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Top 20 CEO pay in the S&P 500 is disgusting
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this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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Work Reform
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A place to discuss positive changes that can make work more equitable, and to vent about current practices. We are NOT against work; we just want the fruits of our labor to be recognized better.
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- All workers must be paid a living wage for their labor.
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Absolutely not, the wages for most CEOs are almost irrelevant, the major income for most is from stock, where they are regularly given stock, and have cheap stock options on top of that.
What I'm stating is that they should be paid according to their actual skill set, like other workers. That is according to their education and experience. And not fantastic amounts hundreds or even thousands times more than normal workers. There is no way one person can realistically be worth 100 times a normal worker. CEO is not a unique skillset, which is evident from the fact that most CEOs come from sales. The same place you also get your best con men. Sorry I hope no offense to hardworking salespeople out there.
You know income from stocks is still taxed as income. Everything you said in the first paragraph is still taxed as income.
You may be right in your second paragraph, but in the capitalist economy these companies operate in, that won’t happen, because like I’ve said before, a CEO is paid according to how much additional profit and growth they can bring to the table. At that level it’s not about technical skill but about leadership and forward thinking.
And I do think that a CEO can justifiably earn a lot more than an average worker, especially at a large company because of the personal risk and responsibility that comes with the job role. But only in some cases. Obviously the CEO of shell is not putting themself under more personal risk than the high pressure underwater welder, not by a long shot. And they are probably still paid 50x their salary at least. In a capitalist system, the ones who bring the most value and take the most risk are rewarded the most, that’s just how it is. Is it just? That’s for the individual to decide, but that’s just how it is.
I disagree with much here, but maybe you're onto something with the stock option thing. It would have to be legislated, and the devil's details are legion, but what if?
What if we said, "Your company profits/grosses >$X, then you can't offer executive stock options." Again, devilish details, and it's not realistically passable legislation. But what if major CEOs were thereby forced to look past the next quarter?
I work for a software dev, only 130 of us. Our CEO reports to a board of directors and will tell them quick, "We expect to lose money next year because we're investing in personnel and dialing in tech debt." And it works and the board loves it. (I know this because he shares such things in front of the whole company, every month. And shows us the numbers.)
Crazy thing? Because of his forward thinking, we keep making more money, even when we expect to lose. Nuts how that works out. :)