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June 13, 2004
What is fair?
Last night in a discussion group, the topic was ‘What is Fair?’ Someone brought a newspaper article that gave the top Salaries with Stock Options, bonuses and other perks of top CEO’s in Minnesota. One of the highest listed was 49 million dollars per year by a leading health organization CEO. Other CEO’s were listed at all different ranges in the millions.
In a different article, 90 year old Al Millinczek was honored for his philanthropic activities. In the news article he made a comment that sums up a lot of people’s feelings on this subject. The May 23 Pioneer Press columnist stated, “In larger society, he thinks basic fairness is undermined by the widening gap between employee wages and CEO salaries. "How can there be that big of a profit for a CEO?" (Al) asked. "You know he's not doing it himself."
In our discussion group, most people agreed that it was disgusting that a CEO of a health organization would make that kind of money when there is a crisis in affordable health care for our citizens. At the same time that these same health organizations are claiming low profits and losses, the CEO’s are getting bonuses.
Sports figures make large amounts of money also, but at least the fans have a choice of whether to support them or not, by either buying their product or not. With Health Care there is no option. Our health plans are dictated by our employers or by need. Every person needs at least basic health care at one time or another.
When we look around the world, our country and our city, we might see a lot of unfairness going on. Where is the line drawn between fair and unfair? It doesn’t seem that unfairness is only present when money is involved, although it’s very common to think that.
One would think that even something like a Cub Scout Pinewood Derby would be fair. Yet many Cub Scout packs had to implement rules saying the boys had to make their own cars. Many parents were making the cars for their boys, hoping their son would win the race. Most people would agree that it’s not fair to the other boys who did all the work themselves. I’ve witnessed it. I’ve seen the disappointment on the faces of the parents who tried to encourage their son to do the work himself, to have his car finish close to last because the axels weren’t polished enough. I’ve seen the competition in the eyes of the adults as their son constructs and races his car.
Someone in our discussion group suggested that unfairness happens when there is a lack of compassion in people’s hearts. At some point those CEO’s have to remove and isolate themselves from the real issues going on around them and have to justify to themselves that they deserve what they are getting. Another person said that unfairness is part of life. So how do we deal with unfairness in life?
Jealousy doesn’t seem to help us or the situation. It eats at us and causes resentment. Neediness doesn’t seem help us either. When we feel like we need something that we are lacking, we become prisoners of that need. Jealousy and Need reduce our freedom and joy.
We can detach ourselves from material objects. We can ask ourselves, how much money do we really need to be happy? Often we come to the realization that everything we need to be happy is inside of us. We can remember that we can’t take it with us. Doing this frees us from the bondage of jealousy and need.
We can believe in ultimate justice. That everyone is accountable for their own actions, good or bad. We only get this limited time on earth and it goes by quickly. Each of us came into this world with different, unique abilities, talents, gifts, and resources. What we do with them is up to us. Each of us is accountable for what we have done with our lives.
We cannot control what others do or what kind of incomes they receive or what their attitudes are. That doesn’t mean that we sit by and allow an unfair situation to continue. When we are activated by our hearts we can accomplish a lot and effect many people. Making the cub-scout races fair for all children was a good choice. Not everyone liked the idea at first, but the races became more fun for everyone. To alleviate the anxiety of the competitive parents, some Cub Scout Packs made a separate race for the adults, and the boys got to cheer for their parents and got to compete against other boys their own age. Everybody won. In the case of health care, a system where everyone has adequate health care would alleviate the unfairness. We can advocate for that and fight for that.
We can choose to change ourselves and to make sure our hearts are in the right place and that we are doing all we can to make life fair for all people.
In God’s eyes, each person is just as valuable as everyone else. We can choose to make choices based on that. We can look at life in a new way; to not think ‘what can I get out of life,’ but to take stock of our skills, resources, talents, gifts, interests and see how we can contribute to life. We cannot control who takes for themselves, but we can control what we do and how we feel about other people.
When we ask what is fair, we can also ask if we are doing all we can with what we’ve been given.
Posted by carl1236 at June 13, 2004 09:29 PM | Attitude