NationStates Jolt Archive


Equal and Fair Income for all People

Aklekia
16-09-2005, 00:58
Equal and Fair Income for all People

1. This proposes equal incomes for all races ethnicites sexes and minorities. The income must be exactly the same and working conditions exactly the same
2. The income cannot be less then .00001% of the any nations GDP ex. GDP of 1 billion requires a per capita of $1,000.

ive submitted this proposal to try to make incomes fair and equal

i have a number 3 but forgot to add it can i modify my proposal?
Forgottenlands
16-09-2005, 01:17
1) It's actually $100
2) If my population is 5 million, half of the GDP disappears into thin air
3) Interesting, the maximum a person can make in the US is about 1.2 million dollars (using 2004 est, CIA Factbook entry). On the other hand, a Canadian Citizen couldn't make more than $100,000. British Citizens, $170,000, Japan $370,000, Germany, $230,000, Australia, $60,000, Netherlands, $48,000

Ok, these figures seem fairly nice, so let's try something else

Denmark: $17,000 (Per Capita: $32,000)
Norway: $18,000 (Per Capita: $40,000)
Sweden: $25,000 (per Capita: $28,000)


That said, the most amazing figure is China: $720,000; Per Capita: $5,600!

----
One note, US Per Capita is $40,000
The Palentine
16-09-2005, 01:55
YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
Aklekia
16-09-2005, 07:58
actually its 10,000. 0.00001 times 1 billion =10000
Forgottenlands
16-09-2005, 14:23
no, it's still 100.

0.00001% = 0.0000001 = 1X10^-7
Compadria
16-09-2005, 23:14
Equal and Fair Income for all People

1. This proposes equal incomes for all races ethnicites sexes and minorities. The income must be exactly the same and working conditions exactly the same
2. The income cannot be less then .00001% of the any nations GDP ex. GDP of 1 billion requires a per capita of $1,000.

ive submitted this proposal to try to make incomes fair and equal

i have a number 3 but forgot to add it can i modify my proposal?

This is very worthy, yet it ignores several saliant facts about human behaviour and some obvious ones about employment value and productivity.

First of all one could argue from an egalitarian perspective that equal income is tied intrinsically to the concept of equality of humanity and thus everyone should have an equal income because they are equal in spirit. This does not take into account the value of labour and the concept of differentiation between skilled work and unskilled work. Would you pay a consultant doctor the same as a waitor? Equally, it diminishes the competative values of an economy by forcing them to adopt a flat playing field for wage rises. How would you decide when a rise would be made for one sector if it would involve making a raise for everyone?

The mathmatical basis is clearly flawed and would create distortions worse than under the current system (as has been outlined in previous posts).

For these reasons, we consider the resolution a weak idea and will not endorse nor support it should it come to vote.

May the blessings of our otters be upon you.

Leonard Otterby
Ambassador for the Republic of Compadria to the U.N.
Feltoria
17-09-2005, 19:02
Equal and Fair Income for all People

1. This proposes equal incomes for all races ethnicites sexes and minorities. The income must be exactly the same and working conditions exactly the same
2. The income cannot be less then .00001% of the any nations GDP ex. GDP of 1 billion requires a per capita of $1,000.

ive submitted this proposal to try to make incomes fair and equal

i have a number 3 but forgot to add it can i modify my proposal?

Firstly, I want to thank you for picking a small number. If it passes, Feltoria could potentially comply.

However, Feltoria does have some major objections that many free market countries might have, and, in the interests of diplomacy and cooperation, we want to bring them to your attention so that your resolution could be more agreeable and more likely to receive the necessary endorsements.

To illustrate my objection, there is something I should ask you: Would you pay fifty million feliks for a junker car? Or one billion for an umbrella?

I suspect not, since those prices are beyond ridiculous in Feltoria (most new non-luxury cars go for around 40,000). If you had to buy one of these, I suspect you wouldn't buy something else, like, say, a haircut that decade. Though you certainly provide the umbrella vendor or car owner with a very, very comfortable lifestyle, you do it at the expense of others who could also benefit by your patronage.

For that matter, why pay someone 15,000 rubles for a job that is only worth 10,000 rubles to you? If Feltorian businesses had to hire at .00001 % (1x10^-7, one felik per ten-million), it would mean that they would hire fewer people, which would cause higher unemployment and, thusly, more poverty, which is what this resolution seems to be trying to fight off through making incomes more equal.

Our suggestion? Encourage nations to take steps to lower unemployment and create jobs, however each nation sees fit. For free market economies, this naturally means creating new opportunities for business; for planned economies... well, the Emperor has no experience with planned economics, so however they would do this.

In any case, I hope my example is helpful to you.
AK_ID
17-09-2005, 19:20
Enforced equal pay is ludicrous.

Look at it this way: Working conditions for two people are the same, and their job descriptions are equal. One is a woman; the other a man. The woman produces twice as many Gidgets per day as does the man. Should they be paid equally?

It would make far more sense to propose that people are paid according to what they produce and according to what the market will bear.

AK_ID
Libre Arbitre
17-09-2005, 21:53
Enforced equal pay is ludicrous.

Look at it this way: Working conditions for two people are the same, and their job descriptions are equal. One is a woman; the other a man. The woman produces twice as many Gidgets per day as does the man. Should they be paid equally?

It would make far more sense to propose that people are paid according to what they produce and according to what the market will bear.

AK_ID

I agree very much. The proposal uses terms like "fair" and then gives the number "not less than .00001% of the GDP". This is grossly anti-market. In addition, the fact that the drafter of the proposal has stated what is "fair" (.00001%) means that the drafter of the proposal has an apparent monopoly on what is a fair wage. S/he is assuming that they should be a universal "fair" wage and that wage should be determined by the national GDP. However, they have given no reasons for why this should be so. Why should the country one lives in determine what their minimum wage should be?
Sauvignon Blanc
18-09-2005, 15:42
Surely if everyone is to be paid equally, then the 'pay' that they should each receive must be GDP/population. That's very elementary.

If not, then who gets (or makes up) the shortfall?
Cravan
20-09-2005, 02:59
Although this proposal has good intentions, this goes against every principle in a capitalist society, such as mine. In a capitalist society, companies compete with each other for more workers, customers, etc. If pay is standardised for all citizens, then there is no reason for competition, nullifying the principles of capitalism. This would essentially cause capitalism to cease to exist, and I am afraid this cannot be allowed to happen. It would be a huge blow to my economy, and I am sure to many other of UN nations' economies.

This proposal is, in fact, one of the principles of Communism, and as the UN mandates, a certain ideology cannot be forced upon another nation. This proposal, although meaning well for citizens everywhere, is unlawful and therefore void.
The Palentine
20-09-2005, 18:41
Although this proposal has good intentions, this goes against every principle in a capitalist society, such as mine. In a capitalist society, companies compete with each other for more workers, customers, etc. If pay is standardised for all citizens, then there is no reason for competition, nullifying the principles of capitalism. This would essentially cause capitalism to cease to exist, and I am afraid this cannot be allowed to happen. It would be a huge blow to my economy, and I am sure to many other of UN nations' economies.

This proposal is, in fact, one of the principles of Communism, and as the UN mandates, a certain ideology cannot be forced upon another nation. This proposal, although meaning well for citizens everywhere, is unlawful and therefore void.

The Evil Conservative Empire of the Palentine fully concurs with the delegate from Cravan. This goes against all the princples of my government. Minimum wage is one issue( and one best left to individual nations). This is a whole new abomination altogether. I'm having chills go up my spine just thinking of this proposal becoming law. :eek: <SHUDDER!> :eek:
Excelsior,
Sen Horatio Sulla
Excelsior,
AK_ID
21-09-2005, 01:25
If I'm not mistaken, even the houseflies, rats and feral cats in my home region would vote against this proposal.

AK_ID