“There is no such thing as a free lunch!” A person or a society cannot acquire certain
achievements without trading off. Generally, good or better things do not just happen for free or
come as given; there is usually a cost, either obvious or hidden, associates with the improvement
of things, especially in our modern world of fast-paced technology. Although current technology
has advanced our society in terms of educational, professional, and socio-economic
development, technology has created a larger social inequality gap in our society and the Silicon
Valley in particular.
The technology industry in Silicon Valley has created an income inequality among its
employees at different levels. According to Pellow, Silicon Valley …show more content…
Up until
today, employment in the electronics industry is still in demand. Even though electronics is a
highly competitive industry, only the pay for management level employees is competitive. About
20% of the manual labor was not provided with a sufficient wage. Production job workers are
mostly women or immigrants []. They are often paid with the Silicon Valley minimum wage of
$10.30 []. However, based on the estimation of Living Wage Calculator, the bare minimum
1
living wage for an adult is at least $13.81 []. In contrast, CEOs and higher management officers
such as Larry Ellison (Oracle) earns the salary of $96.2 million/year, Elon Musk earns $78.2
million/year, or Marrisa Mayer earns $36.6 million/year [].
Extremely high wages create a high living standard in the valley, and potentially
eliminate the manual working class with unfordable living costs and risky working conditions.
Pellow stated that from 1991 to 1996, the ratio of the annual income of one Silicon Valley
executive to an typical production worker hopped from 42:1 to 220:1 []. As of today, with the
rate of $10.30 per hour, an average full-time manual worker makes about $20,000 a year.
achievements without trading off. Generally, good or better things do not just happen for free or
come as given; there is usually a cost, either obvious or hidden, associates with the improvement
of things, especially in our modern world of fast-paced technology. Although current technology
has advanced our society in terms of educational, professional, and socio-economic
development, technology has created a larger social inequality gap in our society and the Silicon
Valley in particular.
The technology industry in Silicon Valley has created an income inequality among its
employees at different levels. According to Pellow, Silicon Valley …show more content…
Up until
today, employment in the electronics industry is still in demand. Even though electronics is a
highly competitive industry, only the pay for management level employees is competitive. About
20% of the manual labor was not provided with a sufficient wage. Production job workers are
mostly women or immigrants []. They are often paid with the Silicon Valley minimum wage of
$10.30 []. However, based on the estimation of Living Wage Calculator, the bare minimum
1
living wage for an adult is at least $13.81 []. In contrast, CEOs and higher management officers
such as Larry Ellison (Oracle) earns the salary of $96.2 million/year, Elon Musk earns $78.2
million/year, or Marrisa Mayer earns $36.6 million/year [].
Extremely high wages create a high living standard in the valley, and potentially
eliminate the manual working class with unfordable living costs and risky working conditions.
Pellow stated that from 1991 to 1996, the ratio of the annual income of one Silicon Valley
executive to an typical production worker hopped from 42:1 to 220:1 []. As of today, with the
rate of $10.30 per hour, an average full-time manual worker makes about $20,000 a year.