In speaking with friends yesterday I brought up a statement that I learned as a teacher many years ago, “Fair is not always equal.”  I believe it is truth.  I have no idea how it would stand up to a logic argument, but because of my experience it is truth.  It came during negotiations between the teacher’s union and the school board.

The issue was health insurance.  The board deducted an equal percentage rate from each teacher’s salary which, in turn was placed into an insurance pool.  That pool was used to pay health insurance premiums for either a single, a single plus spouse, or for whole families.  Some lucky people were covered by a spouses insurance so they did not have to pay for health insurance through the pool.  Some people’s premiums were for a single, some for a couple, and some for a family.  The premiums were different for each employee but everyone had the coverage they required.  Not equal!  But definitely fair.  Each employee had the peace of mind in knowing that whatever medical issue arose, they were covered.   To understand and accept this each teacher had to agree to the greater good, and they did!  “Fair is not always equal.”

Several years later in a different school we faced the same issue.  The school board ended up negotiating each person the same equal amount of money to cover their insurance premiums.  Some lucky people, covered by a spouses insurance, got the equal withdrawal amount added to their paycheck.  Single premiums were usually covered completely but those with a spouse or family had additional amounts withdrawn from their paycheck.    A small vocal minority covered by spouse’s insurance had succeeded in taking advantage of this system, looking out for only themselves with no regard for their colleagues.  I contend that it is not equal or fair.

Another time that I mistook “fair and equal” was a bit more personal.  We had 3 daughters and 2 bedrooms for them.  Every year I rotated 1 girl into their own personal bedroom.  I was trying to be equal.  But when my oldest daughter was a senior in high school, I forced her to share the double bedroom because it was her turn.  She tried to make her point that she deserved her own room, but I did not listen.  She has never forgiven me.  I’m still so sorry about that, honey.  After my oldest left for a year of nannying, then college, then work; both my middle daughter and her younger sister had their own room for 2 or more years.  My decision was based on equality but it was not fair.

Now, how does this apply to society today?  I have an example from Desert Trip, the 3 day rock concert I attended in Coachella this past fall.  The concert featured The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Roger Waters, and The Who.  It was dubbed “Oldchella” because it did appeal to  Baby Boomers.  In actuality there were people of all ages enjoying the concert.  People came from all over the US to attend.  One group obviously missing were black people.  In 3 days at the concert and roaming the grounds, I did not see any blacks.  So, my thought about this is:  “Was the concert fair, equal, none or both?  I am now assuming that the genre of music did not appeal to blacks.  Should the lineup have included artists of all races and nationalities?  That would be equal.  Was this a racist concert?  Well, I didn’t see or hear protesters, I didn’t read about it in any of the news reports, it didn’t get spin on any talk shows so I guess it couldn’t have been racist.  So, it wasn’t equal, but was it fair?  Of course it was fair.  It simply represented a musical era of rock and roll with artists who had set the bar.

So fair is not always equal.  Equal is not always fair.

I would encourage all people to ask this fundamental question when faced with choices.  In addition, be sure that you have the unbiased facts before you choose.  And it seems to me that fair is more important than equal.

These thoughts are my own.