Group of tech execs rallies 'round Bush

TalkBack 32 of 86:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

You don't work for a builder, do you?

My wife works for a company where the CEO also made $90 million last year. When are market "efficiencies" and "productivity" going to hit CEOs?

This pretty much sums it up:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18672

HIGHTOWER: Riches Flow Uphill
By Jim Hightower, AlterNet
May 11, 2004

As Ray Charles sang, "Them that's got is them that gets" ? and the getting was very, very good for those at the top in 2003.

Forbes magazine's annual survey of wealth reports that there are now 587 lucky souls living in Billionaireville, up 10 percent over the previous count. These wealthiest of the wealthy added half a trillion dollars to their personal stash of lucre last year. Among this group of swells are the Waltons ? the reigning heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. Interestingly, the company that profits by paying poverty wages to its employees, returns a king's ransom to those at the top ? Forbes reports that of the 10 richest people on the planet, five are Waltons, each one sitting atop $20 billion in Wal-Mart booty.

Then there are the CEOs who lavish corporate cash on themselves. These dandies now average nearly $11 million in annual pay ? even as they downsize their workforce, cut healthcare and pensions for the people who do the work, and ship our country's best-paying jobs off to foreign shores.

Numero uno in corporate pay last year was Sandy Weill, head of Citigroup. He only worked nine months of the year before retiring in October, but he pocketed $30 million in salary. Let's see: $30 million divided by nine months... wow, that's $111,000 a day!, and that doesn't count the $14.7 million he took in "other compensation." But wait, Sandy got even more in '03 for he cashed in some $285 million worth of stock he'd been awarded.

Well, say apologists for this system of royal pay, such is the way the free market works. Horsefeathers. The supply of potential CEOs is huge, and the number of slots is very small, so if the free market really were at work, CEOs would be making an honest wage. But the system isn't honest ? the pay of top bosses is set by board members hand-picked by you-know-who: The top bosses.

Money flows uphill not because of merit, but because the system is rigged by those at the top.


Jim Hightower is the best-selling author of 'Thieves In High Places: They've Stolen Our Country And It's Time To Take It Back,' on sale now from Viking Press.

Posted by: ordaj@...   Posted on: 05/18/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now
• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now
• The True Costs of Virtual Server Solutions VMware In an economic environment that is repeatedly heralding the message "do ... Download Now