[P2P-F] Calculating the real value to society of different professions

Thu Sep 29 17:47:24 CEST 2011

*http://www.neweconomics.org/publications/bit-rich*

( Free download<http://www.neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/A_Bit_Rich.pdf>
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*Excerpts of introduction :*
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*Why a minimum wage is not enough…*
*…and why an upper limit is required*
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*From surplus value to social value :*

*- City bankers destroy £ 7 of social value for every pound they generate.*
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*- Top advertising executives destroy £11 of value for every pound they
generate.*
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*- T**ax accountants destroy £47 of value for every pound they generate*
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*- For every £1 they are paid, childcare workers generate between £7 and
£9.50 worth of benefits to society*
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The myths of pay and value :

*Myth 10: Pay always rewards underlying profitability*
Empirical studies have demonstrated that *pay arrangements are geared
towards serving the financial interests of managers, not shareholders.*
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*Myth 7: If we tax the rich, they will take their money and run*
They depend on a multitude of factors – cultural familiarity, environment,
proximity to friends and family, and quality of public services.

*Myth 3: Pay differentials don’t matter, so long as we eradicate poverty*
Of course poverty matters. But increasingly it is not absolute levels of
poverty alone but the differences between people that contribute to social
problems
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*Myth 4: We need to pay high salaries to attract and retain talent in the UK
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Our case studies show that high salaries don’t necessarily reflect talent.

*Myth 8: The rich contribute more to society*

The rich pay proportionately less tax than the poor, and many of our tax
streams such as council tax and VAT are highly regressive. The rich even
give less in relative terms to charity than the poor.
*Myth 9: Some jobs are more satisfying, so they require less pay*
Fishing is the most dangerous job in Britain, with roofers and scaffolders
also high up on the danger list, and waste recycling collectors are at
number 18. Yet in none of these industries are rank-and-file workers highly
paid.

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*Conclusions*

This report is not about targeting any individuals in the highly paid jobs
it scrutinises. Neither is it simply suggesting that people in low paid jobs
should be paid more. The point we are making is a more complex one – that
there should be a relationship between what we are paid and the value our
work generates for society.

We need to overcome deep structural issues to act on the implications of
this report.

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Get the publication
[image: A Bit Rich]

Free download<http://www.neweconomics.org/sites/neweconomics.org/files/A_Bit_Rich.pdf>
( 922KB )
 £5
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Note: thanks to Erminio for the link
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