Is inequality inevitable?
In the latest episode of our podcast, Rashida and I discuss what it’ll take to build a more equal society.
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Gates Notes
Sharing things I'm learning through my foundation work and other interests.
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This dawned on me when our then helper (we were living in Singapore as foreign employees of the state) was given a chance to go back to our country of origin (same as ours) and bring her $$ and live a more comfortable life with her children, where she could actually be able to buy a new house, put her children to college and retire with a modest business. Did she choose that? No. She stayed on as a helper, looking after kids of families richer than her own as she enjoys the lifestyle of not taking direct responsibility in one’s home (the employer does that, she just needs to do sets of responsibilities) and making continuous money and joining the employers in some travels. Even if it means doing harder work than would have been if she went back to her family and could have made the same net take-home income from her business there, factoring the difference in cost of living between the two coutries.
Another example is a person I spoke to here in NZ who chooses to be a cleaner. Choice is the keyword. There are various modes to improve economic position here and the government aids its people by free trades education or bridging programs (in hospitality or aged care). She was weighing the choice of getting free classes which would make her take up a white collar job in the end, obviously paying more than she is making now. She didnt take it because she said she is now happy as is. Her children’s education are free in primary, secondary and 1st year of tertiary, and there is not much pressure for them to finish University as Trades school can be sponsored by state. She said taking this path towards income improvement, she feels, would decrease her current happiness in life. That, of course is subjective. Because there are no measures forced onto societies as to qualify what is a good life from what is not. Our opinions are contrasting, i think because I define the quality of life differently.