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If millions of people each like Oprah enough to give her a dollar, she makes millions. (pardon the napkin math) If you live in a town of, say, 25k people and y
by grotsnot 9y ago
If millions of people each like Oprah enough to give her a dollar, she makes millions.
(pardon the napkin math) If you live in a town of, say, 25k people and your town has 10 garbage collectors (napkin math: each pair covers 1000 people's trash every weekday) each earning minimum wage 15k/year (if it takes 1min to pick up trash for an average household of 2, we get just over the standard 2k work-hour year. To me this sounds like fast operation and low house size. But the low end of the trash costs demonstrates the point), then each person in town is paying $6 to their garbage collectors. Even more considering benefits and non-labor costs. If healthcare, garbage truck maintenance and, I dunno, landfill fees (are those a thing?) cost the city a mere 100k/year, every person is paying $10 for garbage collection.
So in the napkin scenario, for each individual, garbage collectors are valued at 10x what Oprah is. And that's with all my napkin math assumptions choosing the lowest costs. Plausible scenarios could go as high as 100x individual value for garbage collection over Oprah mic talking. But Oprah can do her less-individually-important job for 1000x more people. It's an issue of reach.
- wturner 9y agoHere's how I see it: If Oprah dies tomorrow society lives on and for the most part nothing changes. If all the sewer treatment plant workers die there is a scramble to replace these invaluable workers to abate a national health crisis. Why does Oprah make more than these individuals? Is it because she provides "More value" ? If you believe she does.... then fine. If society, through implicit acceptance does...then fine. I don't, and I don't understand the logic. I believe I understand some of the psychology around it...but not the logic.
- tqi 9y agohttp://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/garbage-collector http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/garbage-collector "...predicts that employment in this industry will increase 7 percent, adding 9,400 new jobs by 2024... Median Salary $33,800" If we assume median salary ~ average salary, then $33,800* (9,400/.07) = $4.5bn. Oprah net worth is estimated at around $3bn.
- wturner 9y ago@tqi So when you get down to the numbers and the prevalent value assumptions we all have, Oprah Winfrey (one person) provides more value to the country than 2/3's of the nations garbage collection workers. Even though that is apparently what the numbers say, I can't help but believe it is divorced from reality in terms of practical day-to-day life. In other words, if the average person was forced to choose to either "get rid of" Oprah Winfrey or 2/3's of the countries garbage collection workers, which one would the average person pick? *edited You could easily replace Oprah with some other person. I am simply using her as an example because she is wealthy, popular and her creative output isn't easily quantifiable the way someone like Bill Gates might be.
- ethereumnomad 9y agoAll of this time, I guess, people have just mistaken Oprah's value and you have finally figured it out. Go tell them! Then they can reallocate their money towards more garbage workers! While you are at it make sure to let these fools know to sell all their diamonds and trade them for water. After all, water is necessary for life and diamonds are useless. They simply don't understand that the water has more value! How lucky we are to have you, the ultimate judge of value, to run around and tell everyone how goods and services and peoples time should be allocated. To put this another way, you are a fucking moron.
- charlesdm 9y agoShe delivers less (absolute) value per person, but because of the way the business model works, she can reach more people. If I build a local website and sell access to it for $10 in, say, Monaco (population: approx. 38,000 people) then I'll be making less money in comparison to the same situation but where the entire US is the market for said website. The sewer treatment plant workers don't matter to me, unless I'm living in the town where this stuff is going down. If I'm not however, those workers have zero value to me.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]