So how much do you make ?

Today (April 13, 2008)'s issue of PARADE, which is delivered every Sunday as a supplement to the St. Petersburg Times, carries a survey of how much American people earn (How does your salary stack up? by Lynn Brenner, pg. 3-17). This annual survey of a sample of wage levels spreading across the various occupations serve as a barometer on the state of the economy as well as a personal guide to career prospects and rewards for those newly admitted into the University of Hard Knocks.

A cursory glance of the various personal incomes earned reveals a disparity that can be perhaps described as yawning, traversing several orders of magnitude. On one end, there are people earning 8- or even 9 digit income while the other end bottoms out at barely making 5-digit, annually.

Thus, people in the entertainment and showbiz industry and professional sports comprise the elitist group by financial standards. Included therein are also the captains of industry, their managerial finesse and business acumen at a premium.

On the other hand, the blue collar group that makes up the main bulk of the working populace languish at the bottom scale, though some with well-sought-after skills manage to elevate themselves to be in the white-collar realm, comprising mainly professionals, including teachers.

I guess this stupendous disparity of earning potentials, or what the society is willing to reward, is to be expected from a capitalist society. There is basically nothing wrong in capitalizing on one's endowment, be it natural talent, physical attribute, or entrepreneurial spirit. Also, we tend to be clouded by the affluence as to blind us to the fact that this wealth is gotten at great physical exertion such as training and preceded by a history of mundane struggles just like anybody else.

It's only through perseverance and seizing upon every opportunity that came along that these high income earners have broken through the rank. Nothing is more inspiring than a rags to riches story, which is what the same capitalistic milieu has made possible.

So looking at the bright side, instead of a feeling of deprivation and injustice, the annual tally of what people earn, a commendable effort by the PARADE magazine, is actually an impetus to spur us on to greater heights and to carve out our own niche in the process.