Oh, this is one of my favorites. Yes, we hire only the best. The Crème de la Crème. The top people.
All year long, you hear that you are the best of the best! That you are a member of an elite team, and don't you forget it.
Then, all of a sudden, at review time, you find out that - since you are surrounded by uber-geniuses - you are just fucking average.
You're graded on a curve, bub. So, since you are an average member of an elite crew, you get an average performance review, and the average pay increase to go with it.
In fact, when you do the math, you find out that your increase is slightly less than the true rate of inflation (not the fantasy number the government spews forth from time to time) - since you bought into the bullshit, you probably live in an area that's just crawling with others like you, some of whom make a lot more money, all competing for limited housing, cars, fuel, lattes, collagen injections, micro-dermabrasion, pet therapists, and numerous other things that people in most other parts of the country just aren't buying. Your pay increase might just about cover the increased commute expense due to the latest pipline failure, refinery fire, or regulation-induced increase.
Translation: You're completely fucked. Step off the treadmill. Go find a job where they don't hire the best of the best, so you can be a superhero without breaking a sweat!
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
