2 Weeks Notice...

[louishopen]

...of 3 weeks of not posting. There has been a lot going on (politically! My personal life is as boring as ever.), but I have been more concerned with soaking in the info than regurgitating it. Probably not a bad idea... After all, I don't want to turn into a Politico.com commentator

Comments

salaries

[anonymous]

When I think of CEOs driving companies into hte ground -- and then even getting bonuses for it -- I think, "shoot, I don't have ANY business experience, and I am pretty sure I could drive a company into the ground, too, and I can do it cheaper than those rich CEOs."
I often wonder what would happen if we took the drastic step of invoking a universal, set, hourly wage... the barista at Starbucks and the neurosurgeon at the hospital both make, say, thirty bucks an hour. On one hand, I could see an argument that motivation would drop everywhere, and nothing would get accomplished, and that there would be no more neurosurgeons. On the other hand, I could see a world in which there were fewer lawyers and more artists, as people would tend to follow their heart's desires, rather than chasing the gold.

[nine_muses]

What I'd like to know is: why does no one complain about movie stars and sports heros "viewing their own labor as worth 600x the salary of the average American worker"?

A CEO has a lot of responsibility and a lot of hard work every day, which very few people have the talent, experience, and knowledge to do: heading companies that affect millions of consumers, employees, and investors, and even making decisions that affect the economy as a whole. All Simon Cowell did for his $36 MILLION dollar salary last year was make snide comments on some televised talent show, and no one bats an eye at that :)

[louishopen]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I do find most of those salaries pretty appalling. If they were the result of some sort of profit-share, I wouldn't mind so much- provided that everyone else got a fair shake at the proceeds as well. What I find so abhorrent about CEO's salaries is that they are awarded irregardless of the plight of the employees.