The Cardiologist

A mechanic was removing a cylinder head from the motor of a Dodge SRT-4 when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop, who was waiting for the service manager to take a look at his car. The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hey Doc, want to take a look at this?"  The cardiologist, a bit surprised, walked over to where the mechanic was working on the SRT.

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag, and asked, "So, Doc, look at this engine. I open its heart, take the valves out, repair any damage, and then put them back in, and when I finish, it works just like new. So how come I make $39,675 a year, a pretty small salary, and you get the really big bucks, $1,695,759, when you and I are doing basically the same work?" The cardiologist paused, smiled, and leaned over, then whispered to the mechanic,  "Try doing it with the engine running."  (Received 17 July, 2010,  via e-mail from my friend Dick Stone)

Earl Nightingale gave the following explanation of why some people make much more than others.  "A janitor is just as important, as a human being, as a brain surgeon is.  But the amount of money they will earn will be proportional to the demand for what they do, their ability to do what they do, and the difficulty of replacing them.  In a few weeks, a person can be trained to clean and maintain a building, and replacing the person is not difficult.  A brain surgeon spends many years learning his profession-often at great personal sacrifice and at extremely high cost-and he cannot be easily replaced.  As a result, the surgeon might earn as much money in an hour as a janitor might earn in a year.

"Now, these are extreme cases used to show the relation of income to demand, skill and supply.  But this is as it should be."  (Quoted from Earl Nightingale, Lead the Field, pg 47)

Recapping - The amount you earn is dependent on:
1.  The demand for what you do.
2.  Your ability to do what you do.
3.  The difficulty in replacing you.

I believe that these three statements are natural laws or principles.  If they were understood and universally applied, every working person would be rewarded fairly according to their contribution.  Minimum wage laws and strikes by unions perturb the natural law and are inherently unfair to society.  The high income earners have their income stolen by governments, while the lower income earners frequently have higher salaries than they deserve based on the three laws.

But what about the poor guy trying to support a family of two, three, four or even more children on a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant.  Doesn't he have a 'right' to a salary that he can support his family on?  Let's apply the principle.

1.  Is there a demand for a burger flipper?  Yes.
2.  Does the burger flipper have the ability?  Yes.
3.  Is it easy to replace a burger flipper?  Yes.  No college degree required.  A food handler's permit is required - but it's easy to get.  Training on how put a burger on a grill, flip it without dropping it on the floor, and then putting condiments, the burger, onions, pickles, lettuce on a sesame seed bun and wrapping it up.  Let's be generous - two weeks.

Two weeks training for a burger flipper, 12 or more years training for a cardiologist or brain surgeon.  Why is the burger flipper getting pack $7.25/hour.  If there are people looking for that type of work, the wage should fall.  It the employee is having a hard time keeping his employees, then he/she would raise the wage until the personnel turnover is below his pain threshold.

As a kid, I worked pulling weeds in potato fields for 50 cents an hour.  It was a fair wage.  I got the money, the farmers got weed free potato fields.  All parties were happy.  If I had demanded a wage of $.75/hour, the farmers would have simply found other kids willing to work for $.50/hour.