According to a recent report by the New Economics Foundation, hospital cleaners in England are worth more to society than City bankers, because many low-paid workers increase the wellbeing of the nation more than the high-flying and much better-paid financial-sector staff.
The report found that those who work as advertising executives, tax advisors destroy value, while hospital cleaners, childcare workers, and staff in the waste-recycling industry gave more to the country than they took out.
The Foundation calculated how much someone would be paid in relation to the value they create by measuring things like conventional economic returns and environmental impacts. The report argues that high pay is often generated by businesses that destroy other parts of the economy or fail to pay the full costs of their activities.
source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/14/new-economics-foundation-social-value as quoted in http://conscious-capitalism.blogspot.com/search/label/Mindful%20economy