Doubtful that U.S. employees who received bonuses are complaining
I am confused about Carol A. Davis’s point in her Wednesday letter, “Wage hikes.” She breaks a $1,000 bonus down to 48 cents per hour over one year. She then pulls a mysterious $2.50 per-hour pay raise figure out of the air and compares that annual benefit of $5,200 to the $1,000 bonus. So what?
The company opted to pay a bonus, not give a pay raise. I doubt many of the recipients are complaining. I know my brother-in-law, a highly compensated AT&T employee, wasn’t complaining when we talked on Saturday. In reality, this is chump change for him. To the folks lower on the corporate ladder, it means much more. It sure beats nothing at all.
She closes by stating, “Bonuses sound exciting, but not everyone is receiving one — and bonuses are not the same as increasing wages.” She fails to mention that about 80 percent of taxpayers will pay fewer less in taxes under the bill. Effectively, that is a pay raise, and you are going to have a difficult time of convincing those folks otherwise, especially after the icing on the cake of their bonuses.
My dad used to say, “If you stood on a corner and handed out $100 bills, someone would complain.” Carol Davis has proven him right. She should lose the hate and jealousy and try being happy for others who have benefited.