# What were your gross yearly wages (2017)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 3, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121 "2018-02-03T21:31:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/81 "2018-02-06T01:33:47Z")
Four oxen, two wagon tongues, one spare wagon wheel, 218 lbs of food, 4 sets of clothing, 312 bullets, $82.00 in leftover money, and some bad water from Wyoming. We’d have had more but Jimmy and Michele died of cholera along the way. Tripler We didn’t make much, but at least we made it through this year. ---
**Author:** ![Magdalenna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/magdalenna/32/6692_2.png) [@Magdalenna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magdalenna)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/82 "2018-02-06T19:18:25Z")
I’m not surprised that most people balk at giving this info - we’re taught from our first employment that it’s inappropriate to discuss your salary with others. But, I did look at the thread to see if people were giving rough numbers out of curiosity - do charter dopers make more in general than guest dopers? I guess we’ll never know! ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/83 "2018-02-06T22:37:32Z")
> [@Magdalenna](#): > > I’m not surprised that most people balk at giving this info - we’re taught from our first employment that it’s inappropriate to discuss your salary with others. But, I did look at the thread to see if people were giving rough numbers out of curiosity - do charter dopers make more in general than guest dopers? I guess we’ll never know! I don’t think it has anything to do with learning it’s “inappropriate”. I think it’s more that people intuitively look down on those who make less and resent those who make more. Or we assume they do and don’t want to be looked down on or resented. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/84 "2018-02-06T22:58:17Z")
> [@Magdalenna](#): > > I’m not surprised that most people balk at giving this info - we’re taught from our first employment that it’s inappropriate to discuss your salary with others. But, I did look at the thread to see if people were giving rough numbers out of curiosity - do charter dopers make more in general than guest dopers? I guess we’ll never know! This is only your 2nd post since Aug 1999? That’s got to be some sort of record… ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/85 "2018-02-06T23:07:24Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > I don’t think it has anything to do with learning it’s “inappropriate”. I think it’s more that people intuitively look down on those who make less and resent those who make more. Or we assume they do and don’t want to be looked down on or resented. Mostly the second for me. I don’t need to fuel others’ disdain or resentment. > [@snfaulkner](#): > > This is only your 2nd post since Aug 1999? That’s got to be some sort of record… I wish I had that kind of restraint. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/86 "2018-02-06T23:46:34Z")
I work for food. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/87 "2018-02-07T04:07:48Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I don’t like it because it’s an elitists question. On MBs such as these, you’ve got fast food workers socializing with university professors, country folk hanging with city slickers etc… That’s something that doesn’t typically happen in real life. And it’s a beautiful thing . Well, it **does** happen to me in “real life”, however I’ll agree with you… up to a point. Let’s just not over-glorify the situation. Especially when it comes to implying that all good here derives from income secrecy. Some of my meaningful real life conversations occur with those way above my income, some below… and our “lot in life” isn’t a secret. > [@](#): > > Why break out the dividing lines?..We share our sins and quirks because it’s something we all have in common regardless of what tax bracket we fall under. I’ll disagree, unless you intended to mean: We all have (unique) sins/quirks that we happen to discuss here regardless of what tax bracket we fall under. While I have my sins/quirks/etc., they’re not common in orders of kind, magnitude, or severity with all here… nor their’s common with mine. Dividing lines are a constant here, so I beg to differ with the notion that (except for the specter of money), we are a like-minded group living in harmony. I merely suggest that with all the revealed skeletons rattling around in the closets of peoples’ expose’s here, divulging one’s income would be less than scandalous… And once revealed, certainly should not be prohibitive to further open conversation. It becomes evident after spending awhile here: **Who** is educated (with post-grad credentials), **who** are published authors, professors, and engineers… **or others** successful in the business/investment world. Many, under reasonable assumption, make “good” money. This doesn’t prevent me, a blue collar flunky, from attempting a conversation, irrespective of a “perceived” income disparity. Nor would it stop me if I knew for certain of such. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/88 "2018-02-07T04:51:17Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Meh. > > I may not be one of those who shares too much of a personal nature here, but sharing certain things does serve some beneficial function either to the person sharing, to someone with whom it is being shared, or both. Support, normalizing, reality checking, reducing ignorance … so on. Even what car you drive may be serving the function of a real conversation. > > What beneficial function does sharing this information serve? > > Maybe a question of how satisfied or secure you feel with your income would be of some actual interest, and some might share how much the number is in service of that discussion. My guess would be that satisfaction and security are relatively inelastic items over a moderate term other than at the very low end. But how big is yours? No purpose served and possible harms to be had. Well, the first thing that comes to mind in the greater sense is The Donald’s income. (Sorry but you left yourself wide open for that cheap shot!) On a more realistic scenario: How about when folks here argue about an income tax cut for themselves… would their income not be germane? How about when people self-aggrandize themselves concerning their entrepreneurial contributions… should they not be held accountable for the actual numbers? Should I, a Union member, not feel comfortable expressing my yearly wage? There are many scenarios in which incomes should be divulged without hesitation, yet folks like you react as if it were a state secret. Do you have something to hide? ETA: I really don’t give a shit what you make… Just curious as to why you are so sensitive? ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/89 "2018-02-07T05:21:19Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Don’t you want our social security numbers, bank account numbers, and mother’s maiden names, to?.. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yeah, it’s crazy. Posters here also won’t give out there addresses, their employer’s name or their license plate numbers. Go figure. John, I know you’re more intilligent than this. It’s not necessary to act this way. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/90 "2018-02-07T06:46:07Z")
> [@Magdalenna](#): > > I’m not surprised that most people balk at giving this info - we’re taught from our first employment that it’s inappropriate to discuss your salary with others. But, I did look at the thread to see if people were giving rough numbers out of curiosity - do charter dopers make more in general than guest dopers? I guess we’ll never know! Best bet, if you are actually curious, would be a closed poll (identities hidden) giving the usual range breakdowns. Someone may have done one but I don’t think is was broken down by seniority or membership status. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/91 "2018-02-07T06:53:15Z")
Curious that the OP hasn’t come back to explain why he/she needs our gross income. I suspect a way of finding schmucks in the income level he/she needs to promote a NEW BUSINESS VENTURE, GUARANTEED 500% PROFIT IN THE FIRST YEAR. Yeah, nah, not giving out any info like that. YMMV of course ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/92 "2018-02-07T07:40:17Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > . > > I merely suggest that with all the revealed skeletons rattling around in the closets of peoples’ expose’s here, divulging one’s income would be less than scandalous… And once revealed, certainly should not be prohibitive to further open conversation. What people would post here as their income would be quite unreliable. Some might inflate their income, some might deflate it. Which is what my post on the first page meant. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/93 "2018-02-07T12:59:58Z")
Absolutely. It’s also possible that some here may be less than truthful concerning other things too.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2018, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/94 "2018-02-07T16:23:28Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Curious that the OP hasn’t come back to explain why he/she needs our gross income. I suspect a way of finding schmucks in the income level he/she needs to promote a NEW BUSINESS VENTURE, GUARANTEED 500% PROFIT IN THE FIRST YEAR. > > Yeah, nah, not giving out any info like that. > > YMMV of course Being somewhat familiar with the poster from the board here, I doubt it. Which could be why I answered. Or it could be why I drive a manual transmission. Either way my mileage does indeed vary. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/95 "2018-02-08T01:35:30Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > Well, the first thing that comes to mind in the greater sense is The Donald’s income. (Sorry but you left yourself wide open for that cheap shot!) > > On a more realistic scenario: How about when folks here argue about an income tax cut for themselves… would their income not be germane? How about when people self-aggrandize themselves concerning their entrepreneurial contributions… should they not be held accountable for the actual numbers? Should I, a Union member, not feel comfortable expressing my yearly wage? There are many scenarios in which incomes should be divulged without hesitation, yet folks like you react as if it were a state secret. > > Do you have something to hide? > > ETA: I really don’t give a shit what you make… Just curious as to why you are so sensitive? In context of a discussion in which income is germane then asking about income is not odd. Out of any context? Asked in the context of “how big is yours?” the only reasonable first response is “why do you want to know?” Once again, I personally do not share _anything_ on these boards that I would not feel comfortable sharing with any casual acquaintance, my employees, my patients, or my kids’ friends. I do not consider myself in _any_ way anonymous here. Not specifics on my sex life or my often troubled psyche. 🙂 Religious beliefs some. But again, I can understand how some decide that some sharing of sensitive information is worth it for the benefit gained in a particular conversation, to themselves or to others, as a means of support, of reality check, or as part of a broader discussion. I do not see how this question in this acontextual context provides anybody with any such benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/96 "2018-02-08T04:16:50Z")
> [@Magdalenna](#): > > I’m not surprised that most people balk at giving this info - we’re taught from our first employment that it’s inappropriate to discuss your salary with others. Even that has some cultural variation to it: in Spain talking about money in specific terms is generally considered uncouth, but there are these things called _convenios_ which set people’s salaries. They’re not ranges: if you’re for example a lab technician (job title) in the chemical industry (sector) for a company without individual _convenio_ (the salary structure follows the national _convenio_ for the sector), anybody can get the current _convenio_ for the chemical industry and find out what your base salary and seniority bonus are. If the company has its own _convenio_ it just takes a little bit longer: it probably won’t be googleable, but go to any of the general worker’s unions and they’ll be able to get you a copy. Saying that you make “according to _convenio_” is considered normal; being asked for the actual number is likely to trigger the “no specific numbers” reflex, people will ask “what, you’re too important to look it up?”. Other neighboring countries have similar documents and culture about it. I’ve seen someone ask his manager in France “just out of curiosity, are you in (the equivalent of _convenio_)?” “_stare_… not quite, I get an additional bonus. So will you if you take that promotion.” That the guy asking was in negotiations for a promotion made the question appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/97 "2018-02-08T09:02:15Z")
In Norway, everyones taxable income used to be published in the papers. Once a year in a special insert:) Of course it was a long time ago. Now its all on the internet if you want to look it up. Of course, your income is less of a social status determinant here. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/98 "2018-02-08T09:09:18Z")
Are you guys one of those countries where traffic fines are calculated based on your income? My boss in the Swedish job was terrified of those, as her income was really high. For some reason she didn’t think our suggestion of “so stop breaking the speed limit into little bits” was particularly interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/99 "2018-02-08T09:49:43Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Are you guys one of those countries where traffic fines are calculated based on your income? My boss in the Swedish job was terrified of those, as her income was really high. For some reason she didn’t think our suggestion of “so stop breaking the speed limit into little bits” was particularly interesting. It is mixed as I understand it. The kind of fines police issue are on a fixed scale, (people on very low incomes can appeal on that basis to avoid disproportionate punishments) whereas courts will issue fines based on a persons income. Often 1,5 times the monthly wage although it could be a lot more for people with little income but large fortunes. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121/100 "2018-02-08T23:30:33Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > In context of a discussion in which income is germane then asking about income is not odd. Out of any context? Asked in the context of “how big is yours?” the only reasonable first response is “why do you want to know?” > > Once again, I personally do not share _anything_ on these boards that I would not feel comfortable sharing with any casual acquaintance, my employees, my patients, or my kids’ friends. I do not consider myself in _any_ way anonymous here. Not specifics on my sex life or my often troubled psyche. 🙂 Religious beliefs some. But again, I can understand how some decide that some sharing of sensitive information is worth it for the benefit gained in a particular conversation, to themselves or to others, as a means of support, of reality check, or as part of a broader discussion.\*\* I do not see how this question in this acontextual context provides anybody with any such benefit.\*\* Bolding mine No argument here with anything. Except (brace yourself): Context. Most comments to any question posed here generally adhere to a sense of rationality (eventually). Contextual derailments normally are re-aligned back to the original OP and life goes on irrespective of the “validity” of the OP. In the course of these interactions, whether in context or not, it has been my observation that _anything goes,_ with no taboo upon personal revelations… Except wages/salaries. We’ll tell complete strangers _ **ANYTHING** _ about our personal lives, but mention wages/salaries and we shut up tighter than a clam. That was the _context_ of my original comment. Not that the OP was a proper, or legitimate, or valid question, but rather how silly we, in the U.S.A. are, concerning our $$$ job valuations. I simply find this phenomena interesting (and sad). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-gross-yearly-wages-2017/808121.md?page=6)