What a good Provocative Question today from Jewish Young Professional. She asks:
What types of work (paid or unpaid) do you think are undervalued in your culture, community, circle, etc.? And on the flip side, what types of work (paid or unpaid) do you think are overvalued in your culture, community, circle, etc.? Do you think there’s a realistic way to rebalance?
Straight away, this question has me thinking about immigration. Because in that scenario, somebody has a “value” placed on their head. Ultimately, somebody is valuable enough to come in, or they’re not.
How is that value determined? Well, in the UK it is largely their earning potential. In turn, how much money they will contribute to the UK. A billionaire is more likely to be welcomed than somebody earning an average wage, for example.
Which leads to loopholes. There might be a shortage of workers in one sector, so somebody in government says, “we’ll let such-and-such a type of worker in”. Again, in the UK, there is a constant shortage of doctors and nurses, for example. And last year we heard stories about crops left to rot in fields, because those people who came in seasonally each year were suddenly barred because of Brexit. I’m not sure what the state is this year. There have been no stories, no shortages of foods in shops, so presumably it has been quietly sorted.
My point is, somewhere in government, there is a list of the current most sought-after professions to make society run smoothly. That, I think is where to start. That’ll tell you the most valuable members of society at any time. And that’s the goal – to better society as much as possible.
It’s a shame money even comes into it. But it does.
Mister Bump 
Oh this is so true Pete.
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I like that you thought of immigration because it’s another angle that a country looks at the value of certain professions. I think of all the Americans who threaten to move to Canada after an unfavorable election result, but it’s actually not that easy to immigrate to Canada (or anywhere else really if you’re not a citizen) if you don’t have certainly highly in-demand job skills, lots of money, and/or a relative in that country. It’s an odd and off-putting way to think about valuing people, but it’s probably necessary on some level to manage immigration and resources.
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as soon as you introduce a system which says yes to some and no to others. you need to place a value on them somehow. Doesn’t jave to be immigration, could be anything you like. Healthcare (here) for example.
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It’s just typical to welcome people into the country to work and better society only to bar them once their usefulness is done or it’s not convenient anymore – similar to some of the things that happened with Windrush. It seems a little unfair to me (more than a little). Personally, I think too much value is placed on those in the entertainment industries. Acting and singing definitely contributes to society but I’m not sure it’s worth hundreds of millions more than something like a doctor who saves lives or a teacher who shapes the future generations.
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Yes I think you make that decision, it’s for life. It’s nonsense not to expect people to have put down roots. What’s more, you should give them that security by saying so openly.
But people’s monetary value is not “how much are they worth?” but “how much would they cost to replace?” That’s why nurses and teachers get paid bugger all – because there’s always someone to replace them. Except now, there isn’t.
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It is a pity certain professions and people are valued over oters! X
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