Day 213: Equal Pay Day Every Day with Equal Money

So yesterday, the 9th of April was 'Equal Pay Day'. Hearing about it, I went 'oh cool, let me check it out' -- but then I remembered, as with many Equality points in the news and media -- that such subjects are usually limited to gender issues. Sure enough, I Google 'Equal Pay Day' and all the articles are about how much women are earning less than males in the work environment, it's about how now women are only now making what men were making in 2012, and so forth. So why are we limiting the concept of 'Equal Pay' to fairness between men and women when it comes down to remuneration for the same job -- while :

• There are 27 million people in this day and age still living as slaves.
• There's 1.3 billion people living on less than 1.25 dollars a day.
• There's over 3 billion people (that’s almost half the world) living on less than 2.50 dollars a day
• There's at least 80% of the people living on less than 10 dollars a day
• There's 250 million child labourers
• There are 22,000 children dying each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in
• And so the list goes on...

What does a pay difference matter in the light of these atrocities? Where is these people's 'one day of the year' attention?

Instead of fretting about a few percentage difference between the wage of a male and a female in the industrialized part of the world – why not make a noise about all those people who don’t even get to have a wage? Wouldn’t you agree that this is of higher importance and thus more of a priority than this gender fringe issue? I mean, if you really care about Equality and Equal Pay – you first start with making sure everyone has a Pay! As long as not everyone has an income, a way to sustain themselves – you will not get anywhere near ‘Equal Pay’, even if all males and females who are employed and have an income receive the same wage.

That is why in Equal Money Capitalism, employment forms part of a person’s basic human rights. If you really want Equal Pay, everyone would receive a wage firstly, and secondly, everyone would receive an equal wage – based on each one’s equal value as being the Capital of Life.

Let’s get Equal Pay – let’s make Equal Money happen.

Related articles

• Day 192: Demand and Flexibility in Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 211: Labour Flexibility and Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 335: Democracy and Capitalism are the Redistribution of Wealth - (Part One)
• Day 206: Will Equal Money Bring about a Utopia?
• Day 195: Moneyless Societies and Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 208: Is Equal Money a Fascist Regime?

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Day 189: Will your Level of Education Determine your Income in EMC?

This blog post is in relation to a comment placed on one of our previous blog-posts - you can check out the full comment at http://economistjourneytolife.blogspot.com/2013/02/day-188-simple-solutions-in-equal-money.html

~ Since I am the one who made the comment, I will rebuttal your response also.
First you are comparing green apples to red and saying they are worth the same at the register, which I tend to agree with. But, my comment was based more on someone that had 4 yrs of college or previous experience to someone who dropped out of high school.

We can not dismiss the expense of a higher education, or the value of years of previous experience, by paying say a gas station attendant of fast food server the same as the doctor or technician you spoke of. Indeed a doctor or technician, and even a plumber, electrician, or carpenter are needed just as much in today’s society.

Understand that within Equal Money Capitalism – education will no longer be a point of ‘investment’ from which you are expecting ‘returns’. This is one’s approach currently as the result of our environment which promotes competition and profit for the sake of self-interest where it’s ‘each one on his own’ – and is in essence an approach based within survivalism. There’s not enough jobs for everyone to go around with, and so people chose an education and career according to the prospect of money linked to that education/career. This is not a real decision/choice made within the consideration of one’s passions and interest – but based on a fear of not making it within this world and ending up with nothing. People who’ve currently  gone through a process of education and spent a lot of money and work getting there experience a sense of entitlement towards ‘getting a good pay’ – but only because they have experienced the process they went through as being an unpleasant one. If it wasn’t for the reward as ‘a good pay’ – these people wouldn’t have made the same education and career choices. Studying and working for an extended period of time to do a job you love and care about will be the reward itself. Within that, you are not going to be comparing yourself with what other people are doing and what process they went through – because what you are doing and the decisions you have made are merely the common sense outflows/results of your passion and what it is you like to do within Life. So, you’re not going to receive extra compensation for your perceived suffering, because you will not be going through a process of suffering. One’s approach towards education and careers will thus change completely.

In terms of financial investment, education is a basic human right, and thus will be provided by the government through tax-monies. In other words – you won’t have to pay for it specifically, because it is part of the ‘package’ you receive as part of your basic rights within developing yourself to your utmost potential. So – here, again, you will not be spending more money on an education for a doctor or any other type of education – so, here, again – there will not be a sense of ‘deserving’ a higher pay because one spent more money on study fees or study loans.

But there again we can very well pay someone who just started in the trade and has little knowledge or skills, the same as someone who as invested several years into learning and refining their trade. There are different values to ones experience within their chosen specialty, A company cannot afford to pay the unskilled as much because they aren’t capable of doing the job themselves.

Within Equal Money Capitalism the only value worth valuing is Life. It’s not about who can do what job or who went through what process of Education – it’s merely a point of you are here, you are alive and thus you will be supported to remain Life. The idea that a company cannot afford to pay the unskilled is merely the outflow of having polarized wages. Where those who are considered having a ‘special position’ receive way larger sums of income than those who are considered to be within an ‘average’ work position. Once this polarization is out of the way – there will be enough money to go around to reach everyone. Realise also that within the context of an Equal Money Capitalistic System – there will be no such thing as ‘an unskilled worker’.  Once one has completed one’s primary education,  a person will be multi-skilled and capable of a multitude of tasks due to the broad spectrum of education that will be in place.

If you start demanding that all employees and people are paid the same, then what happens is the less experienced workers begin to loose there jobs and their job opportunities as employers begin to limit their hiring to only skilled and experienced candidates. This creating a less people with experience because they can’t get any, and higher demands on the fortunate few who are working. Not to mention higher costs and shorter supplies of said products.

This will not be the case because in terms of equalizing wages – you will still end up with the same amount of costs in terms of paying out wages (if not less) – and as such there should be no reason why one would hire someone whose “overqualified” so to speak to do a job that someone who is less skilled can do at the same level of effectiveness. In addition, the labour market will not operate according to supply and demand. Providing employment forms part of a company’s social corporate responsibility. And decision-making such as you’ve outlined above would be considered unethical. Whenever a person no longer requires to perform a particular job within a company, the company is responsible to provide it with a different task. For companies to just take away a person’s income, which is a person’s lifeline is unacceptable. With such principles in place, it will be in the company’s best interest to ensure that each worker is trained to the best of their ability and to make appropriate matches between a person’s skill-set and their role in the company.

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Day 181: Applied Equality in Equal Money Capitalism

Within the current socio-economic system and liberal ideology – human beings are held as being of ‘equal value’. This equality is only held as a form of ‘abstract equality’ where in thought one can think of others as having ‘equal value’, but where in word and deed, this equality is not expressed.

People are thus not equally valued on the premise of Life, but are valued in so far that they have particular talents and skill sets. Since not everyone is born with the same skill sets: not everyone is valued equally, which is exactly how things operate currently, where different people have different values – whether you look at a CEO of a company or the janitor, or even at wages cross-borders, where say an Indian’s life-value is less than that of an American.

Valuing and giving people Life support according to one’s position and skills in this world, is thus not an effective way of practically applying the principle that ‘everyone is of equal value’.

The solution would thus be to go back to the initial point of equality, as you are here, you are Life – I am here, I am Life – thus common sensically, we require to be supported equally.

Within Equal Money Capitalism, access to resources is still granted through employment, and thus employment becomes a guarantee. Within this, each one will receive an equal income which in fact reflects the liberal principle of holding each one as being of equal value.

This will transform the concept of Equality to an actual principle of Integrity rather than the feel-good word with empty promises that it has become today. Living actual equality will reduce stress and depression immensely as one is not constantly put in a position where one is under-valued – each one’s value is recognised equally. This will also bring into effect the aim of individualism as outlined within liberalism, whereby we have constructed a society wherein individuals can flourish and develop and become the best possible version of themselves.

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Day 168: The Future of Integrity with Equal Money Capitalism

Note: The EMC is an entirely new project that was started a week ago. We’re at the moment in the phase where we are brainstorming by answering questions. It’s a messy process – but an effective one to get all the relevant points addressed. So – also note that points will evolve and change as we go as we are not setting things in stone, but on a journey towards designing the EMC. The principles upon which EMC is based are laid out in the previous blog-posts. From those principles, we work our way towards what life in EMC would practically be like and how the system will function from an economic perspective.

Money in EMC

Q: What will money be backed by? will anything give it its value...or is that not necessary?

A: Life value will back money -- Labour backs money - which is your capital - that is why the money supply will increase and decrease according to population as each one requires to have an income that recognises their life value and that allows them to live a life worth living.

Q: In terms of printing money and the paper and money that costs, rather turning everything digital ?

A: Yes - digital - let's not kill trees for no reason.

Politics in EMC

Q: Who will sit in governmental positions? no more elections?

A: Politics will largely remain the same as within the EMS proposal - so, yes - there will still be elections. To read up on this point, please read: http://equalmoney.org/wiki/Politics

Q: will we vote on every decision directly through internet? Or still elect once every 5 years and they can do whatever they want after elected?

A: This will be organised in the same was as presented in the Equal Money System wiki: direct democracy - everyone is directly involved in policy making

What about those who provide services instead of goods?

Q: How do people earn an income from jobs that don't produce a product that is purchased, or will everyone need to do a job that produces something to be bought? Or does compensation also happen as paid from the government not just consumers purchasing products?
A: Any value that is added, whether through providing goods or services, will be compensated. So – the same principle applies to employees in companies that produce goods and employees of companies that provide services – the price of the good or the service is determined in such a way that all participants receive a fair share of the profit so that all end up with an equal income. In terms of those working for the government or providing government services – they will also receive an equal income – this is the purpose of taxation.

How to Ensure Full Employment?

Q: How do we make sure everyone is employed; will we have to create meaningless jobs like in the army – dig a hole, cover a hole? 

A: There are many jobs that require to be done that aren't being done at the moment - the Earth is barely taken care of. Remember that a company’s responsibility will extent further than merely the production of goods and services. Each company will have a Compassion and an Environmental Department.

Compassion Departments are a social function. Such departments will assist, for instance, with giving care to the elderly, organising and providing daycare, assisting victims of natural disasters and so on. Individuals whose jobs within the production process are replaced by technology, will instead be employed within the Compassion Department of the company and continue to receive their income.

Environmental Departments of a company fulfil the function of giving as one would like to receive. Companies will use resources from the Earth and will likely create pollutants that affect the environment. The Environmental Departments are in charge of giving back to the Earth in terms of assisting the environment to renew the resources that were taken, for instance, through tree-planting, creating dams, etc. Furthermore, it will assist within mitigating or stopping the negative effects of pollutants, such as, for instance, water or air purification.

Once everyone is employed and all meaningful jobs are being done - we decrease working hours. For instance, if a job requirement is 8 hours, 2 people can do 4 hours each. Also - people don't have to work for 60 years of their lives - we can go on retirement when we are 30-40.

Related articles

• Day 163: Equal Money Capitalism - Redefining Profit
• Day 167: Harmony and Equilibrium within Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 166: Corporate Social Responsibility in Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 165: Equal Profit Share and Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 162: EQUAL MONEY CAPITALISM - The Way Forward
• Day 259: Give Happiness, Get Happiness

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Day 167: Harmony and Equilibrium within Equal Money Capitalism

Note: The EMC is an entirely new project that was started a week ago. We’re at the moment in the phase where we are brainstorming by answering questions. It’s a messy process – but an effective one to get all the relevant points addressed. So – also note that points will evolve and change as we go as we are not setting things in stone, but on a journey towards designing the EMC. The principles upon which EMC is based are laid out in the previous blog-posts. From those principles, we work our way towards what life in EMC would practically be like and how the system will function from an economic perspective.

Income Gap?

Q: There is a gap in production before a product reaches sales, how is that gap covered, meaning before this whole system is in place who is going to pay the living wages to people?

Everyone from birth will have an income allocated through the parent - so until your income from profit share is equal to everyone else's income - this point will remain in place and one will still receive an income within such transition periods.

Company Oversight

Q: Will there be a large bureaucracy to ensure compliance with EMC principles?

A: Within EMC the principle will be that everything is to work in harmony with each other.

Therefore - dependent on at which level a point of disharmony occurs, it will be addressed accordingly.
If there is a worker within a company that is not acting in a way that is best for the company as a whole - this point will be addressed by a tribunal within the company.
If it is an entire company that is behaving in a disharmonious way - it will be addressed by government departments.

Taxation and Banks

Q: Will VAT as being the only tax generate enough income for government to pay for all the infrastructure, sanitation, basic human rights and so on?

A: VAT will be added to each product in a way to make sure there is enough within the common pool of money - which is the tax - to ensure all the basic rights can be provided. Also consider that with all military expenditure falling away - there will actually be quite a substantial amount of money available to governments with which to fund these projects.

Q: Will there be also company tax - where any profits higher than what is necessary to pay employees - go as tax to government?

A: No, surplus profit that successful companies make, will be transferred to a bank.

Banks in an EMC will exist as financial intermediaries, gathering surpluses to cover deficits in other places. So - the banks will be in charge of providing extra funds to companies who are running a deficit. This point will always be temporary and the required funding will lessen as there is an intervention that takes place and action is taken to make the company more effective and able to compete.

When companies with deficits are identified - someone will be sent to intervene, because it might indicate that the company is not effective. Then the problem must be identified and they have to learn from those companies that are successful - so that all may become equally successful and effective within managing resources and distributing goods and services.

Global School Curriculum

Q: Will we have a global school?

A: The principles of the educational curriculum will be the same on a global level, where the goal is to educate humans to become the most happy, the most effective and the most empowered individuals. How this is practically implemented and translated into a curriculum will be specific to each region.

Q: Why specific to each region?

A: Education doesn't require to be the same for every person all over the world - environments differ and so the curriculum must be tailored to ensure effective living within each one’s particular environment and culture

Related articles

• Day 166: Corporate Social Responsibility in Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 163: Equal Money Capitalism - Redefining Profit
• Day 165: Equal Profit Share and Equal Money Capitalism
• Day 259: Give Happiness, Get Happiness
• Day 158: Prevention is the Best Cure - Equal Money System

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Day 19 - Starvation is Murder - Part 2: Feedback

This blog is a response to a comment made on "Day 17: Starvation is Murder".

Thanks for a really interesting article and really highlights how possible it could be to eradicate poverty and the suffering that comes with it. I wonder if it would be useful to highlight which are public and private expenditures as public expenditure can be directed from one thing to another with policy and the amount stays the same as it come from a fixed source eg. tax. Whereas private expenditure is often individual and variable, for example if everyone stopped buying cosmetics everyone in the cosmetics and attached industries would lose there jobs, stop paying tax, take up welfare/services and so there would not necessarily be the same amount of money left to transfer to other more important things. Anyway I would be really interested to hear your thought on this

It would make a difference in terms of where the money comes from -- public or private expenditure -- as you pointed out. Though, within this blog I merely touched upon one of the many aspects within our current economic system which reveals the values we as a society place upon certain outcomes or goods -- which when reflecting upon it, are quite irrational from a broader perspective when looking at the current state of the world, and the abhorrent conditions many find themselves within.

When looking at the issue from a different angle, it does not really matter where the money comes from (public or private), as the essential point is that we are living in an economic system with distorted values. The expenditures listed, reflect the dynamics between supply and demand which is one of the base fundamental systems in our economy. The problem already starts right there, where a person's demand is necessarily linked with their ability to pay for the goods/services wanted or needed (and the fact that there's no differentiating between a 'want' or a 'need' in itself is also problematic). This results in skewed supply and demand curves which determine how much and at what price particular goods and services should be provided -- as they only answer to the demand/wants/needs of those who have money and does not reflect the needs/wants from the whole population in question. This would then (partially) explain the expenditure figures. If everyone's wants and needs were taken as a valid demand, no matter what the state is of a person's income -- these figures would be quite different and the various industries, sectors and markets involved would then restructure themselves according to these new sets of values.   

This in itself is however not a complete solution, as now obviously those with low income / no income still dont have the means of accessing the goods and services they need/want. For this a system ought to be in place, where the Basic Income Grant is a cool first point of implementation, to provide those people with a disposable income. Such a system would however still not be a permanent solution, as there are still so many other points in place in our current economic system which would ultimately render this change ineffective -- yet it's a good start to begin with.

The solution that I propose is that of the Equal Money System, which is a more broader encompassing perspective/solution to our current economic system (than for instance the BIG porposal). You can read up about it here: www.equalmoney.org and feel free to join the forum @ www.equalmoney.org/forum for discussion.

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