Executive Compensation has become grand larceny [View All]

[hansolsen]

Fellow bloggers: Having John Edwards on the team makes me think now may be a good time to raise a populist issue that bothers me a lot, executive compensation. This fits in with his Two Americas theme, I believe. I feel it would be a powerful attack against the Republican base to raise this issue -- see if you agree -- here is my version, taking a small town, middle America health care example:

Nurses aides in a hospital or nursing home make $25,000 a year with benefits, to pick a round number.
Registered Nurses there make twice as much, say $50,000.
And maybe the nursing supervisors make $75,000.
And lets pay the Head Nurse an even $100,000, or what 4 nurses aides make.
And how about the small town hospital administrator -- $125,000, just for discussion.
Now for the Docs -- local General Practitioner -- $150,000, not bad.
Emergency room Doc -- $200,00, max; remember this is small town America.
Typical specialist in the nearest big metropolitan hospital, $250,00, or 10 times what the nurses aide makes.
There may be a few "fancy" specialist Mds who make a lot more, but they are the exception.

How is this spread? It looks fine to me. The best Docs in town should make 10 times what the nurses aides make; that's a good thing not a bad thing, and certainly no cause for "class warfare". I would like to see the nurses aides make more money, but I wouldn't quarrel with overall spread.

And the master carpenter should make a lot more than the apprentice, and the owner of the local machine shop should make a lot more than his newly hired machinist.

So what does bother me? Here is what bothers me.

The CEO of the local HMO is paying himself $2.5 million, or what a 100 nurses aides make. And he is a piker, he is under paid compared to his peers. It is nothing for CEOs today to pay themselves $5 to $10 million a year , and more.

And to do what? To count the money and shuffle the paperwork, that's what. If it were up to me, I'd pay the best Docs more than this guy.

As recently as 30 years ago CEOs averaged what 50 of their employees make, now it is at least a 100 times, and often what 500 to a 1,000 employees make.

This is not right, and I don't like. It is a form of theft. It is highway robbery. It is grand larceny. It is unfair. It is morally and ethically wrong. This is not a case of a few bad apples, it is whole keg of bad apples. If could stop it, I would, and I am ready to go to "class warfare" if necessary over this issue.

I would love Kerry or Edwards, or even Tom Brokaw in moderating a debate to stand up and ask George Bush if he thinks it is fair and right when CEOs routinely make what 500 or 1000 of their employees make.

Am I alone?