35. The Equality in Education and Entertainment Act

I don’t think I am exaggerating by saying the two most vocal opponents of capitalism and supporters of socialism are college professors and the entertainment industry.  I would like to propose a new law in which both industries are required to compensate all employees, regardless of position or stature, within a narrow range of ten percent.  In other words, there can be no more of a ten percent difference between the lowest paid and highest paid worker in a college or on a specific movie or television show.  This includes contract labor.

In researching this article, I found something quite astounding.  Not only the disparity of salaries among teachers in universities but also the disparity between men and women professors within university system.  Something I thought the left abhorred.  

How bad is this disparity?  A full professor at Harvard averages about $198,400 a year (not including benefits and tenure) while an instructor makes only $56,700.  At Cal Tech, the difference between the two is $172,800 to $45,300. These are averages, meaning some make much, much more than these high numbers. How Is this fair? And these numbers don’t include the administrative and support staffs and their likely low salaries (without tenure). So, I think colleges and universities should set the shining example for all industries and be forced by law to pool all salary monies and equitably divide it among the entire populace.  I know that liberals do not like to act for themselves and feel that only the government should set rules, so hence this law.

This same is true for the entertainment industry.  In movies, it isn’t unusual for one star to earn $10 to $20 million while a poor grip earns standard union base.  The disparity among the actors and actresses is also outrageous.  This again, is simply not fair. Within the Screen Actors Guild, the average actor earns less than $10,000 a year. Hey Julia Roberts!  How about a little fairness here!  All actors and actresses work hard on the movie or television show so why should one person make so much while others make so little?  Again, pool the salaries and divide it equitably. 

Now, I don’t think this act would actually ever pass, but I would love to see the responses in both industries if told this act had been introduced into Congress.  Watch them switch quickly and radically to the capitalistic end of the spectrum.  “Why I’ve earned this!” I can already hear them whine.