Sitting in the Dark Thinking the Lights Are On
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (112717)
United States
September 29, 2024 9:43am CST
Many people have this misguided, naive notion about businesses. In their eyes they are money mills and ATM machines with mass resources to just move money around in unimaginable ways.
The truth is FAR from the fantasies many people have about how much money these businesses actually have to go around.
But let's set that aside for a minute. How many times have you heard someone say, "If only these greedy, overpaid CEOs would take less pay, they could pass on some of that money to their workers and massively improve their lives."
Let's use Walmart as an example since they are the largest employer in the world with 2.3 million employees. CEO Doug McMillon receives a salary of $26.9 million a year. Sounds massive, right?
I mean, it is, compared to the front line workers, sure. But what if Doug McMillon turned out to be the most generous CEO on the planet and gave it ALL to his workers? He worked for NOTHING and gave his paycheck to his workers.
Workers would receive a pay raise of $11.70 a year. Yep. You read that boldface correctly. Not eleven hundred. Eleven dollars.
When people say things like this it simply shows a lack of common sense and very bad math skills. Yet people will say things like this and walk away feeling like they've just said the most profound, mic drop worthy thing ever.
All I can do is shake my head and laugh. Silly you. Aren't you cute?
Let's use Walmart as an example since they are the largest employer in the world with 2.3 million employees. CEO Doug McMillon receives a salary of $26.9 million a year. Sounds massive, right?
I mean, it is, compared to the front line workers, sure. But what if Doug McMillon turned out to be the most generous CEO on the planet and gave it ALL to his workers? He worked for NOTHING and gave his paycheck to his workers.
Workers would receive a pay raise of $11.70 a year. Yep. You read that boldface correctly. Not eleven hundred. Eleven dollars.
When people say things like this it simply shows a lack of common sense and very bad math skills. Yet people will say things like this and walk away feeling like they've just said the most profound, mic drop worthy thing ever.
All I can do is shake my head and laugh. Silly you. Aren't you cute?12 people like this
10 responses
@porwest (112717)
• United States
29 Sep 24
What's got to give is people need to be in control of their own lives, participate in the economy, and OWN the businesses reaping these massive profits. If people want to sit things out waiting for things to come to them...that's on them. It is no one's responsibility to take care of anyone. It is everyone's responsibility to take care of themselves. The world was not built on giveaways. It was built on EFFORT.
Buy the pie or accept the crumbs you are entitled to.
1 person likes this
@NJChicaa (127116)
• United States
29 Sep 24
@porwest and that's why so many people hate Walmart. JFC people are working and doing their best to be in control of their own lives. It isn't easy.
I get your mindset though. You'd also be cool with Trump ceding Ukraine to Russia because "effort" or some other BS.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
29 Sep 24
@NJChicaa It's the largest, most profitable retailer in the world that employs 2.3 million people. Say what you want about it, but it changes lives. Just not in the way that you would like. The capitalist market is open to everyone. Take advantage of it, or sit things out. That's anyone's choice. But if you choose to sit it out, don't compain when things don't go your way. It's not anyone's fault but the person who chooses to sit things out.
As for Trump, Ukraine and Russia, it has nothing to do with this post, so I choose to...sit that one out.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
29 Sep 24
I am not specially against bussiness and CEOs. IF they were limited somehow by governments. Because a government is NOT a company but a family, as I see it.
2 people like this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
29 Sep 24
Governments should never control businesses, and it serves no one when it does. Socialism is a prime example of that. The incentive of profit is what makes business successful, and capitalism is what makes it open for people to be paid competitive wages based on market demands, as well as open for everyone to invest in those businesses and to profit with them.
1 person likes this
@1creekgirl (44560)
• United States
29 Sep 24
Great explanation, Jim. If CEOs gave away their company's profits, there would be no money to hire workers.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
1 Oct 24
Exactly. And if the workers want more money, and know that the business is so profitable, they should be wise enough to save what they can and invest in the very business that makes all that money so they can at least share in the wealth.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
30 Sep 24
He still is making $26.9 million. Seems to me he has no trouble paying his bills. Have a good week.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222222)
• United States
2 Oct 24
@porwest He still makes 26.9 million.
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
3 Oct 24
@LindaOHio Who cares? He earns every penny of it. When the cashier can be in command of a $646 billion dollar company that creates 2.3 million jobs and generates $665 billion in revenue and $11.8 billion in net profits, we can talk about how much that cashier should be entitled to.
The average Walmart worker makes about $15 an hour. If they work an average of 32 hours per week and invest just one dollar an hour into Walmart stock, in a year they would have 20 shares of Walmart stock that would earn them $16.60 a year more, which would be $4.90 more a year they'd get if the CEO gave them his entire paycheck. It's not the CEO holding them back. It's THEM holding themselves back because they don't understand the value of the company they work for that they could invest in and share the profits and give themselves a pay raise if they really wanted it.
@porwest (112717)
• United States
1 Oct 24
He also earned every penny of it. He is in charge of a business that provides 2.3 million jobs, that provides hundreds of billions of dollars to the tax base through wage taxes and sales taxes collected and sells shares of its company to not just rich people, but workers across the country that pays dividends and shares the profits the company makes. Many of whom are 401k holders who have indirect stakes in a multi-billion dollar business that enriches nearly everyone.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
5 Oct 24
We live in a capitalistic society. Skill, ability, and demand are rewarded. Inefficiency results in a pink slip. Look at sports. Baseball salaries are ridiculously high for the importance of their job, same with actors. But the marketplace determines a person's worth in a capitalistic society. If an organization is willing to pay it, what should the person do, say oh no, that's way too much. Those who criticize it I can bet would not take less money if offered more at another place for a job. You sell yourself to the highest bidder.
1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (37621)
•
9 Oct 24
@porwest Yes, exactly Of course, those higher baseball and actor salaries just get passed on to the fan and movie goer. Why I don't go to a professional baseball game anymore. Heck, with Bidenomics, the concession prices and ticket costs to go to a local minor league game skyrocketed from when Trump was president. 
1 person likes this
@porwest (112717)
• United States
9 Oct 24
Very much true. Even when it comes to actors and athletes, there IS a certain justification for some of those high salaries. If you're an actor who will bring in millions and millions of dollars in revenues from sales, your salary should be commensurate with that just like athletes who will fill stands with paying fans.
But that goes to another point that sort of circles back to YOUR point about selling yourself to the highest bidder. If one settles for the lowest bidder, and doesn't do anything to attract higher bidders, who's fault is that? In other words, if you decide to have a career in retail, it's not like the top pay isn't well known. If that's the profession one chooses, they can't expect to be paid more than the position is worth, and if they want higher pay, it's up to them to seek a profession that offers that.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
29 Sep 24
I do not want them to necessarily give their money away that way. I think if money is invested in training people to be successful it is a better use. Then everyone has more. Of course you can offer all the training in the world and some people will not accept it.
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
29 Sep 24
Great title, by the way. Let me see if I can find a Bruce Cockburn tune with a similar title. I haven't listened to it in a long time.
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@2ndchances24 (12188)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
29 Sep 24
the people that think like they do have no clue how business work cause they've never had 1
to run & just talking out the back side of their pants, cause if they knew anything about how
companies work they wouldn't say such things as that.
@RevivedWarrior (3853)
• India
29 Sep 24
CEos and executives are paid big , because their decision and efforts shape the company. They are showing the direction and workers follow th instruction. So , yes they have more rights on things than workers. Again, people can take up businesses especially start ups and see if they have the same calibre or have something better. If yes, they can earn well and if not better be an employee and be happy to work for the pay you have agreed upon. Have seen many startups fail and most times, such startup founders do work for others in case they do not have financial funding. I get your point!
