If they say it’s not about the money, it’s about the money.
Match the profession with the corresponding average salary1:
Job: Salary:
A. Clinical Lab Scientist 1. $40,754
B. Firefighter 2. $39,570
C. Paramedic 3. $58,876
D. Average Goldman Sachs employee 4. $45,638
E. Social Worker (w/ Masters Degree) 5. $43,564
F. College Professor 6. $498,246
G. High School Teacher 7. $55,135
H. Nurse 8. $56,268
What’s the only match you can be sure of? Yep. The Goldman employee. Over ten times the salary of a social worker, firefighter, and even a college professor. An average Goldman employee makes more than the seven other cited professions combined.
The magnitude of this disparity is telling and chilling. It tells us what we value and who holds the power in our society. And thanks to the hard-working folks on Main Street who bailed out Wall Street including Goldman (ok indirectly – but bailed out nonetheless) to the tune of $700 billion “the beat goes on”.
High School teachers and nurses will never claim top salaries, but they deserve some recompense for funding the current pay scale on Wall Street. Why not base pay on job creation instead of gambling (oops I mean “trading”). How ‘bout a little shame fellas?
Eliminate over-complex financial instruments and temper the inherent cronyism that governs its hiring policies. As long as connections trump merit and massive salaries eliminate accountability, financial institutions will be ruled by greed and greed alone. Isn’t it time for a little fairness to creep into the equation?
(ANSWERS: A8; B4; C2; D6; E1; F3; G5; H7)
1 Statistics according to www.payscale.com and this article from Bloomberg.