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Teachers get paid basically nothing to do their work. So should no one be a teacher just because it pays poorly? Absolutely not. I don't know about you but I'd

Teachers get paid basically nothing to do their work. So should no one be a teacher just because it pays poorly? Absolutely not. I don't know about you but I'd hate to live in a world with no artists. I agree with you that she should know what she's getting into, which is why everyone I know has always told me that if you want to be an artist, you've got to love what you do (FYI, I'm not an artist). But just because our society doesn't reward artists monetarily doesn't mean artists don't have a right to complain about it. Sometimes the free market doesn't solve everything.

Luc 13y ago
> I don't know about you but I'd hate to live in a world with no artists. There's no risk of that since they're willing to work for next to nothing. It not a good choice as a profession, but otherwise it is quite an attractive occupation.
- k-mcgrady 13y ago
  There are plenty of people willing to work for close to nothing. That doesn't mean it's right to pay them close to nothing.
  - sejje 13y ago
    The idea that so many choose it implies they aren't being paid "close to nothing." Probably they are being "paid" something other than money, and that's what's so attractive to them.
yummyfajitas 13y ago
I don't know about you but I'd hate to live in a world with no artists. Prices are determined at the margin, not in aggregate. The question is whether you'd hate to live in a world with one fewer artist. I think we could manage. I.e. if the first 10 artists in the world increase wealth by $100k/each, and the 11'th artist increases wealth by $10k (due to diminishing marginal returns), then the price of an artist will be $10k. That's how much society loses if one artist quits. The remaining $90k x 10 artists is captured by society as consumer surplus. (This is true of all professions with competitive employment markets.)
- dangerlibrary 13y ago
  Do you really believe that the job market for artists satisfies all of the underlying assumptions of the economic model you are using? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_competition#Basic_structural_characteristics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_competition#Basic_struc... Infinite buyers and sellers (infinite patrons)? Homogenous products (all artists are fungible)? No barriers to entry and exit (anyone can stop what they are doing and become an artist, tomorrow)? Two semesters of undergraduate economics can make you very confident in things that are utterly wrong, if you're not careful.
sejje 13y ago
My friend, who is a teacher, makes over $25/hour, which is generally considered a pretty good wage. Certainly it's not "basically nothing."

Luc 13y ago

> I don't know about you but I'd hate to live in a world with no artists. There's no risk of that since they're willing to work for next to nothing. It not a good choice as a profession, but otherwise it is quite an attractive occupation.

k-mcgrady 13y ago
There are plenty of people willing to work for close to nothing. That doesn't mean it's right to pay them close to nothing.
- sejje 13y ago
  The idea that so many choose it implies they aren't being paid "close to nothing." Probably they are being "paid" something other than money, and that's what's so attractive to them.

yummyfajitas 13y ago

I don't know about you but I'd hate to live in a world with no artists. Prices are determined at the margin, not in aggregate. The question is whether you'd hate to live in a world with one fewer artist. I think we could manage. I.e. if the first 10 artists in the world increase wealth by $100k/each, and the 11'th artist increases wealth by $10k (due to diminishing marginal returns), then the price of an artist will be $10k. That's how much society loses if one artist quits. The remaining $90k x 10 artists is captured by society as consumer surplus. (This is true of all professions with competitive employment markets.)

dangerlibrary 13y ago
Do you really believe that the job market for artists satisfies all of the underlying assumptions of the economic model you are using? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_competition#Basic_structural_characteristics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_competition#Basic_struc... Infinite buyers and sellers (infinite patrons)? Homogenous products (all artists are fungible)? No barriers to entry and exit (anyone can stop what they are doing and become an artist, tomorrow)? Two semesters of undergraduate economics can make you very confident in things that are utterly wrong, if you're not careful.

sejje 13y ago

My friend, who is a teacher, makes over $25/hour, which is generally considered a pretty good wage. Certainly it's not "basically nothing."