Sarah: What it's worth

I can’t haggle. I can’t barter. I want to be able to trust that the price that is marked denotes a fair value. Charge what is appropriate based on production costs and what you need to survive. I don’t want to force you to accept so little that your kids can’t eat. I don’t want to be tricked into spending a lot on a shoddy product.

On a related note, I want to be paid what I’m worth and I want others to be paid and promoted based on merit, not politics or seniority. If someone has education, experience, and (most importantly, I think) a good work ethic, they absolutely should be compensated accordingly. I believe that everyone has skills and talents that are unique. We should be motivated to find what those skills and talents are. If you’re making only a little because you’re not excited about your job and motivated to do well? You should be looking for something that you look forward to doing each morning. It would make the world a better place.

Intelligence and hard work should be rewarded. Good craftsmanship should be worth more than sneaky salesmanship. Decide how much something is worth, and trust that you can get or achieve something of worth. If only oversimplifications worked in real life.