Wednesday, December 19, 2012

CEO’s are the Albatross of the American People.

The Albatross was a sign of good fortune to sailors on the high seas.  Those becalmed and adrift with no wind to move the ship would look for signs of wind.  With a seven foot wingspan an Albatross doesn’t fly far without a lot of wind, very much a good sign for sailors.  But in the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner the albatross is killed, and becomes a symbol of dashed hope, as though killing the bird killed the wind. 

Likewise the overpaid leaders, some of whom lobby congress for cuts out of someone else’s pocket, were once looked to for hope to lead the country but have instead become a dead weight around our necks.
Corporate CEO’s and leaders of large institutions are today's Albatross.  The American People look for second and third jobs to get a little wind under their sails before retirement.  In the past the middle class would look to rich CEO’s, especially the ‘came from nothing’ as the great hope for the future.  But the modern version of that idyllic concept suck up millions of dollars in salary's, return little to the investors in the institutions they work for  and pull millions (if not billions) away from the economy.


It’s fair to say that we can now see why the middle class is losing ground.  Taxation increases while state government pay increases astronomically in the most bankrupt states.
  Tuition jumps 9.7% for students while University presidents make over a million at public school.  Employee wages are stagnating while CEO compensation skyrocketsCompensation is apparently a zero sum game, those at the top take it, and those at the bottom give it up.  The balance sheet of the U.S. has been tilted towards those in power.

When will we learn that these people do not bring us hope?  They hoover up vast amounts of resources and tie them into single balance sheets.  Pay for performance is a scam of those already in power, to hold hostage those who aren’t.  How can you allow a CEO to make 580 times more money than their average employee and keep supporting that company?  Stop eating at Mc Donalds.  Think twice before attending Ohio State University.


This posting written by Ezra McDuffee

1 comment:

  1. Some notable exceptions; Bill Garth who started and ran Compugraphic Corp, Jerry Sanders who started, ran, and always rewarded loyalty at AMD, Bill Hewlett and David Packard, Bill Hambrick of H&Q, Robert Noyce of Intel and many others from a previous generation. You may not love every thing they did, but they brought jobs and changed America for the better. Their reach far exceeded their grasp. Their efforts were different than what is described above.

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