If you worked really hard to achieve great things, would you be happy to have your reward shared with those who had not worked as hard?  I believe that we all have great strengths, gifts and passion inside of us to make valuable contributions to society on many different levels; from our personal, private relationships through to our public contributions in the workplace.Our primary drive to do well is our reward, whether the reward is a hearty acknowledgement and appreciation that commends our soul or a pay cheque that we can deposit at the bank.  When the reward is great so too is our effort to succeed!

There is a story that has recently been circulated about an American professor who challenged his students to think about the US President Obama’s new approach to their tax structures.  In recent speeches he has been saying that ‘the rich’ are not paying their fair share.  Economists believe otherwise when they look at the figures.

The economics professor was taken by surprise when the entire class felt that they should support Obama’s ideas so he advocated that they apply a socialist/communist model to their grading system for exams.  With all in agreement, the first exam came around.  Most of the students did well and achieved high A scores, with a few of the students who had not worked as well, earning much lower scores.  As per their agreement, the professor took the average, a B, and applied it to the whole class.

The students that had worked hard were not happy that they only received a B, whilst the students who offered a lower contribution were more than happy.  As the next exam arrived, the students who had previously done well did not study as hard as they had for the first test and the students who had not studied, studied even less.  The entire class dropped to a D average.

Even more incensed at the dropping scores, the diligent students were considerably less inclined to work hard for the final exams.  At the end of the year, the entire class failed.  The test scores were not the only evidence of decline as the students had begun to argue and bicker amongst themselves as the situation worsened.  Not only did their combined ability take a knock, but so too did their relationships and social decorum.

Is this an accurate experiment?  Does it truly show the effect of a supposed Marxist approach?  Probably not, but it certainly does get one thinking about what motivates us to achieve our best.

In an article on Forbes, they offered the following commentary on Obama’s new taxing approach: “Good tax policy is not guided by “need.”  It is guided by what is needed to establish the incentives to maximize economic growth.”

It can’t be easy to run a country in such a way that keeps everyone happy, but we need to reward people who strive to contribute their best in such a way that keeps them motivated to achieving their best!  What are your thoughts?  Please leave your comment in the comments block below.