We read and heard it in the media, everywhere, that the wide
income gap is bad, productivity is low and how to deal with these problems. The
Americans are worried so it is time we are worried too. Is the conscience
pricking or is it just another gapping for another PR exercise, that the elite
is concerned with the well being of the lower income group, the poor and the disadvantaged?
How real is this expression of shock and awe, that something is seriously wrong
and needs to be talked about but not necessarily to do anything about it?
It was not too long ago that the wide income gap was
preached as a natural occurrence, that it was a sign of progress. Who, in a
position to write his own pay check, in a position to take as much as he wants,
would want to cry over having too much to take? This trait of human nature is
definitely natural. Greed is in all of us and the only way to control this
greed is for a third party to do the checks and balance. No one, not even God,
can check himself and his wanton lust and greed. God can be crazy when
unrestrained, so what is there to blame the mortals or immortals for their
excesses and self serving actions?
The Americans started it all. We resisted in the beginning,
that you cannot anyhow pay people enormous amount of money. Thrift is important
and morally correct in public service. The civil servants were well paid but
not obscenely well paid like what it is today. Don’t mention the politicians. The
Americans started to pay themselves crazy not to the civil servants but to the
private sectors. Every turkey in a position of authority would want to be paid
a life time’s income in a month or a year. And we have learnt to be like the
Americans. We are crazily paying the top management a life time’s income in a
year or less. Would the recipient be complaining? Would the recipient say, hey,
you are paying me too much for so little that I have done!
All sorts of rubbish reasoning were published in the media
as god’s wisdom, to pay the employees their life time income in the shortest
period possible. Actually this is a good thing if it is carried down all the
way to the workers. But it cannot be done. The money is finite. If someone is
taking the bulk of it, the rest will have less.
In any organisation, public or private, the revenue generated
is limited and has to be spread around. The issue is the distribution. There is
the return on capital to the owners or shareholders, the cost of production,
the wages, at the top, middle and at the bottom. If one part takes the lion’s
share, the rest will have to take less. If the CEO and his immediate kakis take
a big chunk of the revenue, the dividends will have to go, the wages of the
lower management and the workers will have to go. CBF is to tell the workers to
take less while the top takes more. And those taking more will tell the CBFs
that it is only normal because they are more deserving.
When wealth is concentrated in a few, they have a lot more
to spend and that drives up the prices of everything. Housing and luxuries will
be cheap to those with deep pockets but extremely expensive to those who have
little or nothing. The high rentals, the high prices of housing and cars do not
happen in a vacuum. They are conscious policies of those who have a lot and think
that it is ok for them to price out the losers. The losers do not deserve
anything better. If they cannot afford a $100k COE, that is their business. If
they cannot afford to pay for taxis, just too bad. This is a meritocratic world
and the meritorious deserve their comfortable lifestyle while the rest are
inconsequential. They should be grateful to have a job and a roof over their
heads.
Do not be misled by the conscience pricking uttering of the
elite. It is just for show. They believe that they should take as much as they
can while the sun shines even when they could have taken enough to last a life
time or several life times in a year.
There is a subtle difference between the rich employees and
the entrepreneurs or those managing their own businesses. The latter two
invested their talents and resources and could lose everything, return on
capital risk. As for the employees, public or private, the only thing they can
ever lose is the job even if they burn down the company or organisation. The
capital they are risking and bringing in big revenue is other people’s capital,
OPC. And they could move on to rob another company by demanding to be paid
another life time in salary in a year.
Is there a problem? If one is an elite and being paid that
kind of indecent money, there is surely no problem. In fact it is the right thing
to do. The system is good, the system is well. Do not destroy the system. So
what is going to happen? Nothing, everything will be as per normal and the
system will tick away until the sun comes down, if it ever comes down.
