3 ms·

This is one of those issues where I have terribly, terribly little sympathy for the businesses. "It will cost the business more" "people might find out they're

This is one of those issues where I have terribly, terribly little sympathy for the businesses. "It will cost the business more" "people might find out they're underpaid" "it'll bring down average comp!!" (Why? By what mechanism? All the author of the article does is bet 10% of his salary.) In the US, employment is ridiculously one-sided in the benefit of the employer and this has only gotten worse as inflation has returned in force. The fact that they're throwing up their hands and complaining "think of the poor capitalists!!" just makes me shake my head.

SoftTalker 3y ago
When I worked at a state university, every salaried employee's pay was public information. You could just look up anybody and see how much their salary was. I never paid a lot of attention to it but some people did and seemed to obsess over who got paid how much in comparison to themselves. They paid pretty poorly compared to what many in the tech sector can make, but it was low stress and you had a lot of PTO and decent other benefits.
- nonameiguess 3y ago
  This is true of all government jobs. I used to be an Army officer. Our pay is set by Congress and in the federal budget. And yeah, that means low performers sitting away in bullshit staff jobs doing nothing earn exactly what the highest performers commanding elite units in difficult theaters of combat earn. So why does anybody bother to be a high performer? I don't know. Why do Olympic athletes in obscure sports with no pro leagues and no endorsement prospects still practice long hours and try hard? Why does anyone become an astronaut when they could earn more flying commercial jumbo jets? Some people just care about excelling at what they do, more than they care about money. Often you'll find these people in high-impact public sector work.
- earthboundkid 3y ago
  Unions are essentially just a form of wage transparency. The union says everyone with X experience gets paid at least $Y. Bosses hate it, so it must work.
specialist 3y ago
Yes and: Union wages are known by all their members. And somehow the world hasn't ended. Transparency seems reasonable to me. A good first step. For the game theory minded, highest recommendation for the book The Logic of Collective Action. Explains the free rider problem, debunking the prevailing economic folk theories of the day (1965). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Logic_of_Collective_Action https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Logic_of_Collective_Action TLDR: Collective bargaining keeps everyone honest.
wmidwestranger 3y ago
Be careful, if you encroach too far into employers' head shaking monopoly, they'll notice.
vore 3y ago
Even for the chest-thumping capitalists out there, a free market of labor would surely involve much better price discovery for labor!

SoftTalker 3y ago

When I worked at a state university, every salaried employee's pay was public information. You could just look up anybody and see how much their salary was. I never paid a lot of attention to it but some people did and seemed to obsess over who got paid how much in comparison to themselves. They paid pretty poorly compared to what many in the tech sector can make, but it was low stress and you had a lot of PTO and decent other benefits.

nonameiguess 3y ago
This is true of all government jobs. I used to be an Army officer. Our pay is set by Congress and in the federal budget. And yeah, that means low performers sitting away in bullshit staff jobs doing nothing earn exactly what the highest performers commanding elite units in difficult theaters of combat earn. So why does anybody bother to be a high performer? I don't know. Why do Olympic athletes in obscure sports with no pro leagues and no endorsement prospects still practice long hours and try hard? Why does anyone become an astronaut when they could earn more flying commercial jumbo jets? Some people just care about excelling at what they do, more than they care about money. Often you'll find these people in high-impact public sector work.
earthboundkid 3y ago
Unions are essentially just a form of wage transparency. The union says everyone with X experience gets paid at least $Y. Bosses hate it, so it must work.

specialist 3y ago

Yes and: Union wages are known by all their members. And somehow the world hasn't ended. Transparency seems reasonable to me. A good first step. For the game theory minded, highest recommendation for the book The Logic of Collective Action. Explains the free rider problem, debunking the prevailing economic folk theories of the day (1965). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Logic_of_Collective_Action https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Logic_of_Collective_Action TLDR: Collective bargaining keeps everyone honest.

wmidwestranger 3y ago

Be careful, if you encroach too far into employers' head shaking monopoly, they'll notice.

vore 3y ago

Even for the chest-thumping capitalists out there, a free market of labor would surely involve much better price discovery for labor!