A Matter of Priority

GM has reached agreements with the UAW that if up to 113,000 hourly-wage employees will leave the company and waive their company-paid health insurance, they will receive a severance of $140,000 even though the workers will still be entitled to their accrued pension benefits. It seems that the auto maker is only concerned with the cost of the health insurance which some financial analysts believe to be GM's greatest financial burden.

Wow.

The story itself is not a major concern to me (I have never cared much for GM products) although I hate that so many are about to lose jobs. $140,000.00 is not a lot of money all things considered. However, CNN has a poll that asks readers their opinion about the question of the day, and today's question asked whether the reader would leave his or her job for a $140,000.00 payout. I voted "yes" and clicked to see the results. Out of 170,000 votes, a whopping 140,000 said they would take the buy-out even though analysts do not believe many workers will take GM's offer. What do the workers know that these 140,000 voters do not?

I could not help but wonder if there are that many dissatisfied workers who feel somehow trapped in their current jobs. I am relatively young; $140,000 would not go far with me. I have two daughters at home, one of whom is about to enter college. I'm a (part-time) college student myself with a mortgage and bills out the wazzoo. What was I thinking??

I was once enrolled in a private university in which an accelerated program offers only two degrees: organizational management and information technology. These are two very good programs, but the truth is these things do not hold any interest for me. So I quit. I am currently enrolling at a public university that offers courses of study more in line with that which interests me. Whether this course leads to seminary or law school or an early grave only the Lord knows. But I entered into the program so that I could "hurry up" and earn my degree.

Life is too short to waste time worrying about how much money we will be able to make. The world is filled with lawyers and MBA's; I cannot help but to wonder how many of these educated persons are actually doing what makes them happy and gives them a sense of accomplishment. Are we so ambitious and concerned with doing what is expected of us that we do not stop to think about what genuinely pleases us? Do we really shy away from social work or teaching only because of the lousy pay? How many good cops and firefighters will we never know about who chose the MBA route to fame and fortune only because of the earning potential?

I admit that I am still far too concerned with how much money I can make. I love to write, but I have every intention of one day hitting it big. My daughter asked me just yesterday why I can't become a teacher and share my passion with words. The truth? The pay scares me.

Talk about priorities.