Even though they experienced the Great Depression, most survivors say it wasn’t “so bad,” because everyone was in the same boat.
That can’t be said today.
While unemployment figures continue to rise, so do the salaries of big time company executives.
Fortunately, most of us lie somewhere in between. But that does little to ease the feeling that our society is getting more and more unbalanced.
An interactive feature on the New York Times website, www.nytimes.com, has a colorful illustration showing how people feel about their futures according to their job status, their upcoming spending plans, what they think the job prospects are for the next generation, and what they think the U.S. economy will be like next year.
The diagram shows three colors of mood. Red for angry or anxious, brown to gray for concerned or resigned to the situation, and green for optimistic.
As expected, those currently employed feel positive to resigned to their situations, though more men than women seem to feel they can rest easy.
For the unemployed, a strong majority are scared and discouraged about their prospects of finding a good job.
When it comes to the next generation’s job prospects, neither the employed nor unemployed, male or female, feel confident they’ll have it as good as today’s workers.
For some, this glum scenario bounces right off their silk suits.
Witness the news that salaries to top executives continue to escalate — and not necessarily relative to their performance — barely raises an eyebrow anymore, we’re so accustomed to the growing divide between the haves and the have-nots.
HIGH ACHIEVERS should be rewarded. Money — whether we like it or not — is the universal recognition for good works.
But that doesn’t mean the rewards should be so lavish that the greater good suffers. Instead, they should be reasonable recognition of a person’s contribution.
Prithee, what possible good works could justify a $20 million salary?
Hindsight shows how destructive unrestrained greed can be.
It takes only a little foresight to see how this path will lead us further in the wrong direction.
— Susan Lynn
