How would things change if you knew the person standing in front of you buying toothpaste and toilet paper was a millionaire. A multi-millionaire? A billionaire?
What if that same rich person was going through the public market sizing up the best deal on cherries, strawberries, or maybe the best loaf of bread?
What if they beat you to the best 50% off deal for meat at the local grocery store?
Would you be upset that someone rich beat you to an affordable pack of meat?
Or perhaps lets turn the table. What if you found out that a glamorous influencer was actually flat broke. They purchased expensive clothing to take home, do a photo shoot, then return it before the bill hits their credit card?
Of if the person in the fancy car with the nice suit and the appearance that looks totally put together and high class was actually barely scraping by on a low income and a lot of debt?
Or maybe you see the travel blog of someone who is in an amazing location only to find out they are flat broke and going to be paying high interest for a long time for that experience?
If I know anything about human nature I am going to guess that there is a very good chance you will be. If not you, then certainly some other people will judge simply based on their perceived value of money and wealth.
But wealth is subjective. Perhaps a person makes a huge amount of money? If I told someone in Indonesia my actual salary they would likely think I live a very rich life. Their perception is based on their reality but my life is very different than theirs. Expenses in Canada are vastly different. Social pressures are different and even family situations are very different.
As an example:
If you were given $5,000 HBD ... What difference would it make in your life?
In a less affluent country?
In an affluent country?
And I don't say that to be mean. When I was in Indonesia $5,000 would go a very long way and would represent many months or even years salary for some individuals. In Canada it is still a substantial amount of money but if you look at this article you will see that for the average person it would just pay off one credit card bill and pay for a dinner at a restaurant.
When I was a pharmacy intern dreaming about finally getting my license and making a real paycheque I chatted with some co-workers about how in a years time I would finally make a professional wage instead of a minimum wage. My manager pulled me aside and told me that was inappropriate behavior.
I never really thought about it much but he explained to me. "As a Pharmacist you will be making 4-5x as much as the regular employees.... and you will be working just as hard". That took a moment to settle in but it was absolutely true. In the Pharmacy I have more responsibility than the average worker. If things go wrong it is my professional liability and my neck that will get sued. In addition I spend a lot of money and 6 years of my life getting a degree that allows me to work as a Pharmacist. That was a considerable investment of time and a lot of years of lost wages.
Do I believe I am worth the extra money being paid to me? Yes. Do I believe I worker harder than anyone else in the Pharmacy? No.
Once we are working we are all on the same team and we are all working hard. That is what is going go be seen by my co-workers. If they know that I make a lot more money than they do? That would create a fair amount of resentment. They don't see the student loans, they don't see all the nights studying hard and sacrifices I had to make, they don't see the continuing education, the potential lawsuits in case of an error, and the other things done to get the license. They only see that we are in the same place, both working hard, and that I make more money.
Ouch
In a way they are.
Anyone can look at job postings and see what people are being paid. If you look at jobs in Pharmacy in British Columbia right now you will see that the average wage is $47 - $58 CAD/hr.
However, it is a number that doesn't tell the whole story.
Indeed, if people hear a number and think its large (or small) they tend to be judgemental. Personally I'd rather be judged on who I am and how I act rather than on how people think I should act based on my perceived wealth (or lack of it).
So, when the Hive Learners ask "Should financial information be open to public scrutiny"? Personally I'm going to side with no. However, if it was? I think there would be a lot of people who act rich who are actually broke. A lot of people who look broke but are actually rich. A lot of finger pointing and judgemental behavior going on... and I don't think it would be fun for a lot of people.
Just my thoughts but thanks for reading them and of course feel free to leave your own in the comments below.
