4 ms·

While you pay into your 401k, CEOs collect $250k in monthly pension payments

71 points by qsymmachus 9y ago

Top19 9y ago
Such a shame reading news like this. I’d like to point out that this isn’t really even a conservative vs liberal view anymore, regarding corporate greed, corporate malpractice, etc. Even Steve Bannon has said this. While we definitely will always have culture battles to fight between both parties, the reality is the Republican Party was essentially “captured” by the Koch Brothers starting in the 1980’s, and it made it drastically shift to the right on corporate issues. The Tea Party, which in the end is a force for good (really shocked me to write that), was able to internally destroy the Republican Party and thus undo most of it’s absurd corporate agenda, but by that time Citizen’s United has passed and perhaps half of the corporate shills or so fled to the Democratic Party, which is now also captured. In conclusion, it will be the extreme wings of both parties, Tea Party on the right and Socialists on the left, that will save the economic system, but this solution wasn’t ideal and there could have been a better way.
- beepboopbeep 9y ago
  The tea party was an infection that just inflamed the worst aspects of the GOP. That frothing, screaming mass of ignorance was wielded like a big fat mace by the GOP to completely disrupt and destroy precedent and civility. It turned into the fascistic monster it is today. The Democrats are simply the party of miscellaneous now.
- Oxitendwe 9y ago
  I found this comment very fascinating and would love to learn more about the recent history of the two major American political parties, do you have any suggestions for literature on this topic?
  - Top19 9y ago
    This book by a couple of very good liberal sociologists (whose other work I also recommend): The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PS3CFM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PS3CFM The most fascinating part was probably that Tea Party individuals actually adopted and modified a lot of liberal tactics, specifically those from the book “Rules for Radicals”. Now we see a trend where liberals and people like the Democratic Socialists of America are adopting those modified tactics BACK INTO the Democratic Party.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  The Tea Party was itself a Koch funded operation, and has not, in fact, destroyed the Republican Party’s corporate crony capitalist agenda (which has been highly visible under Trump, even when Bannon was near the center of power) though that movement and related develooments create liud, highly visible distractions behind which Republicans continue to advance that agenda. > agenda, but by that time Citizen’s United has passed and perhaps half of the corporate shills or so fled to the Democratic Party, which is now also captured. The height of pro-corporate domination of the Democratic Party was before Citizens United; the neoliberal wing of the party, while still dominant, has been losing ground for some time. You seem to echo a lot of the propaganda that Bannon likes to put out, but you shouldn't mistake it for fact.
- gertef 9y ago
  What does private companies' compensation plans have to do with the government or Republicans?
mywittyname 9y ago
> Why such a sweet deal? Obviously it’s no easy task running a major corporation, so a commensurately meaty paycheck is to be expected. Statements like this really grate on me. Corporations large enough to afford seven-figure annual salaries already have dozens, if not hundreds of great, capable employees that could do at least as good a job as these guys for 100th of the cost. The obscene salaries are purely the result of collusion.
- dilemma 9y ago
  Ever been in senior management?
- VeronicaJJ123 9y ago
  Are you saying the company should prioritize reducing CEO salary by finding a "potential" cheap guy over someone who is already doing a good job ? Din't Ben and Jerry tried something like this and nearly killed their company twice ?
  - mywittyname 9y ago
    No, I'm saying that CEOs aren't beings with magical powers. Any company of a sufficient size is bound to have a number of people within their ranks that could fill the CEO role. CEOs justify their high salaries by claiming they are one-of-a-kind individuals. I'm saying this claim is probably BS and that any sizable company is filled with people who are capable of performing at the level of most of these executive candidates. The fact that the company would also save money is just a nice side-effect.
scrumper 9y ago
CEO? Why bother with the MBA? You can pull that kind of scratch (and more) down being a librarian in New York City, or an educator upstate, or a firefighter. http://seethroughny.net/pensions/ http://seethroughny.net/pensions/ Or if you fancy over half a million a year, just be a retired history professor. EDIT: I'm an order of magnitude out. $250k/_month_ in TFA. I misread that.

71 points by qsymmachus 9y ago

Such a shame reading news like this. I’d like to point out that this isn’t really even a conservative vs liberal view anymore, regarding corporate greed, corporate malpractice, etc. Even Steve Bannon has said this. While we definitely will always have culture battles to fight between both parties, the reality is the Republican Party was essentially “captured” by the Koch Brothers starting in the 1980’s, and it made it drastically shift to the right on corporate issues. The Tea Party, which in the end is a force for good (really shocked me to write that), was able to internally destroy the Republican Party and thus undo most of it’s absurd corporate agenda, but by that time Citizen’s United has passed and perhaps half of the corporate shills or so fled to the Democratic Party, which is now also captured. In conclusion, it will be the extreme wings of both parties, Tea Party on the right and Socialists on the left, that will save the economic system, but this solution wasn’t ideal and there could have been a better way.

beepboopbeep 9y ago
The tea party was an infection that just inflamed the worst aspects of the GOP. That frothing, screaming mass of ignorance was wielded like a big fat mace by the GOP to completely disrupt and destroy precedent and civility. It turned into the fascistic monster it is today. The Democrats are simply the party of miscellaneous now.
Oxitendwe 9y ago
I found this comment very fascinating and would love to learn more about the recent history of the two major American political parties, do you have any suggestions for literature on this topic?
- Top19 9y ago
  This book by a couple of very good liberal sociologists (whose other work I also recommend): The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PS3CFM https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005PS3CFM The most fascinating part was probably that Tea Party individuals actually adopted and modified a lot of liberal tactics, specifically those from the book “Rules for Radicals”. Now we see a trend where liberals and people like the Democratic Socialists of America are adopting those modified tactics BACK INTO the Democratic Party.
dragonwriter 9y ago
The Tea Party was itself a Koch funded operation, and has not, in fact, destroyed the Republican Party’s corporate crony capitalist agenda (which has been highly visible under Trump, even when Bannon was near the center of power) though that movement and related develooments create liud, highly visible distractions behind which Republicans continue to advance that agenda. > agenda, but by that time Citizen’s United has passed and perhaps half of the corporate shills or so fled to the Democratic Party, which is now also captured. The height of pro-corporate domination of the Democratic Party was before Citizens United; the neoliberal wing of the party, while still dominant, has been losing ground for some time. You seem to echo a lot of the propaganda that Bannon likes to put out, but you shouldn't mistake it for fact.
gertef 9y ago
What does private companies' compensation plans have to do with the government or Republicans?

mywittyname 9y ago

> Why such a sweet deal? Obviously it’s no easy task running a major corporation, so a commensurately meaty paycheck is to be expected. Statements like this really grate on me. Corporations large enough to afford seven-figure annual salaries already have dozens, if not hundreds of great, capable employees that could do at least as good a job as these guys for 100th of the cost. The obscene salaries are purely the result of collusion.

dilemma 9y ago
Ever been in senior management?
VeronicaJJ123 9y ago
Are you saying the company should prioritize reducing CEO salary by finding a "potential" cheap guy over someone who is already doing a good job ? Din't Ben and Jerry tried something like this and nearly killed their company twice ?
- mywittyname 9y ago
  No, I'm saying that CEOs aren't beings with magical powers. Any company of a sufficient size is bound to have a number of people within their ranks that could fill the CEO role. CEOs justify their high salaries by claiming they are one-of-a-kind individuals. I'm saying this claim is probably BS and that any sizable company is filled with people who are capable of performing at the level of most of these executive candidates. The fact that the company would also save money is just a nice side-effect.

scrumper 9y ago

CEO? Why bother with the MBA? You can pull that kind of scratch (and more) down being a librarian in New York City, or an educator upstate, or a firefighter. http://seethroughny.net/pensions/ http://seethroughny.net/pensions/ Or if you fancy over half a million a year, just be a retired history professor. EDIT: I'm an order of magnitude out. $250k/_month_ in TFA. I misread that.