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It's not about the minimum wage, that's just one example of how people have a tendency to define their happiness in relation to other people rather than to an a
by imgabe 11y ago
It's not about the minimum wage, that's just one example of how people have a tendency to define their happiness in relation to other people rather than to an absolute measure of how things are going for themselves. The point of the article is to judge yourself independently of other peoples' success, not about whether we should or should not have a high minimum wage.
- jschwartzi 11y agoWhen we live in a world where prices are set based on how much people can pay, it makes sense to try to get ahead of everyone else. This applies to housing. I can't afford to live where I want because there are a lot of people making way more money than me that are in line ahead of me. Why shouldn't I try to get ahead of them?
- dTal 11y agoI think it's perfectly rational to be upset in the case where coworkers get the paid the same as you or more, yet are in your eyes less productive, competent, or otherwise valuable. Pay signals how much your employer values you, and therefore indirectly your job security. If your hard work goes unrecognized on the balance sheet, it'll probably go unrecognized when times get tight and they need to lay people off. Wanting to feel valued in one's "community" isn't comparing yourself to others, it's a basic human emotional need.