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This is all about class distinctions. At a certain level they become indistinguishable from aristocracy. The entire premise for paying execs high salaries is t

This is all about class distinctions. At a certain level they become indistinguishable from aristocracy. The entire premise for paying execs high salaries is that they have demanding jobs that few people have the skills to do and the work entails risks which ordinary workers do not take. And this justifies exorbitant pay and lavish bonuses. But the reality is that most of these people have no special talents, and even when they run a company into the ground and hurt people (such as those workers who end up, often, with missing pay, fucked up pensions, and no jobs, etc.) and the businesses they are supposed to be stewarding, they still end up being awarded bonuses.

brianpgordon 8y ago
Skills, yes, and pedigree too to some extent since it's important to the board that shareholders are confident in management. I'm not sure where you're getting "risks which ordinary workers do not take" from though. I don't see that being a part of the equation. It seems particularly strange in the case of oil companies or security or military contractors where workers face actual physical danger on the job.
shados 8y ago
Not just skills, but connections as well as the willingness to essentially leave their normal life behind. Honestly, the skills are the easy part, which is why a lot of people see what they do and think "Welp, I could do this too!".
- lovich 8y ago
  I think you'll find most people would take on this level of stress and change in lifestyle for 5 years to garuntee that they would never have to work again. Additionally it's not like the executive leadership doesn't push stress onto their employees. You've never had or seen a boss pulling in 7 figures emailing their employees earning a fraction of that after midnight and being upset at the lack of response? The executives get this pay because they can. Any argument about it being moral or ethical falls apart when you look at reality
  - shados 8y ago
    > You've never had or seen a boss pulling in 7 figures emailing their employees earning a fraction of that after midnight and being upset at the lack of response? Absolutely. Though my experience is that the exec is in the office too when that happens...and on a 5000, 10000 or more employee company, if the employee is being called on to do that every now and then...multipled by the amount of employees being called to do that every now and then...generally said exec is basically never sleeping (probably why they're so grumpy). And yeah, a lot of people would take the role in a heartbeat when offered.... and cry themselves to death in the bathrooms at every opportunities until they either jump off a bridge or quit. With that being said, a ton of people would do just fine in any of the categories I listed (skill, connection, willingness). What's rare isn't people with one of those things. It's people with all of those things. Having been part of the loop to hire execs, it's really hard. I've seen a lot of people being promoted to those roles who didn't really want it from lack of candidates. And then there's things like board members, who usually get the spot simply because they invested in the company: you own it, you get to run it into the ground if you want to (within legal limits, of course. But that's why they get the spot over someone else). Finally...discrimination aside (and that is certainly a problem when it comes to high positions, and it definitely needs to be fixed), being lucky isn't immoral, IMO.

brianpgordon 8y ago

Skills, yes, and pedigree too to some extent since it's important to the board that shareholders are confident in management. I'm not sure where you're getting "risks which ordinary workers do not take" from though. I don't see that being a part of the equation. It seems particularly strange in the case of oil companies or security or military contractors where workers face actual physical danger on the job.

shados 8y ago

Not just skills, but connections as well as the willingness to essentially leave their normal life behind. Honestly, the skills are the easy part, which is why a lot of people see what they do and think "Welp, I could do this too!".

lovich 8y ago
I think you'll find most people would take on this level of stress and change in lifestyle for 5 years to garuntee that they would never have to work again. Additionally it's not like the executive leadership doesn't push stress onto their employees. You've never had or seen a boss pulling in 7 figures emailing their employees earning a fraction of that after midnight and being upset at the lack of response? The executives get this pay because they can. Any argument about it being moral or ethical falls apart when you look at reality
- shados 8y ago
  > You've never had or seen a boss pulling in 7 figures emailing their employees earning a fraction of that after midnight and being upset at the lack of response? Absolutely. Though my experience is that the exec is in the office too when that happens...and on a 5000, 10000 or more employee company, if the employee is being called on to do that every now and then...multipled by the amount of employees being called to do that every now and then...generally said exec is basically never sleeping (probably why they're so grumpy). And yeah, a lot of people would take the role in a heartbeat when offered.... and cry themselves to death in the bathrooms at every opportunities until they either jump off a bridge or quit. With that being said, a ton of people would do just fine in any of the categories I listed (skill, connection, willingness). What's rare isn't people with one of those things. It's people with all of those things. Having been part of the loop to hire execs, it's really hard. I've seen a lot of people being promoted to those roles who didn't really want it from lack of candidates. And then there's things like board members, who usually get the spot simply because they invested in the company: you own it, you get to run it into the ground if you want to (within legal limits, of course. But that's why they get the spot over someone else). Finally...discrimination aside (and that is certainly a problem when it comes to high positions, and it definitely needs to be fixed), being lucky isn't immoral, IMO.