has worked and has garnered experience in any field should be considered qualified to a certain degree in their field. Likewise, someone who has been a carpenter should also be allowed to buy furniture at greatly reduced prices since they contribute to the industry. Finally, the carpenter should also get a cross-field qualification in inspection of products, repair-work and marketing (due to knowing what customers want over time) of products in their field. So for any job, especially the practical ones, there should be an educational/certificate qualification it grants based on experience, a social perk beyond company benefits and cross-field qualifications since all aspects of society are connected and related.
This should apply to not only jobs, but to life experience as well. Most people over 40-50yrs should be recognised with something like a diploma in psychology, people who do charity work (directly, hands-on) should have some business management certificate and so on.
Now, by principle, I don't like this idea. It creates mentality that says anything of practical value is recognised with these certificates and perks, which in turn leads to the mentality that anything not formally recognised is worthless. The latter has proven dangerous even in the little form it carries in modern society, with the most fundamental parts of our humanity being such things as emotions and instincts which are looked down upon. The problem is that the capitalistic nature of modern society (or perhaps, the way capitalism has been used/worked out) has pushed social psychology very far in the direction of 'money or bust' that active steps need to be taken to bring people back to a balanced state. After all, governments are not there to be neutral observers but to actively help get the best from and for people in society.