Life is full of choices, and the career you pursue is one of the most critical. Your means of earning and the amount you seek to earn is your decision completely. This is why some people decide to become hedge fund managers, while others choose a career in social work. When choosing a career, compensation, lifestyle, self-fulfillment, and training required are all elements for consideration. Lately, I’ve noticed countless grown men complaining about “unfair” salaries which are “too low” to pay bills. Silently, I ponder if their planning skills are as weak as their personalities. You look strong when you don’t complain about money, and nobody wants to hire a weakling.
Recently, there has been chatter about raising minimum wage and guaranteeing universal basic income for all people. These are very idealistic concepts, but both ignore the reality of our world. Workers are not paid based on the idealistic value they provide to the our communities.
Actors, entertainers, and athletes are some of the highest paid people on Earth, but they provide little as it relates to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Teachers and law enforcement officers are paid respectable wages, but put them nowhere near the top of the financial food chain. If we paid people based on overall importance to society, things would change drastically, but that isn’t the case.
Don’t Complain About Money if You Don’t Produce Money
People are generally compensated based on how much revenue they can generate for their organization. A hedge fund manager turning a multi million dollar profit is paid a six or seven figure bonus. If a car manufacturer has a profitable year, factory workers may get a bonus of a few hundred dollars. It’s all relative to the cost of doing business, and the ability to turn profit.
First responders definitely should earn more money if evaluating their profession on a scale of “importance to society”. Sadly, we don’t operate on that scale. Some of the highest paid professions actually contribute very little to the greater good. Is entertainment more important than health care? Fashion versus education? These lower value, highly compensated jobs earn so much because society decided its willing to pay for their services. If nobody paid for entertainment or high end clothing, actors, athletes and models wouldn’t earn so much.
A business cannot be forced to pay workers more money because the worker thinks it’s “not enough”. Not being enough is relative to a whole host of factors, none of which matter to the business owner. The lifestyle a worker chooses to live, and how they decide to spend their money is not the business owner’s problem. It becomes the business owner’s problem when nobody wants to work there because the wages are too low, or conditions are poor. Until that happens, business owners can pay people however they want, or however much they can afford to.
Lots of Options
For anyone complaining they aren’t “making enough money”, they can:
- Figure out what’s required to get promoted, and consequently earn more
- Find a new job in the same field
- Switch careers to a higher paying one
- Take a second job a.k.a. “side hustle”
- Invest their money in things that will give them consistent returns
The American Dream
America is a free society in which you can choose your profession, and how you want to spend (or save) your money. Governments in other nations dictate the type of job you’re allowed to have, and the amount of money you’re allowed to make. Communist countries like Cuba, China and Venezuela don’t give their citizens freedom of choice. Their opportunities and options very limited. These people are born into and raised by governments that predetermine the destinies of their citizens, and most of the time it’s pretty bleak and hopeless. There is no “American Dream” there.
“Be all that you can be”? Forget it. The more control the government has over what we are paid and how we are allowed to earn, the less possible “the sky is the limit” actually is. If you train for and work hard at earning a job, nobody should be allowed to stop you. This is why America is so great; it allows true freedom.
To break it down, there are two options, and no middle ground. Either you have choice and freedom to live the way you want, or the government decides for you. Choice and freedom definitely sound better than a caste system, right? Don’t expect the government to financially support you. Be happy you have the choice to decide for yourself, and stop complaining about the amount you make.
Don’t Complain About Money; Do Something
The moment you open your mouth to complain about money is the moment you tell people that you are incapable of making responsible decisions for yourself. Your complaining implies you either chose the wrong profession, did not prepare for your profession, underperform in your profession, or cannot manage your finances correctly.
If you want more money, go earn more or spend less, and budget more accurately. It cannot be any simpler than that. Not sure how to do this? Stop scrolling through Instagram and start searching for information. Check out this piece we put together, designed to help men plan their finances more efficiently. Stop wasting time and make time for what’s important.
The job you take and the way you prepare for and obtain it are your own decisions. Before making this choice, do some research to understand what the expected income is. Once you’re working and earning a paycheck, your spending, saving and budgeting behaviors are only the responsibility of yourself, and nobody else. It’s not your boss’ problem that you aren’t earning six figures or aren’t able to take that vacation you desire. That’s on you.
Anybody complaining about their finances needs to step up and do something to improve their situation. Our world’s knowledge is aggregated in one place, and instantaneously accessible to anyone with a cell phone. You have hundreds of options to choose from, providing you are willing to invest the time and effort into yourself. Be the strong man you were made to be, and stop complaining. Take action!
-Your Big Bro
