[badestrand]

Why is the comparison itself absurd? Both are just normal people that work all day. I guess whether the dentist "should" earn 2x or 50x is a matter of values and culture. As such I find it quite reasonable to attribute the high dentist salaries in the US to the population's high tolerance of the high income inequality.

[rscho]

Simple question: would you prefer to have your teeth fixed by a burger-flipper, or to have your burger flipped by a dental school graduate?

Second question: would you prefer living without well-cooked burgers, or live with bad teeth?

The difference in value is there.

[sorenjan]

Nobody is questioning whether dentists should be payed more than fast food workers, it's just how much more.

Another example: brain surgeons have an average salary in the US of $450 000 [0], in Sweden it's $65 700. I would agree that there is some room for higher salaries for people with advanced degrees in Sweden, but I also think that the income inequality in the US is way too high. It's a cultural thing.

[0] https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Doctor_of_Medici...

[1] http://www.lonestatistik.se/loner.asp/yrke/Hjarnkirurg-5131

[sgc]

It seems like the defense you have been required to make is just proving your point. People appear almost offended and baffled at your comments which are easy to understand.

They are also overlooking the basic facts that healthcare in Sweden is significantly better than in the US despite the significantly lower pay scale, Sweden has a higher median income, and the quality of McDonalds food and service is probably better as well (it has been anywhere I have been in Europe).

[andrei_says_]

I think that what people are missing is the premise of acceptable level of exploitation.

In the U.S., there is no limit on this. The violence of poverty is completely overlooked as is the incredibly uneven playing field.

The healthcare industry is set to extract maximum profit with minimum service and people who cannot afford the premiums are left without care options/face bankruptcy.

This is just one of the many forces increasing income inequality.

Similarly, education is expensive not because it costs that much but because it is set to maximize profits.

I’d say that dentists making 150k is less of an issue than the fast food workers making 1/8 of that with minimum wage which has not increased in decades and a house median cost is above 600k-1m.

Human beings are not seen as having dignity or value beyond the exploitable.

[ddxxdd]

>Nobody is questioning whether dentists should be payed more than fast food workers, it's just how much more.

This doesn't actually answer any questions or address any actual issues, unless you're willing to force dentists to work with your so-called "appropriate salary" with the full force of the law.

[veidr]

Draconian slave camps where people are forced to practice dentistry aren't actually necessary to address the issue; we can just look elsewhere and compare.

What virtually all advanced democracies have done is rather make a judgement about what kinds of fees are reasonable to pay for dental and medical services, and limit what the national health insurance system will pay to that.

Then see if anybody is willing to practice dentistry. They usually are.

(Also, in most, if not all, of these countries, dentists are free to charge any rate they wish for dental services, and if they can find enough people willing to pay those fees with their own money, instead of using the national health insurance system, that's fine, too. But that's typically not necessary, and hence not common.)

[nyxtom]

I have known some pretty terrible dentists and they still make a crap ton of money or just rip people off. There isn't some universal truth associated with the amount of money you make and how good you are at your job. This is the entire problem with the medical industry in the United States. For the most part you can look for recommendations, reviews, and find the right physician; for other cases where options are limited or this isn't available you don't have much you can do but be ripped off or suffer from poor service when it happens. Usually poor service and being ripped off tend to go hand in hand. It's obviously not always like this, but there are conditions where you have little choice