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To: Don Lloyd who wrote (63799)	5/4/2003 12:08:14 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 77400

LOL. Yes, I probably do have more confidence in myself than is justified. :) And you do have a point that salaries are more often determined by supply and demand for the job role. However, when you put all that market theory behind you (remember, I'm putting on my socialist hat for a second), doesn't it disgust you just a little that CEOs are making millions a year, even when the economy is down and the companies they manage are struggling? Doesn't something seem wrong there? And when the economy picks up these same CEOs make BILLIONS in options? Again, doesn't something about that strike you as ridiculous when you and I have to work and save for 35 years or more to make enough to retire on? It seems that there should be a happy middle ground. What seems extreme to me in this light isn't my confidence in my own expertise, but that the average intelligent person like yourself would think that somehow these outrageously high pay packages for CEOs in America are somehow justified. At least Chambers showed some ethical consideration when he cut his salary to $1. So that was a good start (btw, I think Chambers is one of the most ethical of all CEOs in America). However, remember Carty of American Airlines? He was paying himself an outrageous wage and locking in benefits and bonuses, even as his company was on the verge of bankruptcy. In fact, he was preparing his golden parachute in anticipation of a bankrupty bid. This would have continued if it hadn't been for the unions. I think that instant was the only time in my entire life when I was glad that a union existed, since it resulted in Carty's resignation. And Carty is one of the more ethical CEOs in corporate America too. Again I have to say, something has gone wrong with the American capitalist system. The Bush administration is cleaning up some of it, but there's a lot of hidden absurdities that may escape unscathed.