$31,346 a year
April 30th, 2009 | Published in Economics idea | 2 Comments
In yesterday’s post, I came up with an estimate that an even distribution of wealth worldwide would result in a salary of $31,346 USD for all working people.
What would the world look like if everyone earned a salary of $31,346 per year? Super-luxury items like big yachts and private jets would disappear. Even fancy sports cars and posh golf courses would become much less common. While the people who have these things now might be sad to see them go, I don’t think it is much of a loss for society as a whole.
Is there anything that we rely on the wealthy and super wealthy to do? If wealth is evenly distributed, we wouldn’t need their charity. Everyone can look after themselves. The only loss that I can see is that wealthy people sometimes back innovative projects that end up improving life for everyone. More government funding for research and technology might be needed to compensate for what the rich would have supported.
April 30th, 2009 at 10:37 am (#)
Can you describe how this is different than communism? – I’m not implying that it IS communism, I’d just like to know the differences. I’m not really clear how communism works in detail. Do people have money that they can spend, or does the government provide the goods and services?
April 30th, 2009 at 10:45 am (#)
Eric.
This is really just a thought experiment. I don’t think it is possible for every worker to have exactly the same wage.
The point is that, at least for the moment, there seems to be enough to go around if wealth were spread more evenly. My concern was that perhaps even the basics of a first world existence depended on the cheap labor in developing countries. This thought experiment convincnes me that society could function without relying on cheap labor.