Last year many famous pop and sports stars earned millions of dollars each. Many other entertainment and sports personalities also have very high incomes. On the other hand, most people in ‘ordinary’ professions like nurses, doctors and teachers earn only a small fraction of the income of these ‘stars’. What do you think about stars receiving very high salaries? Is it fair that jobs that directly help people are paid much less? Some people may argue that while those pop and sports stars are earning millions of dollars a year, ordinary workers like nurses, doctors and teachers are comparatively low paid.

It is reasonable for these people to express their concerns about this situation when we consider the income gap is now bigger than ever. But the question is: do these people really understand that the comparison between these two groups of people is unfair? We are so easily misled by the successful appearances of famous people that we hardly realise their incomes and social status are based on the hardwork they’ve endured for years.

Nor do we clearly understand the fact their success and fame occurs in a society where only a few people can be favoured and adored by the public. Therefore, if we consider the hardships they’ve been through, and the fact that they are so few and precious to us that even their smallest actions become our gossip, then it makes sense that celebrities should be paid well. But this is not to say that the ordinary people should necessarily earn less because of their plain life and normal appearances.

Ordinary people are the foundation of a functioning society and their contributions are huge. Careers like nursing and teaching have been lauded for centuries for their virtuous purposes and invaluable contributions to society. All of these feats should have been transferred into salaries, but they don’t. Why not? Because we have so many doctors and teachers that the total amount of their payrolls is significantly higher, far surpassing what we pay to the celebrities.

This is exactly why we can’t afford too many high paid teachers and doctors. Therefore, the only way we can do is to increase the earning of ordinary people at a reasonable rate so that we can finally narrow the gap between the celebrities and the ordinary workers. In conclusion, we can’t simply argue that the existing pay rules are unfair to the ordinary workers. What we should do instead is try our best to find a better way to satisfy everyone.