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Often high pay is related to competition in hiring or demand/need by the employer, but not always. In my town like in many others they have lots of help wanted

Often high pay is related to competition in hiring or demand/need by the employer, but not always. In my town like in many others they have lots of help wanted signs. All they need to do it pay more and they’d have a much better chance of hiring people. They just don’t want to pay that much. Starbucks apparently pays over $20/hr starting, and they have benefits if you work enough (something like >20hrs/week) but they seem to manipulate people’s work hours so they don’t work enough. And they are evil union busters, but that’s another issue. The are significant structural reasons behind pay. Teachers can’t be paid more because they are govt jobs and the govt almost always doesn’t do that. So programmers in govt are underpaid too, and they can’t raise rates. Or they raise them a little but they don’t have anything like market rates. The pay of real estate agents, where each side commonly gets 3% of the sale price (shared usually with your firm) is a rediculuous cartel that needs to be destroyed. In my city avg home price is over a million, so the seller/buyer each pay a 30k commission for a few hours work? That high pay comes from a cartel. Some people are paid high amounts because that’s the expectation. Parity with other jobs might be a support for high pay, but maybe not. I’m skeptical of this argument applied to doctors. I had more years of college than a doctor plus medical school plus a year or two of hospital / internship. I used to be paid less than them by a large margin, probably I make more than most now. It’s market rates. Am I doing more important things for society than teachers in my town? (where they can’t find enough and now they recruit parents to be subs because they don’t pay enough for that either). What I’m doing is useful but probably not more important than public school teachers.

xyzelement 3y ago
Hi, I am the person you replied to. I think all of your points go along my point that it all boils down to supply and demand. // In my town like in many others they have lots of help wanted signs. All they need to do it pay more and they’d have a much better chance of hiring people. Right... so apparently they don't "demand" that labor badly enough to pay "whatever it takes" - as you would with a doctor when you're sick or a plumber when your house is flooding. // Teachers can’t be paid more because they are govt jobs and the govt almost always doesn’t do that. So programmers in govt are underpaid too, and they can’t raise rates. But it seems like the "government rate" is sufficient to attract the kinds of people that become public school teachers and government programmers, right? Supply and demand... // The pay of real estate agents... so the seller/buyer each pay a 30k commission for a few hours work Yeah but how many agents are you competing with and how many houses are you moving a year? The top realtor in my town moved over 20M of property a few years ago, so she cleared 600K in commissions that year. The bottom bunch of realtors in my town sold $0 worth of house and got $0 worth of commission. The reason the first woman made that $600K is because there's a demand for her services... and the reason those other guys made $0 is because there isn't. I get the point you're making about fixed fees, but these fees don't guarantee you any profit for just becoming a relator. // Some people are paid high amounts because that’s the expectation What is an example of that? To whom do you pay more than you have to in the market because of "expectations" // I used to be paid less than them by a large margin, probably I make more than most now. It’s market rates. Right, it's supply and demand as I am saying because someone needs you to do the thing you do whatever it is, and they can't find someone to do it for less.

xyzelement 3y ago

Hi, I am the person you replied to. I think all of your points go along my point that it all boils down to supply and demand. // In my town like in many others they have lots of help wanted signs. All they need to do it pay more and they’d have a much better chance of hiring people. Right... so apparently they don't "demand" that labor badly enough to pay "whatever it takes" - as you would with a doctor when you're sick or a plumber when your house is flooding. // Teachers can’t be paid more because they are govt jobs and the govt almost always doesn’t do that. So programmers in govt are underpaid too, and they can’t raise rates. But it seems like the "government rate" is sufficient to attract the kinds of people that become public school teachers and government programmers, right? Supply and demand... // The pay of real estate agents... so the seller/buyer each pay a 30k commission for a few hours work Yeah but how many agents are you competing with and how many houses are you moving a year? The top realtor in my town moved over 20M of property a few years ago, so she cleared 600K in commissions that year. The bottom bunch of realtors in my town sold $0 worth of house and got $0 worth of commission. The reason the first woman made that $600K is because there's a demand for her services... and the reason those other guys made $0 is because there isn't. I get the point you're making about fixed fees, but these fees don't guarantee you any profit for just becoming a relator. // Some people are paid high amounts because that’s the expectation What is an example of that? To whom do you pay more than you have to in the market because of "expectations" // I used to be paid less than them by a large margin, probably I make more than most now. It’s market rates. Right, it's supply and demand as I am saying because someone needs you to do the thing you do whatever it is, and they can't find someone to do it for less.