Poor CEOs cannot live on $500,000 a year

[bluestarultor]

Look, I'm not saying it's right or that I in any way agree, but I AM saying I can a least see why they're bitching. Nobody likes losing their standard of living.

Twiddy, your mother is living proof that America does offer social mobility, and that's something that everyone can be thankful for. She's earned it. But you can't tell me that people who have money to start with don't have a head start on making more, and I highly doubt that you mom has absolutely no connections now that she's in the professional world. I mean, obviously, she's not spending her time milking cows or harvesting corn, and while she might still have friends who are, those aren't the people who have the most bearing on her career. I'm willing to bet she has connections with other medical professionals now, be they doctors, pharmacists, or hospital management of some sort. In the business world, you have to shmooze at least a little.


Edit: P.S. I realize my little anecdote was on the extreme end. It was meant to be. Helps drive the point better. Trust me when I say I was considering making it far worse with things like cat food and a rat-infested hole of an apartment, but I figured that would just tick people off.

[Jagos]

Besides personally I think politicians are far worse. Atleast CEOs work more then 20 days a year. I mean why does the president need several hundred thousand a year, not only was he rich before hand (like all the previous ones) but he doesn't pay for housing, utilities, security, transportation, heck I'm pretty sure he doesn't even buy his own food.

What's really sad is the fact that it's mainly government that caused this in the first place. To ask them to fix it or for Congress to take a paycut from their $169,000 a year jobs when they can VOTE for a pay raise, practically anytime they want, is just someone deluding themselves that Congress is made up of people who care about us.

[Mondt]

Blue, I think "The government won't give me enough money to meet social class standards" is an okay excuse to not meet social class standards.

I mean, what, are they going to become the laughingstock of Richy-McRicherrichsonville because they aren't allowed to make enough money to be quite that rich? If all they are upholding is an image, then I doubt it. However, if there is other business going on that maybe shouldn't (Or should, I guess, but that's not the point I'm making)? Yeah, it would be an issue.

[The Wizard Who Did It]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

Twiddy, your mother is living proof that America does offer social mobility, and that's something that everyone can be thankful for. She's earned it. But you can't tell me that people who have money to start with don't have a head start on making more, and I highly doubt that you mom has absolutely no connections now that she's in the professional world. I mean, obviously, she's not spending her time milking cows or harvesting corn, and while she might still have friends who are, those aren't the people who have the most bearing on her career. I'm willing to bet she has connections with other medical professionals now, be they doctors, pharmacists, or hospital management of some sort. In the business world, you have to shmooze at least a little.

Yes, she has connections now, but the connections are in no way related to how she lives/lived or her former standing in society, like what you said. Her connections were gained entirely on merit of her work. And I'm very certain my mom does not belong to a country club, but I guess there's always the possibility that some type of wool has been pulled over my eyes or it just never came up in my 18 years of living at home, aided by how I never asked.

[Aerozord]

Originally Posted by Jagos

What's really sad is the fact that it's mainly government that caused this in the first place. To ask them to fix it or for Congress to take a paycut from their $169,000 a year jobs when they can VOTE for a pay raise, practically anytime they want, is just someone deluding themselves that Congress is made up of people who care about us.

oh not saying it can be fixed, fact is the american people just have to accept that hundreds of millions of dollars go to people that just plain dont need it. Just that in my opinion corporate execs are not the worst offenders of abusing their position

[Kepor]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

I'm well aware that there actually ARE certain things expected out of people of higher classes.

That's certainly true, and one of those expectations is leadership. Complaining of a pay cut in a salary on a scale that most people will never see doesn't win any sympathy points with the public.

Even less so during a recession.

Generally, I think people expect CEO's to act like Warren Buffet; one of the richest men in the world, yet still humble and living (relatively) simply.

[bluestarultor]

Originally Posted by The Wizard Who Did It

Yes, she has connections now, but the connections are in no way related to how she lives/lived or her standing in society, like what you said. Her connections were gained entirely on merit of her work. And I'm very certain my mom does not belong to a country club, but I guess there's always the possibility that some type of wool has been pulled over my eyes or it just never came up in my 18 years of living at home, aided by how I never asked.

I never meant for it to get quite this personal. Everyone is different, of course. But in terms of connections, I wasn't talking about the ones that get you to a place. Those are reserved for old money. The connections I was talking about are the ones like your mom has, which keep you afloat when you get there. To put it this way, if she didn't have friends in the business, it would be harder for her to learn about new medications or procedures, or maybe new diseases cropping up. She could, but she'd have to do a lot more work for it. I might even hazard that some of her connections, or at least some of her earlier ones, were with people she encountered in school one way or another. Professors can be instrumental in placing their students, if they actually know them and can vouch for them. Likewise, she my have tried to keep in contact with some of her classmates and it's possible some of them stuck.

As for country clubs, I was just using that as an example. I assure you, you'd know if she belonged to one, because the entire point is to actually go there in your free time to connect/shmooze/do business on the napkins/whatever. Technically speaking, as far as I've heard, doctors are actually considered upper-middle class, which surprised the heck out of me, but whatever, so that kind of profession is probably on the cusp of that sort of thing? When it comes to CEOs, there's probably a bit less of a divide on who belongs to one and who doesn't.

[Marelo]

Originally Posted by Wigmund

They would then; but how sad is it one has to tie the fates of the richest in a company so directly with the fates of the poorest for this to happen?

Pretty sad, yeah, but a cursory look at human history reveals a lot of pretty sad stuff. I think it's safe to say that we're capable of such depravity, and that working to fix it is better than pretending we're not terrible sentient beings.

Edit: Yeah, I dunno, Blue. Your analogy just doesn't work from our end of things. There's a huge difference between going from 750k to 500k and going from 40k to 20-30k. There's a point at which the actual numbers don't matter for any reasonable concern, and exist solely for bragging rights; and that's what I'm seeing your anecdote as boiling down to. It seems that you think their bragging rights are important for them to do their jobs.

I mean, look at it this way: Say you can play Crysis at 60 fps. Someone comes along and brags about playing at 120 fps. Boo freakin' hoo. You couldn't tell the difference between the two without looking it up. Now, you can, of course, tell the difference between 5 fps and 20 fps.

In the same manner, sure, the people cut to 500k salaries won't be able to afford as many shiny baubles and expansive homes... But how many shiny baubles can they wear in a year? How many expansive homes do they need to occupy from month to month?

Compare that to how much the people in your anecdote need better food and more comfortable living arrangements... I just don't see a proper analogy here.

[Nique]

Basically, this is yanking the CEO's collar further away from the Pure Capitalist line, if anything.

I think that's what I was saying? I think everyone's chomping at the bit here :P

Also; Bluestar, I think the system your describing is sort of the problem though, isn't it? You get more respect/connections based on your money penis rather than how much you help people or how proficient you are in your field? I think there's something not ok with that. I guess I can understand and sympathize with any individual in a high-pressure social situation, but I think that entire attitude about money is just far too askew.

[Jagos]

In the same manner, sure, the people cut to 500k salaries won't be able to afford as many shiny baubles and expansive homes... But how many shiny baubles can they wear in a year? How many expansive homes do they need to occupy from month to month?

For argument's sake, won't this extend the recession?