by Patricia Thornton

Created on: March 15, 2009

Most people say, "I used to work for 75 cents an hour, these kids are overpaid working part-time jobs at 10 bucks an hour." There are a few points I want to make. First of all, relative to how much money an employee at a given job, say cashier at burger king, produces, $10 an hour is nowhere near overpaid. Secondly, the cost of living is steadily rising. The person who used to work for 75 cents an hour also bought coca cola for a nickel.

There are a number of people that are overpaid. Athletes are by far the most overpaid individuals in this country. They are playing a game and getting paid for it. Granted, they are entertaining and very talented. However, teachers play a much more important role in society and they get paid significantly less money. With that said, we cannot complain about Athletes being over paid. We are the ones who are paying to see the games live or watching the game on TV. Even if you do want to complain, the majority of people are not professional athletes, thus, the fact that they are overpaid does not affect the answer to this question.

I would be so bold to say that all employees that work for big companies are not overpaid. This is not to say that they are underpaid either. A manager making $50,000 at a Wal-Mart is by no means overpaid. Yes, $50,000 can provide a very comfortable quality of life. However, it would be hard to save enough money to build wealth quickly. As quick as say the overpaid CEO who makes millions of dollars.

Seeing a CEO of a private company making millions of dollars does not upset me at all. However, when an executive of a publicly funded company decides to pay him or herself millions of dollars while investors lose their shirts, it upsets me very much. Not to mention the golden parachutes and the unwarranted bonuses that these CEOs put in place for themselves.

The average American is not overpaid, and they work hard for their money. It is insulting to say that the majority of them are overpaid. They deserve every penny that they work so hard for. As politicians so aptly point out, 95% of Americans make under $250,000. It is the overpaid minority that should be put under the microscope, not the hard working majority.

In short, since 95% of Americans make under $250,000, I would say that the majority of Americans are not overpaid. However, I would not necessarily say that they are underpaid. As for the other 5%, I am inclined to say that most, if not all, of them are grossly overpaid.

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