Swiss capping ratio of CEO/peon pay

[ben_who]

Yes, its not like their pay hasn't increased by 95% in recent years in one of the largest if not the largest hikes in history. You can't expect these poor CEOs to only own three houses, can you?

I remember reading online (anecdote, not data) about these huge summer homes on the California coastline - massive 24-48 room mansions, buildings with names like Summerbreeze and Windspray, that were only visited once or twice every FIVE YEARS OR SO by the one-percenters that owned them.

They were basically massive piles of money sitting on the beach for no readily available reason. They paid for plumbing, caretakers, electricity, security, maintenance, on these homes that they never actually used.

When you have so much money that you literally can't think of anything better to do with it than leave it in heaps on the beach, you probably have enough. Even Bill Gates has bequeathed his.

[Gravekeeper]

It costs more to keep training new people and getting them up to speed because of high burnout and turnover than to just hire two people for the job, pay them enough to live on, and keep them for the next decade.

The average US McDonald's employee has been with the company for 17 months and they have turn over rate estimated at around 150% per year. So the average restaurant is replacing its entire staff at least one a year. I'm not sure McDonalds sees this as too much of a problem though. High turn over and short tenure means its hard for employees to gain enough traction to form unions. -.-

[Gravekeeper]

I remember reading online (anecdote, not data) about these huge summer homes on the California coastline - massive 24-48 room mansions, buildings with names like Summerbreeze and Windspray, that were only visited once or twice every FIVE YEARS OR SO by the one-percenters that owned them.

A cursory Google search seems to support your anecdote.

It also turned up this asshole. Building the largest house in America. For reference, this is the same asshole that threatened to fire all his employee's if Obama was re-elected. >.>

[Andara Bledin]

A 2008 article on a 2004 study on the issue of turnover and profitability:
Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work

The worst part is that 150% turnover is actually good in comparison to the rest of the industry, with the average being much closer to 200% as of just a few years ago.

[D_Yeti_Esquire]

It's a bit of a blunt force solution to the excess of capitalism. I don't think it will work though for the same reason high taxing cities tend to have problem: the ability for corporations (especially multi-nationals) to move quite easily. CEO's don't really get paid hand over fist for what they do... they just tend to be the person shareholders can most directly reward and punish. Every other person outside the executive suite just shows up as overhead so you always have this drive to depress non executive salaries and increase executive salaries.

I don't think it's fixable unless it's governed internationally. The chances of that actually happening in the first world is only slightly less of a pipe dream than it is in the third where anything they can do to make themselves more desirable to investment will end up getting done.

[Gravekeeper]

It's a bit of a blunt force solution to the excess of capitalism. I don't think it will work though for the same reason high taxing cities tend to have problem: the ability for corporations (especially multi-nationals) to move quite easily.

The problem is this isn't capitalism, its corporate capitalism. Which honestly does need to be curbed. Especially in the US. A multinational can move, yes, but it still needs the market in question. If its punished in that market place for attempting to avoid the rules of that market place it may conform. Especially in the case of the US, which is an asshole corporation's wet dream right now. There aren't many markets more appealing than the US to move too.

CEO's don't really get paid hand over fist for what they do... they just tend to be the person shareholders can most directly reward and punish.

I wish the punish part came up. But CEOs get paid out the ass regardless of success or failure. There's no other job on the planet where you can go "Okay, I'll take the position but if I fuck this up and you fire me, I get a multi-million dollar bonus".

[Hyena Dandy]

I wish the punish part came up. But CEOs get paid out the ass regardless of success or failure. There's no other job on the planet where you can go "Okay, I'll take the position but if I fuck this up and you fire me, I get a multi-million dollar bonus".

Well, NFL players...

[Greenday]

Well, NFL players...

Not quite. No one gets a bonus for being fired. They just get money owed to them as per the contracts they signed.

[Andara Bledin]

Not quite. No one gets a bonus for being fired. They just get money owed to them as per the contracts they signed.

And that's different from CEO's how, precisely?

[SongsOfDragons]

The Swiss rejected the idea at the referendum with almost a two-thirds majority.

[Greenday]

And that's different from CEO's how, precisely?

Are CEOs contracted empoyees?

[Andara Bledin]

How do you think they get those golden parachutes? Those are part of the contracts they negotiate when they get hired.

Pretty much everybody who works for salary has a contract of some sort because once your salaried, you can't just deal with clocking in and out as such.

[Greenday]

How do you think they get those golden parachutes? Those are part of the contracts they negotiate when they get hired.

Pretty much everybody who works for salary has a contract of some sort because once your salaried, you can't just deal with clocking in and out as such.

I don't see how that's different from any ordinary Joe. Except one gets paid hourly and one gets paid regardless of how many hours worked. Even when I worked hourly jobs, there were perks like Christmas bonuses and such. That doesn't make it contracted.

[lordlundar]

I don't see how that's different from any ordinary Joe. Except one gets paid hourly and one gets paid regardless of how many hours worked. Even when I worked hourly jobs, there were perks like Christmas bonuses and such. That doesn't make it contracted.

Did you sign an employment agreement? If so you signed a contract.

The difference lies in the bargaining table. It's just that for employees it's called the job interview. See, when a front line employee is being interviewed, it is the company bargaining from the power position as they have a hundred people that are willing to do the work. The Executive interview is much different as the applicant is considered to possess such a "unique skill set" that the company thinks it won't be able to find ordinarily. This leaves the executive in the position of power to get all sorts of perks that front line employees could even dream of.

[Greenday]

Did you sign an employment agreement? If so you signed a contract.

The difference lies in the bargaining table. It's just that for employees it's called the job interview. See, when a front line employee is being interviewed, it is the company bargaining from the power position as they have a hundred people that are willing to do the work. The Executive interview is much different as the applicant is considered to possess such a "unique skill set" that the company thinks it won't be able to find ordinarily. This leaves the executive in the position of power to get all sorts of perks that front line employees could even dream of.

Doesn't matter. The comparison of a CEO to an athlete is ridiculous.