I should pay my plumber more than my neurosurgeon

Yumabev made a joke about one of my posts on twitter, that I've been mulling over for a few days.

@yopd1 I know what u mean, my DBS surgeon got paid $1500 for drilling holes in my head & my neighbor paid $2500 for a plumber to fix a leak
— Parkinson's Humor (@YumaBev) December 9, 2013

After a few days, I realized, no shit, her plumber should be making more.  You see, when you get a bill from the hospital, it is usually includes everything, including that $20 aspirin that they charged you 5 times for, but you only took once.  But I digress.

Included in that bill is the amount that the neurosurgeon is paid for the 5 hours of surgery that he performed on my head.  However, the neurosurgeon is only being paid for his time.  He didn't bring in a scalpel, anesthesia, gloves, gowns, let alone the actual device that was implanted in my head.

When you pay your plumber, you are paying for everything, including all of his overhead and expenses.  The better question is after the plumber paid for vehicle expenses to get to your home, parts, a staff at the office to take your appointment, all the inventory he/she has to carry, let alone all the specialized equipment he/she had to buy and maintain, what is he taking home at the end of the day and what is the neurosurgeon.  I'd say the neurosurgeon is taking home an amount much closer than to $1500 than the plumber is, let alone the $2500.