Quote:
Originally posted by legion
Supe, you must believe that altruism motivates people. It does not. People work for their own benefit. Take away a person's ability to better his situation, and you have also taken away his motivation to do his job.
And when no one is motivated to work, who is there to tax?
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Again, it was about thirty years ago that I was introduced to the notion that some folks believe motivational principles are few and simple. Fear and money. Machiavelli's claim to fame is that he believed as you do and wrote it all down.
There are no compensation analysts who agree with that. These are people whose life work is to study what motivates people at work. Pay is #1 in workers' minds up to the point where they are making enough to pay for their necessities. Past that, money moves at least down as far as third place, or farther.
Your believe is false. The presence of other motivators is qualtifiable and well documented. I personally know a fairly large number of people whose prime motivation is definitely not money. I know a large number of people who could be making a great deal more money than they are. I happen to be one of them.
But perhaps from your perspective, this is hard to imagine. Good luck trying to convince me in the future that one of your motivations is charity, or concern for the less fortunate. Your real position is glaringly apparent.
Tim, I suspect we both recognize the same general ethical principles. I think we differ on the subject of what impact this or that kind of program might have.