4 ms·

What a company pays their CEO doesn't have anything to do with you (unless of course you're a stockholder).

by insertnickname 10y ago

eternalban 10y ago
Well, something. The hypothetical company exists in a society.
- insertnickname 10y ago
  Sure, but it's still none of anyone else' business.
  - mfisher87 10y ago
    So what you're saying is that a business can not negatively impact the society it exists in in any way, so shut the hell up with your criticism? I'm glad you're here to enhance this conversation.
  - jasonwatkinspdx 10y ago
    It's a public company.
- refurb 10y ago
  Everything exists in society. If that's the filter you'd like to use, then be prepared for the gov't having a lot more say about how you run your life.
untog 10y ago
That doesn't mean you can't have an opinion on it. And I'd wager it does have something to do with many people. CEO salary increases don't happen in a bubble - there has been an unprecedented increase in them while income growth in the middle class has stagnated horribly.
- ericd 10y ago
  Blame globalization for that, not absurd CEO pay. There are now many people that are willing to do what were blue collar and middle class jobs for much, much less, and they'll do it just as well. There are fewer and fewer natural reasons for companies to pay US workers the premium they command.
  - trhway 10y ago
    How globalization isn't applicable to CEO?
    - ericd 10y ago
      At least partly because it's a very rare and specialized skillset - you basically have to have run large divisions in large companies or other large organizations, or been the CEO of a smaller company to be considered for the top spot at one of the large companies that pay these outlandish sums. A good CEO can be worth an incredible amount of money to a large company, which is why they command such amazing pay. Just think, how much is it worth to Apple to have Steve Jobs as CEO vs. someone else? His leadership helped add hundreds of billions of dollars to their market cap. Naturally, the owners of the company are going to be willing to pay him a lot to help keep his interest. CEOs are a popular scapegoat because they're easy to identify and their rewards are outsized, but they're not the actual problem, and it's counterproductive to focus on their compensation.
- heptathorp 10y ago
  > CEO salary increases don't happen in a bubble - there has been an unprecedented increase in them while income growth in the middle class has stagnated horribly. Since you bring up stagnating wages, it sounds like you are suggesting that the reason middle class workers aren't being paid more is because the money is going to bigger CEO pay. Do you think that if the CEO was paid less, then that money would go to the workers? Because it wouldn't, it would go towards higher profits for the company and so more money for the shareholders. The shareholders, who ultimately decide how much the CEO gets paid. This is the problem some of us have with debates about CEO compensation. It ultimately boils down to complaining about how people choose to spend their own money.
XJOKOLAT 10y ago
My own and many other pension plans will have bought into many of these companies. We are all indirect stockholders. The success and failure (including how poor performing CEO's are remunerated) of top companies directly impacts my finances and indirectly affects my business enviroment and direction of the country. Not to mention simple freedom of speech around a public company. Yes, it does have something to do with me. And yes, I will have an opinion.

What a company pays their CEO doesn't have anything to do with you (unless of course you're a stockholder).

eternalban 10y ago

Well, something. The hypothetical company exists in a society.

insertnickname 10y ago
Sure, but it's still none of anyone else' business.
- mfisher87 10y ago
  So what you're saying is that a business can not negatively impact the society it exists in in any way, so shut the hell up with your criticism? I'm glad you're here to enhance this conversation.
- jasonwatkinspdx 10y ago
  It's a public company.
refurb 10y ago
Everything exists in society. If that's the filter you'd like to use, then be prepared for the gov't having a lot more say about how you run your life.

untog 10y ago

That doesn't mean you can't have an opinion on it. And I'd wager it does have something to do with many people. CEO salary increases don't happen in a bubble - there has been an unprecedented increase in them while income growth in the middle class has stagnated horribly.

ericd 10y ago
Blame globalization for that, not absurd CEO pay. There are now many people that are willing to do what were blue collar and middle class jobs for much, much less, and they'll do it just as well. There are fewer and fewer natural reasons for companies to pay US workers the premium they command.
- trhway 10y ago
  How globalization isn't applicable to CEO?
  - ericd 10y ago
    At least partly because it's a very rare and specialized skillset - you basically have to have run large divisions in large companies or other large organizations, or been the CEO of a smaller company to be considered for the top spot at one of the large companies that pay these outlandish sums. A good CEO can be worth an incredible amount of money to a large company, which is why they command such amazing pay. Just think, how much is it worth to Apple to have Steve Jobs as CEO vs. someone else? His leadership helped add hundreds of billions of dollars to their market cap. Naturally, the owners of the company are going to be willing to pay him a lot to help keep his interest. CEOs are a popular scapegoat because they're easy to identify and their rewards are outsized, but they're not the actual problem, and it's counterproductive to focus on their compensation.
heptathorp 10y ago
> CEO salary increases don't happen in a bubble - there has been an unprecedented increase in them while income growth in the middle class has stagnated horribly. Since you bring up stagnating wages, it sounds like you are suggesting that the reason middle class workers aren't being paid more is because the money is going to bigger CEO pay. Do you think that if the CEO was paid less, then that money would go to the workers? Because it wouldn't, it would go towards higher profits for the company and so more money for the shareholders. The shareholders, who ultimately decide how much the CEO gets paid. This is the problem some of us have with debates about CEO compensation. It ultimately boils down to complaining about how people choose to spend their own money.

XJOKOLAT 10y ago

My own and many other pension plans will have bought into many of these companies. We are all indirect stockholders. The success and failure (including how poor performing CEO's are remunerated) of top companies directly impacts my finances and indirectly affects my business enviroment and direction of the country. Not to mention simple freedom of speech around a public company. Yes, it does have something to do with me. And yes, I will have an opinion.