Equality of sacrifice

Equality of sacrifice is a term used in political theory and political philosophy to refer to the perceived fairness of a coercive policy.

John Stuart Mill noticed that citizens often view taxation laws as being fair, as long as taxation is also applied equally to everyone else in society. Political theorist Margaret Levi applied the term to the perceived fairness of conscription in democracies, to which citizens may consent as long as conscription is enforced as a universal duty – as opposed to elitist and exceptionalist policies, as it will sometimes occur in partial mobilization.

The term was also adopted by Lee Iacocca who, as the president of Chrysler, lowered his salary to less than a dollar a year before asking union members for radical wage cuts in order to deal with the company's financial difficulties. During the financial crisis of 2007–2010, Iacocca's example has often been mentioned in opposition to "unconditional" government bail-out of failing companies. In a letter to the leaders of the big three U.S. automakers, Senator Chuck Grassley said that before receiving a government bailout executives should follow the example of former Chrysler head Lee Iacocca and cut their own pay:

Some economists believe that the minimum wage laws in the United States lead to less equality because young black males are less likely to be able to get a job when the minimum wage is increased; this inequality exists primarily because young black workers typically live in urban areas where the food and drink industry, who mainly pay their workers minimum wage, are prevalent.

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