From: john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Our Moderator and Monopolies
Date: 22 Aug 92 06:32:00 GMT
Reply-To: John Higdon <john@zygot.ati.com>
Organization: Green Hills and Cows
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X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 651, Message 1 of 7

On Aug 21 at 22:51, TELECOM Moderator writes:

> [Moderator's Note: Well, I work for a living also, but I don't know
> anyone who is really worth all they get paid. But with inflation and
> economic conditions as bad as they are right now, how could we work
> for less?

Allegedly, an employer hires an individual with the expectation that
he/she will produce more value for the company than that person is
paid in wages. In this day and age, the employer also has to factor in
taxes, regulations, benefits, and other perks in the total
expenditure.  If the person is NOT worth MORE than he is being paid,
then the employer is a fool. I ought to know; I have been in that
position (employer/fool).

But I did take exception to the comment about "corporate welfare". As
an independent contractor/consultant, I have absolutely no W2 income.
All of my sustinence is derived from what can best be described as "odd
jobs". This tends to preclude "just sitting back drawing a paycheck".
While I collect money from some big corporations, those checks are
written for services rendered and if the service was not satisfactory
or beneficial, I would not expect any repeat business. If I charge a
company $1000 for a project which ends up saving thousands of dollars a
month, then I certainly consider my services worth what I am being
paid.

As an employer, I came across many who had no concept of the value of
their work. Their standard for wages was how much they needed a month
to live on. I had a salesperson who in four months managed to sell not
one dollar's worth of equipment. This was after training classes, sales
classes, and other seminars (all provided at my expense) and a
considerable amount of personal help from other successful salespeople.
The unpleasant day came when she had to be told that we could no longer
continue her draw. Her response? "I have been at my desk every morning
at 8 AM sharp. I have stayed until 5 PM every day with only a 30 minute
lunch. I have a family to support and rent to pay. How can you be so
insensitive?"

Yes, I am happy that many companies have hired my services over the
years. But I am not "grateful" to them; we had a business relationship
where value was exchanged for value. They did not "give" me any money.
They did not "feed" me. I did that myself by exchanging something I had
(expertise) for something they had (money). I would hope that those in
the job marketplace keep that in mind, particularly in these
recessionary times. As long as an employee is of value to the employer,
he will not be laid off. And whose responsibility is it to make sure
the employee's services remain of value? I leave that as an exercise
for those who have figured out how to keep their jobs.

This has a counterpart in the discussion of monopolies. When a company
is assured business because of regulation, its incentive toward
maintaining efficiency and value is diminished. If its fortunes are
dependent on the quality of the job done, then the quality and value
remain maximized.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   +1 408 264 4115
    john@zygot.ati.com      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !