We had a little more rain in the middle of the night which is a good thing since we're still facing a moisture deficit. Our valley is always magical after a rain.
This morning I got reminded of the topic that I had planned to discuss on Thursday morning. An article, "For Leading Exxon to Its Riches, $144,573 a Day," in today's NY Times brought home the complete greed of many Fortune 500 CEOs. You don't even have to read the article to understand how out of whack that kind of riches are at a time when there is a growing divide between the rich and poor in America.
This article follows an editorial in the Times, "A Cozy Arrangement."
Last Sunday The Times reported that in 2004, the average top executive at a big company earned 170 times the average worker's pay. These executives receive a dizzying combination of salaries, bonuses and stock grants. And their perks can go far beyond the use of a company car to even include infusions of cash to offset the taxes everyone else is expected to pay.
My guess is that the only reason these executives get this much money is because they can. We've created a culture where more is always better, and the obscenity of one person having this kind of money doesn't mean anything to the CEOs because they believe they're above the law. I can still remember the tales at the Apple campus that Steve Jobs drove a Mercedes S500 with no license plate. Can you imagine a normal human being getting away with a car with no license plate?
We have to stop putting these executives on pedestals. We actually need to start looking down upon them.
Many of these large corporations have no morals. They do what is good for the corporation and ignore any responsibility to their employees and the countries where they operate. Customers more and more are at the mercy of these corporations. As long as the products are good, the companies survive in this special world where they can move production where they want, hide profits if necessary, and discard workers at the drop of hat unless of course they operate in France.
There has to be a balance between the French way and the American way which gives corporations the freedom to operate but holds them more accountable for their actions. Perhaps the first thing we need to do is tax these CEOs to the point that they don't have to worry about spending more more money than is possible. We could take the taxes from CEOs and create opportunity funds for small companies which actually care about their communities.
The Wisteria is blooming, the Walnut trees are getting their leaves and spring continues it march across the valley just as the multi-national corporations continue their conquering march around the world. One of these days there'll only be one company, and it will be called Taco Bell. I think there was a movie about that.
I agree that this out-of-control compensation.
However, you and I know that corporations are there to please the stock holders and could not care less about the jobs and/or the people. Its a bad situation and I don't know how to fix it.
AL
Posted by: Al | April 15, 2006 at 11:40 PM