Quote:
Originally Posted by KSig RC
The plural of anecdote isn't "data" ...
You're a fool if you think 500 Fortune500 CEOs are a large part of the 3,000,000 that comprise the top 1%, to start. And second, you're ignoring the substance of my post almost entirely, in favor of weird single examples ... of course "business acumen" is a powerful skill, and I'm not saying those folks shouldn't be rewarded.
However, that skill is rewarded disproportionately in comparison with other skills, many of which people would argue are more "useful" in everyday life. Unless you want to argue cardiologist versus Facebook? Come on.
Additionally, it's not clear "Fortune500" CEOs aren't eminently replaceable - after all, the majority of those companies stay on the list year after year, even with turnover among executives, right?
You named a handful of revolutionary thinkers - that's not who I'm talking about at all, and I think that was clear. At no point did I fault CEOs for making huge money. If anything, I took issue with your language in relationship to market realities.
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Are you aware of how the majority of the people in the "top 50 or 100 Americans" are compensated? They are not
given their billions. They own shares of stock in a company that is/was worth nothing (whether a failing company or a brand new one) and take the company to a place where suddenly each share is worth a shitload of money. Gates did it, the Waltons did it, Zuckerberg did it. It's capitalism. We live in a capitalistic society.
In addition, yes, that's who you were talking about. You questioned the skills of the top 50 to 100 Americans vs. those of a doctor or a Nobel prize winner. I refuted that by saying that yes, I did think the skills of those men were comparable.
Now if we want to talk about examples of greedy CEOs with abnormally large salaries we can. However in your post(s) you seem to be pushing the ridiculous attitude that those who are successfully wealthy are only there because they started wealthy. I think that's bullshit. They are there because of hard work and skills. Perhaps their status gave them opportunities that would be harder for others to obtain, but ignorance and disrespect as to what these people are bringing to the table is ridiculous.