[Nick F.]

Why is it that nurses, who are there to save your life, are paid less than the plumber down the street?

User Detail :  

Name : Nick F., Gender : F, City : Jackson, State : CA Country : United States, 

[Steve27707]

Like the Woody Allen joke says, "Not only is there not a God, but try finding a plumber on Sunday." It is likely supply and demand and good old fashioned Capitalism. Historically, there was an ample supply of women willing to go into nursing, and pay is supressed when there are people on the street willing or able to do your job at less pay than you.

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Name : Steve27707, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 38, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Astorian]

Why is water (which is essential for life) free, while diamonds (which aren't necessary for anything) cost a fortune? Why are doctors paid less than NFL quarterbacks? Why is a gallon of Coca-Cola more expensive than a gallon of gasoline? The answer is, we live in a society with a free-market economy, in which people and products are worth whatever people are willing to pay for them. Even if a nurse's job is more important than, say, Mel Gibson's job (acting) or Mark McGwire's job (baseball), the fact is, there are plenty of people who can do a nurse's job (or learn to do it), while there are very few people who can attract millions of people to the box office the way Mel Gibson can, or hit home runs the way Mark McGwire can. It all comes down to supply and demand. Now, if this strikes you as unfair, how would you like to fix it? You want the government to regulate how much people get paid? (Russia tried that system, and it didn't work out too well.) The only way this will ever change is if women stop becoming nurses and take up plumbing. Then, when the supply of nurses drops, employers will have to pay more to attract them.

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Name : Astorian, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 38, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Angela-O]

That question can be asked of a lot of professions. Why are teachers paid such a low salary, yet they are helping create our future? They have to go an extra year of college most of the time, but they have one of the lowest average salaries. Why are people who enlist in the military paid such low amounts? They have one of the toughest jobs out there. They also choose to defend our country so we can have our freedom. I think that until we all show the importance of these occupations, they will stay at the lowest pay grade. We all have to step back and make a difference.

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Name : Angela-O, Gender : F, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, 

[Anoymous]

bummer isn't it? It's not fair. If your a nurse I would like to say thank you on behalf of people who should have but didn't. Nurses are the bee's kness in my opinion and have my respect and gratitude for helping me and my family and friends - cheers

User Detail :  

Name : Anoymous, Age : 26, City : UK, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, 

[Matt]

For many years, we have had the same problem over here in the United Kingdom: people don't want to pay taxes and will actually vote against parties willing to offer higher levels of public services. They then complain when heavy cuts to the national education and health budgets mean their children get a substandard education and they have to wait for years to get their medical tratment.

User Detail :  

Name : Matt, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 17, City : Hertford, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

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