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> And executives That is the key. Executives are taking the lion's share. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/heres-how-much-ceo-pay-has-increased-compared-to-you

by kartan 8y ago

> And executives That is the key. Executives are taking the lion's share. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/heres-how-much-ceo-pay-has-increased-compared-to-yours-over-the-years.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/heres-how-much-ceo-pay-has-i...

pathseeker 8y ago
Pedantic nit: they aren't taking the lion's share, they are just taking a much larger share. CEO pay makes up a small fraction of total pay given to all employees so it's not "the lion's share".
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- perfmode 8y ago
  what qualifies as a lions share?
  - Mtinie 8y ago
    > what qualifies as a lions share? If you follow Phaedrus's telling[0], introduced as "Partnership with the mighty is never trustworthy" -- all of it: "I take the first portion because of my title, since I am addressed as king; the second portion you will assign to me, since I’m your partner; then because I am the stronger, the third will follow me; and an accident will happen to anyone who touches the fourth." Other versions from around the world typically have the lion taking a majority of whatever is being divided, and whenever possible, everything. --- [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_share#The_Phaedrus_version https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_share#The_Phaedrus_ve...
  - Consultant32452 8y ago
    The better question, in my opinion, is what qualifies as a "CEO?" The article makes it clear that they just cherry-picked the top paid 350 CEOs in the country. But there's nearly a quarter million CEOs in the US.
    - cannonedhamster 8y ago
      The article states it's the largest 350 company CEOs. Probably based on https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-compensation-surged-in-2017/ https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-compensation-surged-in-2...
Veelox 8y ago
One thing that article doesn't touch on, if we returned ceo pay to 1978 average of 30:1, how much of a raise would that give each employee?
- airstrike 8y ago
  In 1978, China wasn't what it is now. Wages for workers has stagnated in the US but not abroad. Or do you propose returning Chinese workers' wages to 1978 levels in order to afford restoring American wages?
  - jlawson 8y ago
    Not necessary. The economy isn't a zero-sum game. There is more wealth to go around now than in 1978.
    - M_Bakhtiari 8y ago
      > Not necessary. The economy isn't a zero-sum game. There is more wealth to go around now than in 1978. True, but it's been increasingly overvalued since the middle ages with the liberalisation of compound interest. That particular activity is zero sum and will concentrate wealth in one end until real wealth generation (farming, mining and refining of the results of the former two) becomes infeasible. Right now it's Venezuela, my bet is South Africa being next. Europe in our lifetime.
      - airstrike 8y ago
        After reading your comment twice, I think you're somehow blaming the shitstorm that the Chavez / Maduro governments brought upon their own country on the liberalization of compound interest, but I can't fathom how you'd conclude that, so I'd love for you to correct my understanding of your comment.
  - jacobolus 8y ago
    Pretty sure if you reduced executive pay to being no more than 30:1 where the 1 is a typical Chinese unskilled labor salary, the executives would be even less happy about it.
Consultant32452 8y ago
That article is about the top paid 350 CEOs in a country where there are nearly a quarter million CEOs. Do you have any stats on how CEO pay has actually changed on average?
M_Bakhtiari 8y ago
But what motivates the board to pay the executives so much? Either the board is corrupt and is wasting company money on their executive buddies and the shareholders ought to discipline the board (and perhaps putting some salt-of-the-earth workers on it may be a good way to do that, but certainly no silver bullet), or they pay what they need to keep the executives from jumping ship and go work for a competitor, and they are in fact not overpaid. I suspect there are companies that fit in either category.
- cannonedhamster 8y ago
  Typically boards and executives at top companies are a very insular group. I.E. you have to know someone to be someone. Same as the mob except greedier.

by kartan 8y ago

pathseeker 8y ago

Pedantic nit: they aren't taking the lion's share, they are just taking a much larger share. CEO pay makes up a small fraction of total pay given to all employees so it's not "the lion's share".

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
perfmode 8y ago
what qualifies as a lions share?
- Mtinie 8y ago
  > what qualifies as a lions share? If you follow Phaedrus's telling[0], introduced as "Partnership with the mighty is never trustworthy" -- all of it: "I take the first portion because of my title, since I am addressed as king; the second portion you will assign to me, since I’m your partner; then because I am the stronger, the third will follow me; and an accident will happen to anyone who touches the fourth." Other versions from around the world typically have the lion taking a majority of whatever is being divided, and whenever possible, everything. --- [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_share#The_Phaedrus_version https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion%27s_share#The_Phaedrus_ve...
- Consultant32452 8y ago
  The better question, in my opinion, is what qualifies as a "CEO?" The article makes it clear that they just cherry-picked the top paid 350 CEOs in the country. But there's nearly a quarter million CEOs in the US.
  - cannonedhamster 8y ago
    The article states it's the largest 350 company CEOs. Probably based on https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-compensation-surged-in-2017/ https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-compensation-surged-in-2...

Veelox 8y ago

One thing that article doesn't touch on, if we returned ceo pay to 1978 average of 30:1, how much of a raise would that give each employee?

airstrike 8y ago
In 1978, China wasn't what it is now. Wages for workers has stagnated in the US but not abroad. Or do you propose returning Chinese workers' wages to 1978 levels in order to afford restoring American wages?
- jlawson 8y ago
  Not necessary. The economy isn't a zero-sum game. There is more wealth to go around now than in 1978.
  - M_Bakhtiari 8y ago
    > Not necessary. The economy isn't a zero-sum game. There is more wealth to go around now than in 1978. True, but it's been increasingly overvalued since the middle ages with the liberalisation of compound interest. That particular activity is zero sum and will concentrate wealth in one end until real wealth generation (farming, mining and refining of the results of the former two) becomes infeasible. Right now it's Venezuela, my bet is South Africa being next. Europe in our lifetime.
    - airstrike 8y ago
      After reading your comment twice, I think you're somehow blaming the shitstorm that the Chavez / Maduro governments brought upon their own country on the liberalization of compound interest, but I can't fathom how you'd conclude that, so I'd love for you to correct my understanding of your comment.
- jacobolus 8y ago
  Pretty sure if you reduced executive pay to being no more than 30:1 where the 1 is a typical Chinese unskilled labor salary, the executives would be even less happy about it.

Consultant32452 8y ago

That article is about the top paid 350 CEOs in a country where there are nearly a quarter million CEOs. Do you have any stats on how CEO pay has actually changed on average?

M_Bakhtiari 8y ago

But what motivates the board to pay the executives so much? Either the board is corrupt and is wasting company money on their executive buddies and the shareholders ought to discipline the board (and perhaps putting some salt-of-the-earth workers on it may be a good way to do that, but certainly no silver bullet), or they pay what they need to keep the executives from jumping ship and go work for a competitor, and they are in fact not overpaid. I suspect there are companies that fit in either category.

cannonedhamster 8y ago
Typically boards and executives at top companies are a very insular group. I.E. you have to know someone to be someone. Same as the mob except greedier.