The New York Times has run two stories on poor billionaires–rich dudes who are sad because other dudes make more than they do.
In a story this morning, Silicon Valley tycoons wax envious about the two YouTube founders’ giant Google payday. One 36-year-old, who scored enough as an exec for PayPal to “retire to a comfortable upper-middle-class lifestyle,” calls their billions–and his comparative lack–“embarrassing.”
And in “The New Class War: The Haves vs. the Have Mores,” in the Week in Review, hotshot Wall Streeters compare the size of their bonuses.
Boo freaking hoo. But this reminds me of an ethical question I heard posed on NPR:
Should we know what others make? Does knowing our colleagues’ and bosses’ salaries sow discontent among workers, or does it empower us to reevaluate our own financial worth (at least as it relates to our employer)?
Post your thoughts here.