Oak Ridge
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 6168 |
quote:
Originally posted by jason2579
Joe I got a ? I want a republican view on this. I'm democrat although my views are not necessarly the same as other democrats. How much is a enough ? How much do think a person rather working class or college educated business man needs to live on. How much? Don't get me wrong i believe some people should make more do to education or skill of the work their doing but how much is enough. Now before everyone goes crazy let me make this clear. I don't believe in hand outs. I believe if you put a honest days work in you should get a honest days pay and i don't believe a honest days pay is below the cost of living. I don't believe CEO and such should earn 10's of millions of dollars but i believe they should earn more than a laborer. I believe that everyone should have to pay their fair share in taxes no one should get a break. I believe their should be welfare, immigration reform. I believe if you haven't worked or earned for a hand up your not entitled for a hand out. I believe our veterans and retirees should be taking care of. I believe the government should do what they can to keep jobs here. But i also believe a lot these companies get themselves in trouble by paying out these CEO and GM's ungodly amounts of money just the same as sports teams pay out dumb salaries for players. So what would be comfortable amount for someone to live on of course i understand each state here is different.. Or should it be that people that build make assemble bust their knuckles making these products building homes laying concrete go living below cost of living while those in power of these companies keep on living well beyond their means.
I don't know that I have a "republican" answer, but I can give you the best "common sense" answer that I can. I've stated before that I am an independent voter not affiliated with either party, but I probably lean a little right of center in my beliefs.
I will try to answer your question, but in order to do so, I want to ask you a few questions and allow you to form your own opinion.
First off, why should there be a "ceiling"? I know a couple of folks that are Vice-Presidents of large, multi-billion dollar companies that are publicly traded on the stock market. Both of them have not only Bachelor degrees, they also both have Master's degrees in business. I don't have exact figures, but they both graduated from college with close to $100,000 in education debt. After college they found "entry level" positions in their respective companies and as the "cream of the crop" both of them rose to the top quickly. They worked hard as salaried employees. They were young, inexperienced, and both were raising families buying modest homes, and paying off student loans.
Soon, as they proved themselves to be "above average" they were given new opportunities in the companies. The hours got long, the responsibilities got heavy, and the pay got better along the way. One traveled and was on the road 40 weeks of the year. He was at the time leading the bidding and negotiations with the companies US Military business. His success or failure meant that a couple thousand folks in the companies Military Contract branch got to keep their job, and the stockholders found value in owning the stock. As time went on, he wasn't working 40 hours a week, he was working 75 or 80 hours a week. When he wasn't at work, he was on the golf course with some one star general....playing golf and discussing business. Without going into every detail of how his life progressed, know that he was dedicating nearly every waking moment to his job, to his career, and to his future. What little time he had left was devoted to his family. Now notice, he had NO time left for himself.
Through a series of promotions, this friend kept moving up in the company, and with each promotion his salary got larger, but so did his responsibility....the number of people that depended on him making the "right call", to continue to ensure that the company was profitable and successful got larger. And with each promotion the expectations from the folks that he answered too get larger and more detailed.
Now, having said all of that...in reality his salary has indeed gone up. But with added responsibility, added time on the job, and added expectations should be rewaded. Such is the life of the VP, CEO, COO, CIO and any other corporate officer. The thought process is that you want to attract the "best of the best" and being a corporate officer means that you don't have a job, you have devoted your entire life to the company. You NEVER clock out...You NEVER clock in. You are at work all of the time.
I had one of those jobs once, and I can remember getting up from the table on Thanksgiving and checking email, and on Christmas I went in to work to relieve the folks that were working for me so they could go home and be with their families.
Companies that pay corporate officers large sums of money don't "get themselves into trouble" by paying those large sums...they get into trouble paying THE WRONG people those large sums. Most of the time, those large salaries are actually mostly bonus and/or stock options. They are a reward for doing a good job. They normally come with "golden parachutes" that are put in place to ensure that if I come in and "save" your company...your gonna pay me to do so...and if I do my job, you can't just "let me go" once the danger is passed. Or the board can't decide to merge with another company and sell out...leaving me without a job.
Time for another question. Do you know what you call a Dr. that graduates at the bottom of his class? You call him Dr. ....that is what you call him. An education does not make you successful, and taking a job does not make you a worker. I still believe that this is the land of the free and the home of the brave. There is opportunity for anyone that is willing to work for it, recognizes that opportunity is knocking, and is willing to do the work to "get up and answer the door".
If someone is stuck in a job working "below the cost of living"...they choose to continue doing so. By showing that you have value as a worker, that you are willing to take on more responsibility, start your own business, or move up the corporate ladder, the opportunity is there. But nobody will ever want the responsibility of running a company if there is a "limit" or ceiling on how much they can make in doing so.
__________________
Joe Newlin
UKC Cur Advocate
Home of Oak Ridge Kennels
Report this post to a moderator | IP: Logged
|
11-17-2012 09:33 PM
