The Transparency Trap.

Wow, I love this topic because it promises to be that kind that will spark various and different opinions and thoughts. Come to think of something like making salaries and earnings public. I just smiled when I see this topic. It sounds a little bit funny, weird, good, and bad at the same time. And I will do my best to tell you why in a few words.

One is, to some extent I feel people's salaries are already known, what we can say is unknown is a person's total income. And I say that because a lot of people who are government workers already have a fixed salary they are being paid at the end of each month. We know what the minimum Wage in Nigeria is, so a new government/public worker is expected to earn the minimum wage, but if his or her lifestyle shows beyond what we all know them to be earning, then we can believe that such person isn't dependent on their salary.

Aside from that, if you're working in a private sector, at least you have co-workers and such that can testify to how much you're collecting. Even on the internet, one can browse how much a certain organization is paying their workers, and even if the actual amount isn't stated, we can be sure of what range it will be.

Now, here's the main point. The fact that we know a person's salary doesn't mean we know their total income. Take my country, Nigeria, for instance now, a lot of us are into different hustles and businesses. You hardly find someone who's dependent on the salary they earn. And all of that at the end of the day contributes to their earnings and bank account balance. So, how how can we be sure that such a person is into dubious act all because he has way beyond his salary in his or her account or because he or she is living a life that his or her salary cannot maintain.

About making it public beyond what it is already, I won't agree to it. It's best to leave it as it is and let peoples account breathe. Someone who's into various business is expected to have more in his or her account, so why think its fraud money or why even make it public. Some are into investments, taking certain risks and doing one side gig and the other. Again, such can lead into resentment, jealousy and such from co-workers who might want to think their colleague is doing well than them, or just develop hatred out of nothing.

Aside from all of that, one thing is certain. Making such an information public and accessible to everyone would make the parties involved vulnerable to crime. Take people who earn a lot for example, if their bank statements or let's just say their salary is being made public, then be sure that they will become the targets for theft, robbery, kidnaps and such.

What I'm saying in essence is that, that level of transparency is not healthy. That level of transparency will lead to more harm than good, that level of transparency will lead to jealousy and envy, that level of transparency will put the lives of people at risk. I feel salaries should be made private, even though to some extent certain details about it can be seen online and such, it's full disclosure for everyone is something that it risks outweighs it's benefits.

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