Obama on CEO Pay
By bobmnu
@bobmnu (8157)
United States
April 12, 2008 9:25pm CST
Now Senator Obama wants to investigate the pay that CEO's are receiving. It seems that he does not understand how business works. The pay of a CEO is decided by the people who have invested in the company. He has no idea what it takes to become a CEO.
I had the opportunity to get to know a senior officer of a major international company. He was not born a CEO but worked hard and others saw his potential as a leader. When he made the decision to to take the Senior Management path his life changed. He was moved from place to place solving problems in different locations. He had to learn many different aspects of the business. In his career he worked in Minnesota (3X), Wisconsin(2X), Canada, Germany, Scotland, Wales, and Japan. He lived in those different countries any where from 6 months to 5 years. there were times when he would be told to report to a new plant in two weeks and his family had to make all the arraingements to pick up their lives and leave for another location.
Senator Obama and most career politicians do not realize what is required to be a leader in business. Free Enterprise is what made this country great and without it we will be nothing. We have achieved in 200 years what no other civilization has been able to do and we did it because the citizens are free to achieve their potential. It is why people want to risk everything to get here for a shot at the American Dream. Which is alive and well for those willing to dream and work to achieve the dream.
1 response
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
13 Apr 08
Part of the reason CEO's get the perks is because of the tax structure in this country. Why should a person work if the government is going to take 90% of it in taxes? Why does the government feel that hard work has to be punished and lack of effort rewarded? If a person works hard and makes a lot of money they are taxed more the more they make. If you don't work, don't educate yourself you are rewarded with a monthly check from the government, free food, free medical care, rent allowance, heating allowance, free child care and a community that has been made to feel guilty and will give you food and presents at Christmas.
At least the CEO is part of something that is producing wealth for the country in the form of jobs and goods and services. What are the politicians and welfare people producing?
@lisan23 (442)
• United States
13 Apr 08
It's late and I'm tired so I'll get the sources for this tomorrow or Monday... or whenever I have time (sorry, it's going to be a busy week). But with the Bush tax cuts the people (like CEO's) who make a TON of money pay less in taxes (percentage wise) than the middle class. Like I said, I'll have to look it up, but I know there was a CEO who sat down with his secretary and found out that she had paid more in taxes one year than he did. (And he made a couple million more than she did.) That certainly doesn't sound like 90% of their income...
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
16 Apr 08
the man was Warren Buffett and when asked if he had made additional voluntary payments he did not reply. One of the things with the tax code is that politicians write the laws. There are tax advantages to having Trust Established which many wealthy people establish. The other thing that Mr. Buffett could have been referring to is that his income tax could be very small because he had no income that was taxable under the Income Tax Laws. If his money comes from stock trading he would pay Capital Gains tax on his income from investments. His tax bill would be substantial but he would be paying very little "Income Tax".
