| One is not paid for working one's ass off, per se. One is paid for the value of one's labor, as determined by the market, with a few distortions, of course. For example, the minimum wage ensures that some number of people will be paid above their market value, as does the existence of a closed shop in collective bargaining. On the upper end, a CEO is paid less for the value of his labor than for his track record, and therefore his impact on investor confidence. It is somewhat like the star system in Hollywood: those stars paid the most are the one's who guarantee financing for the picture, and are likely to bring in a certain amount of box- office, as gauged by their success in previous movies. They have a certain number of mediocre movies or bombs before they are downgraded. In any event, wages and salaries are mostly determined by the market, just like other prices, because that is the most economically efficient way to do it......... |
