Chapter 10: Equitable Pay

Radio For The Blind

******************************************************** ******************************************************** ****************Produced by Brandon Isbell**************** ******Written & co-produced by Joshua David McLerran****** ************Recorded at AMR.FM, Salt Lake City************ ******************************************************** ******************************************************** |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| –––––––––– Find out more at http://www.radiofortheblind.com ––––––––– |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| $omehow along the way... we have forgotten that the original purpo$e of currency i$ to easily demon$trate to other$ that We have contributed to $ociety in $ome fa$hion other than that which i$ required to realize that which We wi$h to obtain & are therefore de$erving of that which We did not make, grow, rai$e, or otherwi$e do our$elve$... CHAPTER 10: EQUITABLE PAY In speaking with a Caucasian construction contractor in Virginia who seems to understand quite well what the common person goes through on the daily, a story was related of an elderly black gentleman (affectionately monochord Ol’G) who had been working for the company since the contractor's father ran the show. The contractor (John) spoke of a time when he had given cost-of-living raises to everyone on board: He gave the carpenters an additional $0.50 an hour and the laborers an additional $0.25. To John, this made sense, as the carpenters were all earning more per hour and would therefore have a higher financial requirement to subsist their daily living. To Ol’G (who has now found his time in flesh has passed – may his soul find Rest and Solace, Peace and Love in whatever state it may be right now), this did not make sense and he approached his level-headed boss about it. Ol’G explained, "Last year... that loaf’a bread cost twent'eh-fahv cent less'n this year... Now... you give that cahrpenter fi'ty cent, then you go’give Ol’G twent'eh fahv. Tha'don't make no sense. Cahrpenter walk away: quarter in his pocket, that loaf’a bread in his hand. Ol’G just get that loaf’a bread, ain't got no money in his hand. Nah... you give me mah fi'ty cent or you give that carpenter his twent'eh-fahv... 'Cause that loaf’a bread ain't know th’diff’ence." Being a good man with a solid head on his shoulders, John had to agree that Ol’G’s logic was sound, according to a laborer's point of view, which he could not deny. You see, as a business owner, it is important to remember – as he did after that discussion – that, when one is doing business, one is doing it with Human Beings, not with pieces of paper or with numbers or with assets. In business, as in Life, We must respect the relationships that we have with one another. Call them Basic Human Rights, if you will, but perhaps it is more helpful to view this more as Basic Human Decency, as that is truly what it is. One who is impoverished does not see that when shampoo is bottled in a larger quantity, it costs the company less to bottle it, so passing on those savings will encourage the purchase of more product all at once, thus ensuring one more customer for a longer period of time and, consequently, perpetuating the resiliency of the business. No, to an impoverished person, the view is simply this: "I have X dollars to purchase food & pay my bills, but I need to buy shampoo right now, which costs Y dollars. I do not have a savings, for I am living just from hand-to-mouth, which means, at the end of the week, the equation X minus anything (or even just X by itself) will always equal zero. Therefore, the larger the number that is represented here by Y (the cost of my shampoo), the less food I will eat or the more behind I will become on one bill..." Finish reading this chapter by purchasing the book from RadiofortheBlind.com... http://www.radiofortheblind.com/buy-support