When my friends and I went to the movie theaters the other day one of my friends made a compassionate yet naïve observation. He took particular notice at the ‘movie ticket ripper guy’ and how he was clearly mentally retarded. (We’ve probably all witnessed the disabled movie ticket ripper some time in our lives. I’ve once had my ticket stub sniped by a man so physically deformed he needed scissors to successfully do his job.) He commented on how wonderful and beautiful society is that they find jobs for such people. After all, they could have hired some able-bodied teenager to do the same job for equal pay.
Does corporate America feel bad for cripples? Is this an act of charity?
Unfortunately, this is no evidence for big corporations having a soul, but instead a prime example comparative advantage. Simply put, physically or mentally handicapped people have less opportunity cost, in most cases, ripping ticket stubs for a living. A fully functioning teenager has more opportunity cost i.e. ‘more to lose’ spending his time ripping tickets. A teenager can instead acquire a new skill set or invest in his education. Ripping tickets would rob the teenager of a better use of his time.
Handicapped people, more often than not, have less return investing in their own human capital. Having these people rip our tickets is not an act of kindness, but a rational economic decision that leads to a more efficient allocation of resources.
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3 comments:
you never cease to amuse me. although in fear of sounding rude, i think there is a typo when you say "...example comparative advantage." Should it instead be "...example of comparative advantage." ? Correct me if I'm wrong. Nonetheless, i would be interested to hear the "professional" and "corporate" meetings on such issues and see what their motivations truly are, which most likely include the one you proposed, and how they handle such sensitive issues when no one is listening.
You are absolutely right!
I'll fix it right away... as soon as it's processed by HR and gets a run through from the board of directors.
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