Earning an honest living

The Occupy Movement of last fall, which is still smoldering around the country, brought to light a glaring discrepancy between the pay rates of CEOs and high level management types in big corporations versus the boots on the ground, average employee.
While earning a living and providing for ourselves and our family should be the goal of every person, the trend away from real, honest labor and towards an "information economy" has devalued and distanced the average American from good, old fashioned work.  I wonder how many members of what the Occupy Movement calls "The 1%" have, in their adult lives made an attempt to earn a honest day's living.
In the classic movie Caddyshack, Judge Smails dismisses Danny's attempt at conversation with the quip, "The world needs ditch diggers too."  While the line is used to degrade and demoralize the young Danny, a strong comparison can be made between the attitude of the elite "Masters of the Universe" and those employees working for them.  Unfortunately those "Masters of the Universe" have never dug a ditch, much less spent much time trying to live off the salary they offer to their employees.
However, there is a peace and a contentment to actually accomplishing a physical task and being compensated for it.  Whether that is assembling a guitar, raising chickens, digging a ditch or putting a roof on a house, the ability, knowledge, skill and patience necessary to accomplish a given task is under-appreciated and certainly under-compensated.  I wonder how many CEOs started in the trenches with their company versus coming out of law school or business school and getting hired into a management track then bouncing around having never actually produced something themselves.
In recent months, I started raising chickens, ducks and bees, partially as a hobby and partially to augment my income.  To this point, I've invested in equipment feed, construction of coops, hives and feeders, and my time.  The work hasn't been hard, but it takes time and requires a great deal of patience.  The start-up costs are all mine.  Of course this also means I spend time shoveling chicken shit, mucking out make-shift duck ponds and getting stung by bees.  None of which is pleasant, but it is real honest work.  At the end of the day, I feel I've accomplished something, which ultimately is more valuable than any 6-figure income.  In the end, these endeavors may be experiments that are successful, they may not be, but at least I'm working, I'm happy about it, not degrading, abusing or demeaning any other creatures.  If one day I am fortunate enough to be in a position of influence, I will be able to say that I have done a day's work, made my money through my own sweat and blood, and hopefully will consider those who through their efforts allow me to be successful.

Thx, Mgmt.

Although it's been a while since I posted, some things stay the same.  Much has changed in my life but some things, namely poor management don't.

I picked up some part time hours at a retail establishment a couple months ago, just enough to help pay the bills.  I never thought I'd say this but the management techniques and the communication between management and employees there is even worse than I experienced while in graduate school.  At least in grad school, I was trusted and the management was geared towards the overall success of the individuals and the lab as a whole.  Communication was bi-directional and the input of all group members was valid, considered and openly debated.  The power structure was diffuse, employees were trusted.  In this new part time situation, my first experience working retail, management is quite hierarchical, communicates poorly, is very closed to criticism and punitive.

During the interview process, I was asked if I could commit to working for the company for 2 years at quite meager pay rate.  A rate that neither fits my experience in the area nor acknowledges my education and abilities.  I enjoy the work but I feel neither challenged nor full-filled by it.  Nor am I asked to contribute to the overall advancement of the company.  I'm of the opinion that if you, as a manager, are interested in recruiting top quality people to work in your company, you need to give them incentive to work for you.  Utilizing talents and skills of your employees is critical to effective management, IMO, and I have yet to find a situation in which any manager even has a clue on how to do this.