Comments on: The Pros and Cons of Public Salary Information http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/ Attempts at a Sustainable Lifestyle... Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:47:07 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Philip Brewer http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/comment-page-1/#comment-1784 Philip Brewer Sat, 10 May 2008 20:02:53 +0000 http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/#comment-1784 @Meg: My experience has been that people know which of their coworkers are the most productive, and don't begrudge it when those people get paid more. They also know which employees are sliding along, doing just enough to avoid getting fired, and believe that those people should get paid less. So I don't think you'd see a strong push to equalize everyone's salary. What you would see is a lot less of employers taking advantage of employees who don't know what the fair market value of their labor is. The only people who benefit from keeping salary information secret are the bosses. @Meg:

My experience has been that people know which of their coworkers are the most productive, and don’t begrudge it when those people get paid more. They also know which employees are sliding along, doing just enough to avoid getting fired, and believe that those people should get paid less. So I don’t think you’d see a strong push to equalize everyone’s salary.

What you would see is a lot less of employers taking advantage of employees who don’t know what the fair market value of their labor is.

The only people who benefit from keeping salary information secret are the bosses.

]]> By: admin http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/comment-page-1/#comment-1777 admin Fri, 09 May 2008 06:05:34 +0000 http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/#comment-1777 @laoma: Um...what does my childhood have anything to do with public salary information? Your salary is public information because you work for the government. It is public money and as I said the government publishes the salaries for the sake of accountability. Obviously keeping salaries secret gives rise to secretly discriminatory situations, and there always be grumpy people in any work environment. However, in California people are free to leave their position so if they are unhappy they can leave. I have just stated the pros and cons of the situation. Your comment about my childhood is irrelevant. @laoma: Um…what does my childhood have anything to do with public salary information? Your salary is public information because you work for the government. It is public money and as I said the government publishes the salaries for the sake of accountability. Obviously keeping salaries secret gives rise to secretly discriminatory situations, and there always be grumpy people in any work environment. However, in California people are free to leave their position so if they are unhappy they can leave. I have just stated the pros and cons of the situation. Your comment about my childhood is irrelevant.

]]> By: laoma http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/comment-page-1/#comment-1775 laoma Fri, 09 May 2008 05:24:20 +0000 http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/#comment-1775 My current orgnization often remind me of China before 1980. Here everybody knows other people's salaries and they are often upset or angery because they think some raises for others are not fair. Here raise is more based on "equity" than on performance. I do not think it is a good thing. When you were in China, you were only a child and you did not really know much about what the adults experienced. Every one in your age in China has a happy memory about his or her childhood, because you are the only child. The whole family supplied you with the best they could afford. When you were a child, all the children in China were treated as "little emperors". Now your generation has grown up and begun to experience what real life is. For all of them, the childhood is their best memory. My current orgnization often remind me of China before 1980. Here everybody knows other people’s salaries and they are often upset or angery because they think some raises for others are not fair. Here raise is more based on “equity” than on performance. I do not think it is a good thing. When you were in China, you were only a child and you did not really know much about what the adults experienced. Every one in your age in China has a happy memory about his or her childhood, because you are the only child. The whole family supplied you with the best they could afford. When you were a child, all the children in China were treated as “little emperors”. Now your generation has grown up and begun to experience what real life is. For all of them, the childhood is their best memory.

]]> By: admin http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/comment-page-1/#comment-1767 admin Thu, 08 May 2008 23:09:43 +0000 http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/#comment-1767 Ian...I thought you knew I'm not American. I'm a Chinese citizen. Ian…I thought you knew I’m not American. I’m a Chinese citizen.

]]> By: Ian Bowman http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/comment-page-1/#comment-1765 Ian Bowman Thu, 08 May 2008 22:59:57 +0000 http://baglady.dreamhosters.com/2008/05/08/the-pros-and-cons-of-public-salary-information/#comment-1765 This is my favorite sentence: "Since I am Chinese I do discuss salary information with my friends..." Really? I thought you were American? What does that mean, anyways? It's like if I said "I'm one eighth German, one eighth Irish, one eighth Guamanian, one eighth English and one half southern redneck. A fourth of me is thinking about getting drunk, and another fourth is thinking about hitting on a married woman. Another fourth is being lazy. Oh, but I talk about wages with my friends some of the time, on the days that I don't put my truck into 4WD." What was my point exactly? Oh yeah, I remember. Public salary information is bad news. It's bad news because then companies feel like they need to pay everyone the same, which is inefficient. Of course, without open wage information, some people will get paid more or less depending on things as arbitrary as how good they are at negotiating their salary. But that's the way it goes. After all, this is capitalism in America. If you want to work somewhere where everyone gets paid the same, work at your local DMV or post office. In government you know exactly what your pay will be far into the future. Just try not to blow your head off all over the government gray #42 colored wall. This is my favorite sentence:
“Since I am Chinese I do discuss salary information with my friends…”

Really? I thought you were American?

What does that mean, anyways? It’s like if I said “I’m one eighth German, one eighth Irish, one eighth Guamanian, one eighth English and one half southern redneck. A fourth of me is thinking about getting drunk, and another fourth is thinking about hitting on a married woman. Another fourth is being lazy. Oh, but I talk about wages with my friends some of the time, on the days that I don’t put my truck into 4WD.”

What was my point exactly? Oh yeah, I remember. Public salary information is bad news. It’s bad news because then companies feel like they need to pay everyone the same, which is inefficient. Of course, without open wage information, some people will get paid more or less depending on things as arbitrary as how good they are at negotiating their salary. But that’s the way it goes. After all, this is capitalism in America. If you want to work somewhere where everyone gets paid the same, work at your local DMV or post office. In government you know exactly what your pay will be far into the future. Just try not to blow your head off all over the government gray #42 colored wall.

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