text: The question of compensation for services rendered is never so simple as remitting a predetermined salary based on qualifications and a person's dedication to the task at hand. If one has preconceived notions concerning one's salary, one will certainly be disappointed since some employers are sure to value their skills and abilities less than others. "Contribution to society" is subjective and therefore impossible to compensate "equally'.
  
  In the 1920s in American, it became very popular to disdain people who did not actually work for a living, but merely lived off the interest of their investments. The stock market was experiencing a boom, and several formerly working-class citizens became wealthy and relished the idea of retiring early. But several great authors of that period questioned the right of these investors to effectively live as parasites; they received money, but they contributed nearly nothing to society.
  
  People who inherit money or live off the interest of investors often seem to spend their time in search of a new thrill, some sort of excitement that money cannot buy. Having almost unlimited wealth changes people, both those who are born into wealth and those who earn their own money early on. But do they have the right to live this way? What about people who work very hard yet they seem to be paid miserably. A migrant work may slave away in a field all day long and make less money in a day than a wealthy person spends on a tip at lunch.
  
  The answer this question lies in one's feelings about Democracry. Some would argue that if a person is smart enough or lucky enough to earn money for an early retirement (or for their children's inheritance) he or she is entitled to it. A rather hard view would be that if someone who works on a menial or physically taxing job does not make a fair or moderate salary then it is his or her own fault (or bad luck). These opinions are based on a rather faulty American premise that all people are given an equal chance in  life and what they make of it is their own responsibly.
  
  Apparently, most people believe that they are underpaid and that others are overpaid. For instance, everyone seems to think that doctors make much too money for the work they do, yet none of the doctors are lowering their fees (they must think that it's a fair price). So, unless we wish to impose on the personal lives of wealthy people by making them work harder, or give people who are not wealthy money that society does not believe they deserve, we cannot give pay equal to contribution to society.
edits.text: America on investments  to Democracy , , responsibility too much