The Unacknowledged Conflict

After tossing and turning for an hour or more tonight, I finally got up and read for a bit. I'm still working my way through Thomas Friedman's book The World Is Flat, which Tammy had recommended (and lent me). I hit a section that beautifully summed up what I see as a constant conflict these days, although it's rare to ever have anyone address it.

Most people I know seem to believe that every item they ever want to buy, rent or lease should be ridiculously inexpensive, almost to the point of "whatever price is quoted is too high." (This philosophy often leads to electronic piracy, with rationalizations like, "If music CDs weren't so expensive, I'd actually pay for them!" regardless of the price of a CD.) At the same time, those same people act as if whatever salary they're currently drawing is too low, and thus are always angling for a big raise or more generous benefits. How is that they can't sense the (admittedly invisible) line that joins these two contradictory stances? After all, whatever you do for a living eventually boils down to a service or product of some sort, the consumers of which - if they're taking the attitude described here - want your salary and benefits cut to the bone, so that they can get their 'whatever' at the cheapest possible price! How does that not screw you over, by making your employer (or the conglomerate that owns the holding company that directs the entity that pays you) more likely to reduce benefits and salaries just to stay competitive and meet their ridiculous demands? So aren't you essentially cutting your own throat?

Friedman puts it as, "Yes the consumer in us wants Wal-Mart prices, with all the fat gone. But the employee in us wants a little fat left on the bone... But the shareholder in us wants Wal-Mart's profit margins... Yet the citizen in us want's Costco's benefits, rather than Wal-Mart's, because the difference ultimately may have to be paid for by society." What amazes me is that most people, as far as I can tell, don't even recognize that as a conflict!

These are the things I think about at 5:30 in the morning when I can't sleep!