Thoughts on wages?

[Inverted]

People will say "how is that fackin' donkey (insert footaller of your choice) earning more in a week than a nurse earns in a year?", but then when you ask them if they want to pay a few pounds of extra tax a year to give nurses a good wage they'll practically start foaming at the mouth. 

[DeadLinesman]

10 minutes ago, Inverted said:

People will say "how is that fackin' donkey (insert footaller of your choice) earning more in a week than a nurse earns in a year?", but then when you ask them if they want to pay a few pounds of extra tax a year to give nurses a good wage they'll practically start foaming at the mouth. 

Spot on. And that footballer could retire and go train 4 years at university to become a nurse. The nurse can’t learn to become a professional footballer. It’s just a tired and easy argument to make. What about refuge collectors? Bus drivers? Where do we stop.

[Smiley Culture]

11 hours ago, Toinho said:

All far more important than footballers. Think we would agree on that, yet nurses among other vital professions get paid a pittance. The world is messed up, we idolise the wrong people.

Can I see the league table of important workers please?

[Inverted]

I don't think you need to be able to sort out a list of comprehensively ordered jobs to give people pay rises. Nurses and bin men are both important jobs. But, being a nurse takes more training and they are also something we have a shortage of. They should both be paid a decent, liveable wage, but I don't think many would complain if nurses got a bit more.

I don't know how painfully obvious this already is on this site, but I'm of the opinion that most working people are paid less than they are owed, and don't very much like the outcomes that the free market presents us with.  

I'd be delighted to see footballers get taxed through their arses, and to see workers in essential services get big pay-rises. But most of the time when people bring up the whole nurses-footballers thing, they don't deep down really want anything meaningful to change.

They just want to make some ridiculous, extreme comparison for the sake of moralising and being outraged.

If you're outraged, then ok fine, there's a lot to be outraged over in the world. But it's pathetic if you'll cry about the poor nurses down the pub, and then you've not got the ethical consistency to make your outrage felt  in the street or at the ballot box. 

[Toinho]

3 hours ago, Smiley Culture said:

Can I see the league table of important workers please?

You think footballers are more important than those who save lives daily? That was my only point. No need to be a prick. 

[Toinho]

Geez, calm down you lemons. @DeadLinesman @Inverted. Just saying I think nurses for example are more important. And deserve more pay. 

[Inverted]

39 minutes ago, Toinho said:

Geez, calm down you lemons. @DeadLinesman @Inverted. Just saying I think nurses for example are more important. And deserve more pay. 

I didn't really have anything you said in mind with my post. I agree with most of what you've said. 

I'm speaking just generally, about people who talk about nurses etc being paid too little, but who will still go out and vote to fuck them over.

[DeadLinesman]

54 minutes ago, Toinho said:

Geez, calm down you lemons. @DeadLinesman @Inverted. Just saying I think nurses for example are more important. And deserve more pay. 

Remain calm Anthony. Again, I’m a health professional myself. My niece is a nurse and many friends work in the NHS. Do we deserve more money? Absolutely. Where’s it coming from? People don’t want to pay higher taxes. And again, they’re a niche product when you think about it. People don’t pay to watch nurses clean infected pressure sores and wipe sick up. They pay to be entertained. Football gets a bad rep because half the morons that reach the upper levels act like complete twats and its well publicised. Bottom line, you wouldn’t turn the money down if you were in the same profession.

[Smiley Culture]

1 hour ago, Toinho said:

You think footballers are more important than those who save lives daily? That was my only point. No need to be a prick. 

I can differentiate between the entertainment industry and others. And I don’t need to resort to abusing people. 

[Toinho]

9 hours ago, Smiley Culture said:

I can differentiate between the entertainment industry and others. And I don’t need to resort to abusing people. 

Of course there’s a difference. But your comment about a league of importance was ridiculous. 

[Smiley Culture]

8 hours ago, Toinho said:

Of course there’s a difference. But your comment about a league of importance was ridiculous. 

As is the premise that there is “importance” aligned to every person’s profession, as you intimated by saying “all more important than footballers”. 

[Honey Honey]

Football is supposed to be about the community and yet many people are shut out due to prices. I don't think wages or transfer fees can be justified when the game is as inaccessible as it currently it.

If you are a minimum wage Arsenal fan your best change to see your team play is to become a Steward. 

[Toinho]

6 hours ago, Smiley Culture said:

As is the premise that there is “importance” aligned to every person’s profession, as you intimated by saying “all more important than footballers”. 

But there is. The example of bin man, is an interesting one because that job is already half automated. People’s jobs are being slowly phased out by our advancement in technology? Football won’t have that of course but I don’t think it’s an important job. Anyway, I’ll leave this thread alone.

[nudge]

15 minutes ago, Toinho said:

But there is. The example of bin man, is an interesting one because that job is already half automated. People’s jobs are being slowly phased out by our advancement in technology? Football won’t have that of course but I don’t think it’s an important job. Anyway, I’ll leave this thread alone.

I would rather live in a society with no professional footballers than in one without garbage collectors for sure.

[Smiley Culture]

30 minutes ago, nudge said:

I would rather live in a society with no professional footballers than in one without garbage collectors for sure.

You’d rather live in a world of low skilled workers than high skilled workers?

[nudge]

2 minutes ago, Smiley Culture said:

You’d rather live in a world of low skilled workers than high skilled workers?

Missed the point completely.

[Smiley Culture]

1 hour ago, nudge said:

Missed the point completely.

I haven’t though. Binmen are low skilled and footballers, in their industry, are high skilled workers. The world definitely needs high skilled workers and also definitely requires low skilled workers. 

[nudge]

1 hour ago, Smiley Culture said:

I haven’t though. Binmen are low skilled and footballers, in their industry, are high skilled workers. The world definitely needs high skilled workers and also definitely requires low skilled workers. 

It seems to me that you did - it was a hypothetical situation used to illustrate the different degrees of impact that different professions/occupations/industries have to the well-being or even pure survival of society. Entertainment business has its function for sure but it's more of a luxury than a necessity. I do not suggest that binmen and professional footballers should be paid the same amount since jobs aren't paid by how "important" they are; they are paid by how much revenue they generate and how replaceable the skill is of the person doing the job. Nor do I suggest that we should get rid of footballers or other high skilled workers either. My point was, if football industry disappeared tomorrow, the society would be fine and would find ways to serve its entertainment needs in thousands of other ways. If binmen (as an example) disappeared, the society would start to struggle very soon as sanitation and garbage disposal is critical to the functioning of society; especially in densely packed urban areas. So in that sense, certain professions/industries definitely are more fundamental to a functioning society than some others regardless of how high or low skilled the workers are. The quality of my daily life is by far more dependent on those doing less-skilled jobs than on professional athletes or Hollywood actors.

[Michael]

As has already been said, it's a case of supply and demand. Football is the most popular sport on the planet and so many people are willing to pay to watch it. Premier League footballers are some of the best in the world at what they do and as a result, they get paid a large amount from the footballing industry. Millions and millions of people want to see these Premier League footballers play and they are willing to pay a premium price to watch them at work. 

I agree that the amount of money that they get paid is ridiculous. But unfortunately, that's just how the world works I'm afraid.

There is obviously a huge wealth gap between these footballers and the average Brit.

 

Here are a couple of stats just to put things into perspective:

The average(median) British adult has a net worth of £74,900 ($97,400).

The average(median) retired Brit has a net worth of around £218,000 ($283,000) when they are in their mid sixties(this is usually the age when people are most wealthy). Basically half of British retirees in their 60's have less than this amount and the other half in this age range have more than this amount.

 

If we compare these stats to the wealth of the average Premier League footballer, then we will clearly see that the average footballer is much more wealthier than the average British person.

Having said that, Britain is still one of the wealthiest countries in the world. We have a very high standard of living in the UK compared to most other countries. When one travels overseas, one gets to appreciate this fact more. 

Any adult who has a net worth of £74,900(just as the average British adult has) is actually among the richest 10% of adults worldwide! 

So I think that the conclusion is that yes, footballers do make an insane amount of money. But for the majority of us in the West, we live a very high quality of life compared to most of the rest of the world.