That’s the common complaint NC State economics professor Mike Walden says he hears regularly from callers when he appears on radio. It usually occurs in relation to a professional athlete or TV star and people don’t seem to understand why some people make more money than others do. In a column published in The Carolinian and the Topsail Voice, JLF’s adjunct scholar writes that the public needs a lesson in basic economics. First, he writes, the more a worker – any worker in any industry – can earn for a business, the more the business will be willing to pay. And second, the tighter the supply of skills for a particular job, the more a business will likely have to pay for that skill. The Carolinian chose to add its own editorial comment at the bottom of Walden’s piece, under the headline of “Talk To Us.” “Why is it that so many free-market apologists who insist there’s nothing that could (or should) be done to stem overinflated salaries of entertainers and corporate bigwigs suddenly start clamoring for some kind of economic adjustment (like increased interest rates) when a booming economy threatens to force them to pay their employees more?” the paper asked its readers.
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