RE: Bill Gates makes a case for consumption taxes rather than income taxes
In this case, my friend learned to write grants from her parents who had earned the education. Grant writers do not need any academic certification, they simply need to know where to look for grants and how to write the proposals (it's actually a relatively unskilled job).
Unskilled job eh? One that pays high? Makes a guy wonder why you didn't give it a shot.
A bakery manager doesn't even require a high-school diploma, but it does require years of practical experience (typically 5+) and subjects the worker to high-risk conditions such as heat exhaustion, burns, chemical exposure, fatigue, and a myriad of other health risks.
The kind of risks I was talking about was financial risks. I thought that was obvious. And a starting salary for a coal miner is around $30k, Canadian. Obviously, that comes with a lot of safety risks. Most people aren't lucky, you've gotta work your way up.
The difference in the reward is only in "perceived value". In our society we assign work that we perceive as being more valuable (College Education, White-collar, Executive ...) a higher value than we do for work we perceive as having no value (food workers, cleaning staff, cashiers ...). This inequality is so societally ingrained that many people assume the guy in a suit is more valuable than the one in Blue jeans and a torn t-shirt, regardless of their respective skills.
The reason why some jobs are valued higher than other jobs is because that's what society has agreed on. Most people would agree that a doctor should be paid more than a transit driver. And, then again, consultants (which are complete bs jobs) are paid more than starting software devs. Your right, some jobs shouldn't be paid as much as they do. But they are. And the fact is, this is public knowledge. It's out in the open. And if you wanted a low skill but reasonably paying job, you could set yourself on that track. Of course, there wouldn't be any pride in it, and you can damn well bet your ass that if you think of doing that that others have too. And remember, whining accomplishes nothing (unless you're the stereotypical college millennial).
And I honestly think that a college education is absolutely useless for some jobs, but society requires them for those jobs anyways. It's sad, but it's the reality. And we've all got to learn to live in it. And if we're influential enough one day, we ought to try and change it.
While many people are happy to devalue jobs based on opinion, I seriously doubt that just anyone could handle all of the requirements that must be met to "flip burgers".
I agree. But that doesn't mean they should be paid more. Because you can learn with a relatively small time investment to "flip burgers" (assuming by "flip burgers" you meant flip burgers).
I've actually had executives in several of the kitchens I've worked and very few of them even knew how to use the industries most common machines.
I would expect that. If I were running a business, I would want the executives to know how to perform their roles, and do it well. I couldn't care less if they knew how to operate a kitchen. It's like asking a marketing manager of a nascar driver to actually know how to win a race. It's absurd.
Even if there was a disparity in skill set, why should my skills be worth any more or less than yours?
Hmmm... Should we pay doctors the same as McDonald franchise employees?
I still had to learn the skill, practice and hone it to be competitive in the market I worked in.
It takes at least 7 years to become a doctor. It takes literally a single 1-hour training session to learn how to operate a cash register (and that's if you're a complete moron). Fact is, there's a difference between different skill sets. Some are more valued to society and some are less. And some are downright misvalued. But all of that's in the open. You know what your getting into a mile away from the pool.
BTW I am currently a Senior in my Bachelor's of Business Administration with multiple recommendations to Cal-Poly Pomona for a Master's with a focus in Entrepreneurial management and workplace equality
I don't care. Your education isn't the only thing that matters, it's the job you do too. Would I pay a part-time ski instructor the salary of a prime minister? Hell no!! (ignore Canada for this example, we've messed up somewhere down the line for sure).
It takes 5years of practical experience to be a bakery manager, that experience includes business education, human resource education, health and safety requirements, financial management, and equipment operation and maintenance education. Bakery managers are paid $36k to $38k annually
It takes 4 years to become a Registered Nurse. Registered Nurses are paid $32k - $43k a year
It takes 8 weeks to become a Real Estate agent. Real Estate agents make $125k - $750k a year
It takes 8 hours to become a notary public. As a notary public I made $45k a year (I was bored out of my mind!)
It takes 4 hours to become a Sanitation Engineer (garbage man), Sanitation Engineers are paid $75k - $125k a year
It takes 20 hours to become a nuclear safety inspector. Nuclear safety inspectors make $125k - $225k per year
It takes about a year and the help of roughly 64,000,000 idiots to become President of the United States. The President has an annual salary of $400k a year
So it's not just school, or "special" skills.
Burger flippers shouldn't make doctor's salaries, but they shouldn't have to pay the same in taxes either. As I said in my original comment, a version of the tax system that ignores income disparity and focuses on CORPORATE INCOME would likely be more beneficial overall.
You seem to also miss that fact that there is sometimes both a relatively strong demand for a job and limited pool of applicable candidates (e.g., neurosurgery). That also drives wages up. It is a combination of the subjective value given to the deliverables for the job and the demand for the job. It is easier to replace a janitor than it is to replace a transplant surgeon. Additionally, the variation in performance from janitors is likely less than for transplant surgeons. This goes into the bidding of what people are willing to pay for such positions. It isn't anything against those who perform such jobs, it just is a reflection of how certain outcomes/deliverables are valued in a given society.
They don't.
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make by listing all these jobs salaries, but it sure does seem to prove mines: that all of this knowledge is out in the open so you can make an informed decision on your occupational intentions. Even competitiveness levels of each of these jobs can be found online.