If Mothers Got Paid

We all know that mothers are priceless, but there are people out there who actually place a value on what we would be worth if we got paid. NBC did a story about it Monday on the evening news, and I've heard about it other years as well. The "compensation experts" at www.salary.com figure it out based on your location, whether you stay at home or work outside it as well, and the various tasks that a mother performs. Cook, chauffeur, gardener, psychologist, housekeeper, laundress, shopper, referee, accountant, CEO...they rate the value of the job, the hours spent doing it, and what it would cost to outsource the job to someone else.
This year the experts determined that the average stay-at-home mom works 56 hours a week (I think that's low) and would earn $122,732--a 5% increase over last year. They say that a woman who puts in a 40 hour week elsewhere works an additional 17 at home (also low!!) and should be paid $76, 184--an 11% increase over last year.
Since I'm not a full-time mom anymore--just a very low-paid consultant--I went to the "calculator" at www.nightly.msnbc.com and used the Mom Salary Wizard to determine what I would have been worth 20 years ago. I was teaching full-time then and had two kids under 5 years old. The "mom" salary for Westboro, WI would range from $51,834 to $82, 525 today--I would have earned less in the late '80s. But still, those amounts would be considerably more than I earned as a teacher. Those years are such a blur in my memory because I was ALWAYS busy, and I also had to get by on a minimum of sleep. Getting paid for what I did at home wouldn't have changed much, except maybe allow me to hire somebody else to do the jobs I didn't want to do.
Should knowing we are worth so much make us feel valued? Or just resentful that we don't get paid for it? They don't suggest who should be paying us these imaginary salaries. The government? I'm sure all moms could use a stimulus package right now. But is this really a good idea? If there were money involved, mothers everywhere might be lured to different families by "headhunters" who promised them a bigger salary. There would be job evaluations, wage negotiations--maybe even a union: MOM (Moms Owed Money) The next thing you know, your kid would call you and be connected to someone in India asking if they can help.
I can only speak for myself, but I would be willing to do my 22+ years of motherhood all over again without being paid a cent. It's the toughest and most important job in the world--which is why God gave it to women.