Payment, cost of living, and fairness.

by Tim

A lot of this has been inspired by Madeline Pendleton. It's really helpful having a working example of a more equitable work structure.

The basics

A few key guiding principles:

The general idea here is that a job should be able to support a family. Everyone's cost of living (for an area) is/can be the same. Everyone as a group contributes, in their own way, and only with the groups contributions will there be success.

This has obviously lead to some interesting discussion on TikTok, with both trolls and eager Capitalists. In my opinion, the most valuable portion is the recognition that business is group work, and it's only through the group that any individual can succeed.

One example was from a TikTok about student loans. A lot of people didn't like the idea that a Vet should be paid the same as their receptionist. They went to school, had to take out all these loans, spend years learning and refining their craft. And they're going to be paid the same as the receptionist answering the phone?

But here's a counterpoint. The only reason they could become a vet was through an army of workers and helpers throughout that training period. The barista at the late night coffee shop while you were studying, the janitor keeping your university clean, your professors, your TAs, the person working at the fucking powerplant keeping your lights on. All of them helped, you don't deserve more because it was a group effort. You worked hard, as did they.

In addition, the receptionist is a multiplier for you. They do essential work that's needed to run your business. Your Vet work output would be diminished if they weren't helping. Same reason you have an accountant, or a photographer, or any other cog in your business that keeps it running. Would you be able to treat as many patients (the thing that brings in the money?) if you had to do your receptionists job too? Of course not.

But

I don't know how well this system works against malicious actors, and with larger groups. A lot of the logic is common sense and obvious. Of course we should all be paid equally, of course we should be safe, and treat others with respect. But shit happens, accidents happen, and some people are assholes. I don't know how well this system hold up against that. Of course the current systems in place don't handle it too well either, so eh.

This also works well for close-knit groups, especially with democratic hiring/firing. But there are projects and goals that are much larger than the <20 people she works with. Can you really have a democratic vote for firing someone in a group of 1000 people? They don't know each other well enough to even make that decision.

Of course you could break that up into a cell-system, with each group of 1-20 people managing themselves like this, with layers of management to coordinate it. That's not too dissimilar to corporate structures now, but leads to a hierarchical structure that we're trying to avoid. I don't know the answer to this.