How selfish, how unfair

This is the essence of what is wrong with the conservative crap about 'gifts' and the 'irresponsible, lazy 47%'. The majority of that 47% are hard working people who are being stiffed by employers who pay less than subsistence level wages, while being more grossly overpaid at the top end than at any prior time in our economic history, post WW II. 

That pay is not merit based; often it is the executives who have made enormous mistakes who still receive outrageous bonus packages or golden parachutes when they leave. These upper income earners pay taxes at a LOWER rate than their impoverished counterparts. 

From a Virginia Law and Business Review Symposium:

Expert Panel: High Executive Pay Ethically Problematic in Poor Economy

A “winner-take-all” philosophy pervading our culture has resulted in disproportionate executive compensation and has demoralized Americans seeking to improve their economic status, according to Walter Bardenwerper ’76, a panelist at the Fifth Annual Virginia Law & Business Review Symposium.

The symposium, held Friday at the Law School, featured industry experts and scholars examining business ethics and corporate responsibility.

Panelists at a session on salary and bonus formulas discussed the social, ethical, economical and legal aspects of corporate executive compensation.

The panel, moderated by Law School Professor George Rutherglen, also included Professor George Geis, director of the Law School’s Program in Law & Business; William P. Carmichael ’68, chairman of Columbia Funds; and Bardenwerper, vice president, general counsel and secretary of Towers Watson and Company.

The disparity between executive compensation has grown enormously over the past 20 years, according to Geis. One common measure of compensation compares executive pay to that of the average worker.

Twenty years ago, corporate executives were paid 140 times more than their employees. Ten years ago, the number grew from 140 to 500 times that of employees, Geis said. “The question is, ‘What are you getting for what you pay?’” Geis asked.

Panelists discussed how the disparity is particularly conspicuous in light of the recent economic breakdown.

Bardenwerper called the salary disparity “a rending of the social fabric.” Carmichael pointed to a decrease in morale among employees and especially stockholders at the prospect of huge bonuses amid the collapse of several companies and a severe recession.

 “You can lecture to people on ethics, but you can’t make them be ethical,” Carmichael said. Company boards must restrict or direct executive behavior and compensation, he said.

They then have the utter gall to begrudge these people, who work as hard or harder than they do, the assistance just to survive.  These same greedy bastards have grossly eroded the American dream, the potential for those who work hard and work smart to advance.


Shame on them. These are not moral people, these are greedy bastards trying to deceive people and wrongly assign blame and responsibility. These are the people supported by billionaires looking to make even more profit off the backs of the 99%. These are the people supported by fools who are not part of the 1%, who appear to simply resent anyone not part of the traditional white Christian dominant group that has been losing power and influence in a more meritocracy-based United States where they have to compete against women and minorities and immigrants.