But using others' low pay to justify not raising workers' salaries doesn't get to the debate's merits. It's a little like saying "All the other kids are doing it."

Harvard can do better.

Spending for higher wages also means more of an investment in the community--not just in terms of the boost in basic consumer spending that will result but in terms of providing healthy, fulfilling lives for the city's workers.

These often represent a greater return for the Cambridge area than a new building can provide. It is true that projects such as Shad Hall and The Inn at Harvard (another expensive venture union officials complain about) create jobs. Union officials should admit this more freely. But investing in higher wages creates benefits as well--and the administration seems to ignore these benefits.

In addition, we should not forget that 83 percent of the union members are women. The administration has the audacity to use the national differential in men's and women's pay to try to neutralize this as an issue. Nationally, women earn an average of about 70 percent of what men do. This should be a reason for Harvard to move forward with pay raises, not remain in the same place.

What about the not-so-wealthy Harvard faculties? How will they afford the pay raises? For schools such as the Graduate School of Design, the issue is not as simple as redirecting a small portion of fund-raising dollars from expensive projects to workers' salaries. Some deans simply don't have that luxury.

That's where Rudenstine and Green come in. Again, we're talking about small amounts when the $3.2 million raise is split among all the faculties. Whereas the wealthier schools should finance the raise on their own, the central administration should earmark a tiny portion (say, three-quarters of one percent) of the upcoming $2 billion capital campaign to pay for the raise for the smaller faculties.

An institution as wealthy as Harvard has the luxury of affording most of what it needs and much of what it wants. In this case, if Harvard prioritizes correctly, it can afford the pay raise. The clerical and technical workers are worth it.