Commenting on the TODAY Youth Survey 2023, – which showed that 8 in 10 say blue collar workers should be paid more – SMU Associate Professor of Sociology Alywn Lim explained how the differences in wages are usually based on market forces. He added that perceptions of inequality may arise not purely because of the gap in wages across industries, but because the salaries in some industries have been lagging behind inflation. Assoc Prof Lim cautioned that the solution may not be as easy as just raising wages, as an increase in wages without a corresponding increase in skills or productivity would mean more expensive products and services, which would also affect blue collar workers paying for these services. He added that artificially raising wages can also lead to perceptions of unfairness, since wages are meant to correspond to how much value society assigns to different occupations in a meritocratic society.