March 28, 200917 yr We often hear about the nasty CEOs who get outrageous compensation packages. It seems to really stoke a populist outrage. But I think the interesting flipside is, what do everyday people think should happen with that money? Perhaps they think the companies should pay everyone more. But I rather suspect that if CEOs and other executive compensation comes down, then it will be the anonymous shareholder who will benefit. I suspect that people would be completely ok with the anonymous shareholder making more, but people with 'faces' making it upset them. I had a friend in college who thought it was sort of criminal for people to make a large salary. He couldn't see how it could be justified. At the time, I didn't much care, but thought he had a bit of a point. 20+ years later, I know why. Because people may be created equal, but they don't stay that way. I'm not a CEO (and wouldn't want to be), but I'm good at what I do, and am well paid. It's not that I'm worth 3 or 4 regular workers. That's a false comparison. I'm worth this much because 20 of them couldn't do what I do. Of course, then there is the argument how much that uniqueness is worth, but I think that's probably another thread....
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