Externalize Labor Costs to the Public to support private CEO Salaries?

Bill H.163 in the Massachusetts is a loan repayment program for certain human service workers. It caught my attention as there was a time that I looked into employment in that field only to discover that the wages were dismal, not enough to support a family, much less an individual living in Massachusetts. After one semester at a local college pursuing a masters degree to enter this field, I left on the advice of many who were already in it, struggling to make ends meet. I had a family to support and saddling myself with student loan debt on top of that would be a financial disaster, given the low wages and quite often, lack of benefits.

On a side note, my interest in this field stemmed from my personal experience being treated and cared for while a patient at such a facility for a mental health issue. The professionalism, devotion and care shown by them was inspiring, even more so when I eventually learned how little they were paid.

If you look into the figures, the average worker in this field makes $15-20 an hour. From my recollection, many are part time and string together a few jobs to make one whole. H. 163, if you do the math, works out to supplementing the wages of these workers by about $1 an hour over a period of four years, then it expires. While I applaud any efforts to help people in this community, I see this as all too typical of government allowing wealthy corporations to externalize the true costs of their work force by transferring those costs to the pubic sector, to be paid for by taxes.

The salaries of CEO’s in this field are, from what I can find, private but I found a few clues. This one for Jorge Dominicis CEO for Wellpath, adjusted for inflation, puts it at about $400,000 a year, or $200 an hour. At a mental health facility in my community, the workers make less than $15 an hour. Many of these people are highly skilled, college educated, and in dept for years paying off student loan debt. The employees of these enterprises require food, housing, medical care, and so much more including a college education. In a just world, the employers of these individuals would pay enough to cover those costs, and more.

Read more: http://bluemassgroup.com/2019/05/externalize-labor-costs-to-the-public-to-support-private-ceo-salaries/