Open Thread

“I remember when Drexel Burnham Lambert went bankrupt–Michael Milken got the blame, but it was the huge executive bonuses that actually pushed company over the edge.”

Ummm. No. No. No. No. No. I spent 10 years of my life representing the government in litigation against Drexel and Milken. And, no, Drexel’s demise had really very little, if anything at all, to do with “huge executive bonuses”. Sorry, DCB, but you’re wrong. Next contestant, please.

I’m gonna get my piece of the pie…I’m gonna become a street artist then have a show selling stuff I didn’t even create myself 🙂 On that note, you should all go see “Exit Through The Gift Shop.” It was unexpectedly hilarious and thought-provoking about what is art, who can rightly call themselves an artist, etc.

“That’s the way our system works. Unless you choose to be an employee–in which case you get what you get. And somebody else takes the risk.”

Yeah – and our system is messed up. young people nowadays can’t take that risk cuz they are slaves to their debt.

We aren’t innovators anymore – we’re consumers.

http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/webfeatures_snapshots_20060621/

In 1965, U.S. CEOs in major companies earned 24 times more than an average worker; this ratio grew to 35 in 1978 and to 71 in 1989. The ratio surged in the 1990s and hit 300 at the end of the recovery in 2000. The fall in the stock market reduced CEO stock-related pay (e.g., options) causing CEO pay to moderate to 143 times that of an average worker in 2002. Since then, however, CEO pay has exploded and by 2005 the average CEO was paid $10,982,000 a year, or 262 times that of an average worker ($41,861).

In 2007, the average ratio between salaries for a chief executive and American worker was 344 to one.

Update: August 27, 2009.
Last year, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 chief executive officers averaged $10.5 million a year, 344 times the annual pay of typical U.S. workers. By contrast, the ratio is 22 in Britain, 20 in Canada, and 11 in Japan, so as you can see, its gotten worse.

” key is not to hate but go get yours. This country allows us to go get ours so get off your ass and go get some.”

i agree – but it’s much harder today than it was in the good ol days.

i need to invent something.