Have Mores
What is the current disparity ratio between CEO salaries, and those of the guys in the mailroom? I can’t get this question out of my mind. I do not have any stats to sift through on this, but I would really like to know what the ratio is today, what it was ten years ago, and what it was twenty years ago. I would like to see a breakdown by Presidential terms. How much more did CEOs make when Kennedy was president? When Carter was president? Reagan? Big Bush, little bush?
Where does it end?
Maybe it is because I have a family to feed now that I find this disparity in the classes in the US sickening. Do the CEOs of US companies really need to live like Saudi princes? Is it acceptable that the CEO of a company takes home hundreds of millions while the guy in the mailroom works two jobs just to feed his kids?
Am I just getting old? Bitter? Hasn’t this canyon between the Haves and the Have Nots grown enough?
July 20th, 2004 at 8:24 pm
Preaching to the choir here.
I’ve been trying to figure it out for the longest time. All it does is make me angry and disgusted.
July 20th, 2004 at 9:14 pm
you may not agree with this answer but a simple answer is, “the guy in the mail room chooses to work in the mail room”. He is free to quit, to start his own company, consulting firm, he could go into construction or start a restaurant or whatever. Yes I know there are people for whom that’s not true but for most of us, myself included, the fact that I make less than the boss or CEO of the company I work for basically comes down to me being too lazy or to scared to go do my own thing even though I have tons of ideas. I choose instead to waste hours a week on my website or have kids and play with them or argue about stuff on the net or go to the movies etc or out with friends.
The CEO most likeky chose differently. To get her MBA, to smooze with the right people. To spend all her time getting the position.
In general I believe that’s true. Now if someone could just give me the productivity virus I could some day be a rich CEO.