Imogen Rawlings, Editor
@irawlingcourant
In this blog, The Courant reached out to various resources and opinions and asked them interesting “What If?” questions to get some answers. This weeks question challenges the idea of salaries and jobs being flipped on its head:
“What if all salaries were reversed and for example, a lifeguard made what current physician made? What would the world look like?”
Anthony Bloss – Math Teacher and Department Co-Chairperson
“If salaries were reversed, then the world would be very different. Our priorities would be different, what we studied in school would be different, and our heroes would be different. What you get paid gets too much attention when deciding which jobs are considered noble, and unfortunately, I do not think that would change.”
Georgia Stewart – Senior Student at New Canaan High School
“A lot more people would apply for those jobs such as being a lifeguard to get more money. Those jobs would also be more respected and coveted. Jobs such as doctors, CEO, financers would decrease in frequency which is not a good thing. The world would be completely turned on its head. Because the lower-paid jobs are more often jobs like bus drivers, garbage collectors, etc, if those jobs are more in demand and pay more, more people will be doing more better quality work and therefore more efficient. However, healthcare would probably be a lot worse than it already is because no one would want to be a doctor or a nurse so there would be limited resources and then the whole insurance system would cost a lot more than it already does. I think business wouldn’t be as affected because people still have ideas and people still want to spend money.”
Michael LeDuc – Science Teacher
“I think we would see a collapse of the American medical system. Doctors would be unable to pay for medical school on their hourly salaries and there would be a massive reduction in medical school applicants and students. Before long there would be a massive doctor shortage. Meanwhile, lifeguard school would become much more expensive and competitive. Families would want their kids to grow up to be lifeguards, not doctors.”
Robert Darken – English Teacher
“It is a strange question. If the salaries of lifeguards and physicians were reversed, I think that would mean that we no longer had a free-market, capitalist economy but that somebody in a position of authority was intervening to set salaries according to some other standard rather than according to market forces. While lifeguards and physicians are both employed to intervene and save lives, the cost of becoming a doctor is significantly greater–in terms of time and dollars–as compared to becoming a lifeguard. Also, a doctor has vastly broader power to intervene in a health-giving way than a lifeguard, who saves lives within a very narrow set of parameters–someone drowning at the beach, in a pool. If authorities did interfere with market forces and reverse these salaries, though, you can bet that a whole lot more people would sign up to get their lifeguard certification.”
