First our teachers, then police and fire departments now doctors

[question everything]

These are professionals that we value, or should value, yet are not willing to pay them what they are worth.

The most recent examples are doctors. Yes, doctors. In page one of the Wall St. Journal today, there was a story about how dentists are now making as much money, but work fewer hours as general and family practitioners.

But what caught my eye was the average income - for 2000 which was the last year they had the data.

"On average, general dentists in 2000, the most recent year for which comparative data are available, earned $166,460 -- compared with $164,100 for general internal-medicine doctors, $145,700 for psychiatrists, $144,700 for family-practice physicians, and $137,800 for pediatricians. All indications are that dentists have at least kept pace with physicians since then."

Now, I know that most of us would be perfectly happy with an income of 130 big ones; with an income of a fifth of this amount.

But when we compare the income of these doctors, who actually see patients and tend for them, with that of the CEOs of the insurance and HMOs and other "health related" companies, this gap really boggle one's mind.

Here in Minnesota's Twin Cities, once a year the strib publishes the compensation of the local CEOs. Most newspapers do the same for their communities. And last year, the highest paid executive - $94 million - was for the CEO of UnitedHealth - "nation's largest health-services provider"

And we can go on looking at the income of many Wall Street bankers and other CEOs, all who get their obscene amount of money while the ones who really do serve the communities: teachers and nurses and lab technicians and firemen and women and police officers and, yes, even local elected officials - have to do with pennies and peanuts, and work long, stressful hours.

What kind of a society are we?

[ohioliberal]

1. It really makes me ill

That the medical profession salaries are that low, and look at all the years of schooling, interships, etc. they have to do, plus being on-call all the time and for the most part CEO's usually only have about 4-6 years of schooling and they get paid all this money. I still think is not what you know its who you know in this dog eat dog business world.

[theorist]

2. Why don't CEOs ever justify their salaries?

If they believe that our money should go to buy their mansions and private jets, why don't they explain to us why they pay themselves so damn much. (And the "connections" response doesn't cut it with me.)

[tsuki]

3. I believe we are outsourcing the wrong end of the employment

scale. In Europe and Asia, CEO's are paid far less than they are here, and companies don't enron.

I don't know what the answer is. I suspect that stock-holders will have to file class action suits, or someone will.

CEO reform is what we need in this country, not "tort" reform.

[Jesus H. Christ]

4. Scientists.

They don't get enough respect.

[theorist]

5. Honestly, we like to keep to ourselves.

It would also be nice if they increased NSF and NIH money each year instead of leaving it flat.

[question everything]

6. I think that NIH will be cut... to keep the low taxes for Bush's friends

Of course, Bush and his buddies in general do not have use to educated, literate and intellectual people. So while they do talk about elementary education, they pretty much show disdain to higher one. After all, Bush follows in the footsteps of Reagan and Quail who elevated simpltonians to an art. Bush Sr. worked very hard to hide his Ivy League Northeast Brahamin background and was kicked out.

[seabeyond]

7. this is interesting, insurance doesnt have dentists by the balls

and here they are making more than hte other doctors, doctors that are being controlled by insurance. the reason i know this, just recently have had to have teeth worked on and what i have found, insurance isnt worth it with denistry. the dentist office first implied then talked to a couple insurance people, as soon as i said dentist they screwed up their face, but it cost 250. to have a tooth filled, no big deal with the tooth. outrageous amounts. and they get cash. i came to conclusion, no wonder poor people or even middle income people have such bad teeth today, even with all the advances.

it is just awful what is happening in this field. i was told unless you are part of a big business package, forget it. nigh impossible for small business to find a good insurance for dentists

[liberalhistorian]

8. So that's why doctors are forgetting

their Hippocratic oath by refusing to treat people who don't have insurance or money or whose Medicaid doesn't pay enough (including poor pregnant women), even if they have cancer or another serious illness, or hiring aggressive, ruthless collectrolls to go after what little uninsured people have and refusing to treat them.

Must be why they're in bed with pharmaceutical sales reps and the companies they represent, to the distinct disadvantage of their patients.

That must be why they've always strongly resisted any type of universal or national health care to ensure equal access and affordability for all and why, when the health care system is the worst its ever been with even the middle class being squeezed out and people losing houses and everything they have, or filing bankruptcy to prevent losing everything they have due to catastrophic medical bills, all they give a shit about is the bullshit phoney-baloney so-called "crisis" of medical malpractice. That must be why they want to shield their incompetent colleagues who've ruined people's lives with their "mistakes" from any accountability.

Must be why my doctor of over ten years told me today to forget even making an appointment until I cough up $75 bucks up front, which I don't have, having lost my job last month and being a single parent, never mind my potentially serious symptoms.

And that must be why hospital CEO's have horrendously obscene salaries and perks, while aggressively pursuing what little assets uninsured people have, including garnishing meager wages.

Boo-fucking-hoo. Doctors have forgotten the true principles of their profession and until they remember and regain some integrity, they won't get a drop of sympathy from me. My parents are both retired teachers, a job just as important as medicine (more, in fact, since without teachers there'd be no other profession), they're seeing their insurance premiums go up drastically and their coverage go down drastically, which has really put a bite in their finances, and their doctors don't give a shit, they want their money NOW.

[bemildred]

9. What is this "We" shit?

Nobody has EVER asked me what medical and dental professionals ought
to be paid. This is the doings of the medical industry itself, working
in collusion with the insurance corporations and our so called
regulating agencies. They got in bed with wolves and now are annoyed
by the tooth marks on their butts.

[liberalhistorian]

11. THANK YOU!

That is so true, unfortunately, and I'm sick to death of hearing doctors weep and wail and moan and groan and gnash their teeth over something their own damn greed caused. Until they regain their principles, fuck them!

[DulceDecorum]

10. They say that Will Sutton

said that he robbed banks because that it is where the money was.

Now the banks are going under,
but the CEOs are still flush,
even though their bodyguards are broke.
Can you see where this is going?

[liberalhistorian]

12. It's the 21st-century version

of The Robber Barons, since this is exactly what was happening at the turn of the last century. The good thing about that, though, is that it led directly to the rise of the Populist Party, and all of the social and economic reforms that helped society tremendously and that we now take for granted (and that Shrub and his greedy minions now are so hell-bent on taking away!)