Someone's salary... the most interesting topic of the circle

Someone's salary... the most interesting topic in the circle

We were sitting at a gathering. One of the relatives started asking about another relative's salary. The young man who works in the IT field got off scot-free this time as well without disclosing how much he earns, saying "it's fine, enough for myself." After that, the relatives turned to the young man's parents. They asked about their salary and pension. Being from a different generation, the parents viewed these questions as natural and, albeit reluctantly, stated their income in a rather low voice.

After that, the calculations began in the circle.

So-and-so's salary is this much, his father's is that much, the mother receives both a salary and a pension..., even though the younger son is a student he works in the evening, which means he pays for his tuition himself, if we add it all up, that makes this much money in one month!

— Well, it turns out you are the richest among us!..

In short, the total income of the family that had been questioned over several gatherings was finally revealed and calculated. As if everyone in the circle were responsible for that family's financial situation...

Our people are interesting. If we do not know how much money a relative earns, we cannot rest; even after we find out, we still cannot rest. Now we calculate his money, estimate his expenses, and decide where he should spend it.

“Did he buy a house? Ah, so he has money, they have a lot of money... Didn't he buy one? Oh, making so much money, what does he do with it? Did he drive a car? Isn't it too expensive compared to his salary? Did he host a wedding? How much did he spend? If he didn't, why is he saving his money?”

In short, someone else's money belongs to them, but the calculations belong to the crowd.

Recently, the salary of an actor or producer working at "Zo'r" TV was also discussed. Immediately, representatives of other professions came to mind: "A doctor's salary is low, why doesn't a teacher get such a salary?" From one side, an elderly actor complains, "In all my life, I have never held so much money in my hands," from the other side, a teacher comes forward saying, "We are also going on, getting stressed out day and night," and in between, a journalist and a doctor, as if mourning their own grief, mention that "their hands have not seen big money." As if someone earning more diminishes another person's right. Of course, one can talk about the wage gap between professions and discuss the fair setting of salaries. But if the matter comes down to being dissatisfied because a representative of another profession earns more, it seems another familiar feeling lies beneath it. Perhaps a pouting child still lives inside most of us. That little girl or boy from our childhood used to be upset, saying: "Why did you give them a bigger sweet and me a smaller one? Why did you buy them new clothes while I have to wear old ones? Why do you love them and not me?" We grew up, entered professions, and started families. But that child inside us seems to have not stopped being upset, asking: "Why more for them and less for me?" Now, salary stands in place of sweets, position in place of new clothes, and society's attention in place of parental affection. If someone earns more, we say, "Why him?" If someone is praised, a feeling of resentment arises, saying, "Why not me?"

In reality, a doctor's low salary is not an argument against a teacher getting a high salary. Demanding adequate pay for a doctor's work does not require being dissatisfied with the income of a representative of another profession. For the value of one to rise, the value of another does not need to fall.

In one of the comments, it was written ironically to the effect that "If a beggar asks for money, this person wouldn't even give two thousand." Look, now just knowing how much someone earns is not enough for us. We also decide how much of the money they earned they should give to whom. If they give, do we call them a good person, and if they don't, do we judge them with a single word?

Most interestingly, asking about salary is often posed as such a simple question that if you don't answer, it's as if you are hiding a secret. If you do tell, you don't know how far beyond the circle this information will reach.

However, a person's salary is part of their private life. How much they earn, how much they give to their parents, spend on their children, save, or use for their own needs is, first and foremost, their own business.

Before counting someone else's money, perhaps we should ask ourselves a question: what am I going to do with this information?

That is to say, if our relative, or perhaps our fellow countryman, earns the money himself, it means he decides where to spend it himself. If he wants to help someone, he will. If he doesn't want to, there is no need to discuss his wallet and draw conclusions for it.

His salary is his income. And our curiosity does not mean we have a right to his income.