Reply #1: I'm reading from the top down....

[TreasonousBastard]

so I haven't gotten to the original thread yet.

However, CEO salaries are not based on "how hard they work," but on the value they bring to the enterprise. The same goes of everyone else's salary. In theory, anyway.

Having said that, most of these guys don't bring all that much to the table. There seems to be little value in putting out an honest product at an honest price and taking care of your vendors, employees, and customers. The value they pretend to add is largely based on schemes to boost the stock price by acquisitions and financial tricks.

Note that in most cases, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts actually lost money for the companies involved.

It's the people in the middle who make things run smoothly, and not the guys at the top. The rare guy at the top who actually knows what the company makes or does, seems to make less money than the finaglers.

I don't have an easy solution.

Note also that few companies outside of the US pay as outlandishly as ours do.