equal wages

 

Once again we fail to look inward for our rewards.  We have been conditioned, and that conditioning has been reinforced.  Hammered into our brains.  We are taught by example that our self worth is measured by our financial status. 

Being the good Agnostic that I am, I would be shirking my duty if I did not point out that our conditioning is based on our creation of God...or His/Her equal in other religions. 

While our Bible teaches mixed lessons, the thread woven throughout is one that demonstrates that wealth and power are looked upon with favor by God.  Despite verses that tell us of the virtue of being poor, and despite the warnings to the perils of too much wealth and disregard for others, the Bible is a book that teaches us to stand in awe of those who have gained worldly goods.  We are to serve our Kings and be faithful servants to our Masters. 

We tuck this early Sunday School learning into the back of our brains and add to it the constant prattle by the lap dogs of the rich and powerful. 

Naturally we begin to feel cheated if someone earns more than we feel they ought to earn.  Of course we resent those who move past us even though we are far more qualified than they. 

I could go on, but you get the idea.  We are not self centered. 

I have supervised people with PhD's who I know resented me.  Yet I never faulted them their feelings because I knew that I was not the focus of their anger and resentment.  They were not looking inward.  They needed someone out there to lay blame on. 

We had the opportunity to elevate several of our top manager positions within our agency.  But that would put them at a higher pay than the director. 

She told me that there was no way she would stand still for that.  We had tried unsuccessfully to get the legislature to raise her salary.  I maintained that if we elevated these managers, me being one of them, then we would have a stronger case for upgrading her position. 

But my real question to her was, "What does it matter if your staff make more than you?" 

She thought I was nuts for even asking.  Yet, she did a job that none of us could have done as well.  Nor did we want the responsibility.  Or the headaches. 

But it was that darned monetary reward that had her all bent out of shape. 

I still believe that my approach would have worked in the long run.  But it's just too bad that we only see our worth in the dollars we receive. 

 

Curious Carl