I’m pretty sure that most of us who ‘Facebook’ have posted or shared something – a photo, a meme, a story, a video – that, at first glance, seems to support our position on a particular issue. I say we, because I’ve done it myself. (I’ve taken the example above from a friend’s post but do not mean to call out that person over any of the rest of us.) The problem with doing that, and I’ll go into this specific example below, is that often those snippets tend to provide incomplete, inaccurate, or misleading information. They sound good on the surface but they do not really tell the whole story. From what I’ve seen, they don’t lead to honest, thoughtful dialogue, but instead, to anger, name-calling, or self-righteous agreement – with no room for anything in between. And without room for real dialogue, I just don’t see the point. Most of the issues that I and my friends care about are far too complicated for Facebook. Obviously, when we post these things on social media we’re looking for something. But I doubt we’re getting what we want.
What I really want to talk about is capitalism and wages. I’m still working on expanding my own understanding of capitalism, and economics in general, so I definitely don’t have the answers. But I want to explore the thinking and assumptions behind this particular issue as part of my process.
The basis of capitalism requires that some people do actual
work and others invest capital in that work, or the equipment and supplies
needed to do the work. Those who invest
expect a return on their investment – they want to get back more than they put
in. They’re the ‘capitalists’, though
they are now called shareholders. And
these days, the whole goal of most companies is to provide the largest return
on investment for their shareholders. Of
course, one way to increase the profits is to keep the wages of the workers as
low as possible.
The people who do the work get paid for their work, usually an hourly rate or by salary or piecework. Whatever it is, we’ve created this notion that the income of labor is based on merit, and we, therefore, earn what we deserve and deserve what we earn. I think I bought into this idea for a long time but I’m starting to see that it’s just not that simple. As we all know, the gap in pay between the workers and executive management in most fields has grown obscenely wide. In 2015 the Huffington Post reported that in 2014 the gap between the median wage and the CEO salaries was 204-1! So, the unequal distribution of the wealth of a company is another way that worker wages are kept low.
I agree that, based on the wealth generated in this country, workers should get a higher proportion of the wealth than they do. But the argument being made in the meme does not address the complications and even assumes that the issue of out-of-reach rent could be solved by increased wages.
This is where I get back to the failure of Facebook posts to accurately inform or make room for dialogue. The post above makes assumptions, statements, and calculations that are all questionable. “The average US rent is $1234/month.” My first question is, “where did that statistic come from?” And for what size home or apartment – an adequate 600 square foot, one bedroom apartment for one person; a studio; two bedrooms? And, generally, using the median rather than the average for a statistic like this is more accurate. The next statement: “for rent to cost less than a quarter of income, as suggested…” As suggested by whom? I have never heard that rent should be less than 25% of income. In my experience and through various Google searches, the standard suggested percentage is 33%. That figure can be challenged, and in some cities it’s probably an impossible standard, but suggesting that the standard is 25% is just a way of making the argument stronger. And then the calculations… the figures in the example are based on working 160 hours in a month (40 hours/week X 4 weeks). In reality, the average, standard work hours in a month is 173 (52 weeks X 40 hours / 12 months). As for the minimum wage, $7.25/hour is the federal minimum wage. However, based on state and territory minimum wage laws in place in 2016, the average minimum a worker would actually earn is $8.51/hour. More than half of the states or territories had a minimum wage above the federal standard in 2016 and many have laws or indices in place that will increase the minimum wage over time. It’s not that any one of these things constitutes such a big difference but the whole goal of this post is to get you riled up by drawing a comparison between a perceived, unjust minimum and some more reasonable or necessary hourly wage. Every inaccuracy or half-truth along the way makes for a bigger gap, which then reinforces the intended goal of the statement.
And this is where social media fails. These things are designed to get you riled up! They are not intended to provide accurate information or thoughtful ideas around which you can have a reasonable dialogue or make personal decisions about your own behavior or actions. And for those of us who truly care about issues of fair pay or a dysfunctional economic system, about sexism, or racism, or environmental degradation, or poverty, or homelessness, or bullying, or gun control…(the list is endless) – we need real information and real dialogue. We think we’re saying something when we share a meme but, instead, we’re dumbing down the issue. And, unfortunately, I think that this way of engaging is creeping into our lives and our face-to-face interactions. We’ve gotten so used to these short, pointed commentaries that we think we know something – about the issue or about the person who posted the meme – and we just don’t look any deeper. This is not how we will make progress in creating a world that works for everyone. We’re smarter than that!
As I review what I’ve just written I see that this whole post is an example of the type of distraction these memes cause. When I began this post I really wanted to talk about the idea of the “minimum wage” and about our expectations of the space we need to live. I wanted to talk about the evolving perceptions of needs verses wants and about rampant consumerism that has had a significant impact on how much money we think we need. Instead, I wasted the time it took to write this post on trying to discredit the supposed conclusion of a single meme posted on Facebook that I should have just ignored. Maybe next time I’ll write about something that really matters.
The people who do the work get paid for their work, usually an hourly rate or by salary or piecework. Whatever it is, we’ve created this notion that the income of labor is based on merit, and we, therefore, earn what we deserve and deserve what we earn. I think I bought into this idea for a long time but I’m starting to see that it’s just not that simple. As we all know, the gap in pay between the workers and executive management in most fields has grown obscenely wide. In 2015 the Huffington Post reported that in 2014 the gap between the median wage and the CEO salaries was 204-1! So, the unequal distribution of the wealth of a company is another way that worker wages are kept low.
I agree that, based on the wealth generated in this country, workers should get a higher proportion of the wealth than they do. But the argument being made in the meme does not address the complications and even assumes that the issue of out-of-reach rent could be solved by increased wages.
This is where I get back to the failure of Facebook posts to accurately inform or make room for dialogue. The post above makes assumptions, statements, and calculations that are all questionable. “The average US rent is $1234/month.” My first question is, “where did that statistic come from?” And for what size home or apartment – an adequate 600 square foot, one bedroom apartment for one person; a studio; two bedrooms? And, generally, using the median rather than the average for a statistic like this is more accurate. The next statement: “for rent to cost less than a quarter of income, as suggested…” As suggested by whom? I have never heard that rent should be less than 25% of income. In my experience and through various Google searches, the standard suggested percentage is 33%. That figure can be challenged, and in some cities it’s probably an impossible standard, but suggesting that the standard is 25% is just a way of making the argument stronger. And then the calculations… the figures in the example are based on working 160 hours in a month (40 hours/week X 4 weeks). In reality, the average, standard work hours in a month is 173 (52 weeks X 40 hours / 12 months). As for the minimum wage, $7.25/hour is the federal minimum wage. However, based on state and territory minimum wage laws in place in 2016, the average minimum a worker would actually earn is $8.51/hour. More than half of the states or territories had a minimum wage above the federal standard in 2016 and many have laws or indices in place that will increase the minimum wage over time. It’s not that any one of these things constitutes such a big difference but the whole goal of this post is to get you riled up by drawing a comparison between a perceived, unjust minimum and some more reasonable or necessary hourly wage. Every inaccuracy or half-truth along the way makes for a bigger gap, which then reinforces the intended goal of the statement.
And this is where social media fails. These things are designed to get you riled up! They are not intended to provide accurate information or thoughtful ideas around which you can have a reasonable dialogue or make personal decisions about your own behavior or actions. And for those of us who truly care about issues of fair pay or a dysfunctional economic system, about sexism, or racism, or environmental degradation, or poverty, or homelessness, or bullying, or gun control…(the list is endless) – we need real information and real dialogue. We think we’re saying something when we share a meme but, instead, we’re dumbing down the issue. And, unfortunately, I think that this way of engaging is creeping into our lives and our face-to-face interactions. We’ve gotten so used to these short, pointed commentaries that we think we know something – about the issue or about the person who posted the meme – and we just don’t look any deeper. This is not how we will make progress in creating a world that works for everyone. We’re smarter than that!
As I review what I’ve just written I see that this whole post is an example of the type of distraction these memes cause. When I began this post I really wanted to talk about the idea of the “minimum wage” and about our expectations of the space we need to live. I wanted to talk about the evolving perceptions of needs verses wants and about rampant consumerism that has had a significant impact on how much money we think we need. Instead, I wasted the time it took to write this post on trying to discredit the supposed conclusion of a single meme posted on Facebook that I should have just ignored. Maybe next time I’ll write about something that really matters.
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