Why all the hate on the 1%?

Of course, everyone hates people such as donald trump and paris hilton, but I don't get the hate on CEOs. Sure, they often get multi-million dollar compensations, but they well earn them. They've busted their asses off to get where they are today, and although they might not be the best at what they do they are often the most dedicated.

Look at Billy Fucello, "mr huge". Sure, the man has a private jet. However, he goes to work at 5AM and comes home at 9PM. Often it's the same with most other CEOs. They work 70 hour weeks and have no time to for anything non-company related. If something is wrong, they along with the other board members must haul ass to the office and meet, NOW. Not tomorrow, but within 30 minutes.

That is certainly worth the million dollar paycheck.

The problem is not really with the one percent. More like the .0001%.

1% just sounds catchier.

Well, there's this:



And there's also the taxes they don't pay.

Oh, and there's the bit about how when the big banks were going bankrupt and getting massive bailouts, CEOs still got massive bonuses.

I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other (I'm not informed enough to have one ) - just playing devil's advocate.

The problem is mostly no payback. That 1% has more money than the other 99% combined. We are suppose to help our fellow man, not bleed them to death for the all mighty dollar. There is something wrong when we bail them out when they screw up, and then they continue to take more instead of adjusting their profit margins to insure it wont happen again. Obama said they had to bail AIG because if they went down the whole economy would suffer. AIG is a freaking insurance company. Insurance companies get money for a "just in case". Which means the majority of the money they receive is free, because the only overhead is administration. They dont actually produce or sell any physical item. They make one of the highest profit margins in the world, and the fact that they let it get so out of control that we had to give them 85 billion of OUR money to save our own economy is insane. There is something wrong with that. And this is just one company. There are literally thousands of super rich corporations like this plugged into the government structures. In the end its us that have to pay, and we get nothing in return. Its not fair, and thats why people are pissed. We are such a rich country that no one should be poor, or homeless.

There are so many levels of argument to your question that there really is no space here that can handle it.

@ Cyparagon: LOL, that graph can be used also here in Italy, you know ? ..... just swap "US" with "Italy", and "CEO" with "POLITICIANS"



EDIT: also, we sometime have CEOs and high dirigents that, when they bankrupt a company, becomes "punished" sending them in anticipated retirement with an exit gift of few millions of Euro ..... i bet this don't happen so much, in other countries

This "we are the 99%" mantra has always struck me as... well, stupid.

A mantra for idiots.

North America and Western Europe, as a whole, have traditionally been the "1%". Western society has historically been to the rest of the world, what these hippies claim CEOs are to the rest of our society. In other words, the West has had it pretty darn cushy, while everyone else labours to give us the crappy luxury that we think we deserve.

Largely as a product of globalization, the barriers that have historically kept Western society on their "1% throne" are starting to break down. Other countries like China, Brazil, India, and even Russia are starting to rise as economic super powers. In this closed world ecosystem, a rise in one area (like Asia) implies an adjustment downwards in another (like the West). It's a "re-balancing" of sorts.

Arguably, this re-balancing is morally positive. It's the right thing to see happen. The West may have to decline, to allow other nations to rise, and ultimately strike a more equitable planetary distribution of wealth/power/food/happiness/health/etc.

Here's the kicker - While the West declines, some segments of our population will be able to hold on to wealth and power for a bit longer than others. Specifically, those who already have wealth, may be able to use it to reinforce their position in an overall fading economy. Conversely, the first segment of the population to feel the hit, will be the labour class. Why? Because those are (no offense intended) the most easily duplicated skillsets. It's easy for China to duplicate the functionality of a worker making Stereos on an assembly line in Fargo North Dakota. It's harder for them to duplicate the functionality of Ford's CEO, who is responsible for the the company that makes the car those stereos are going into.

In other words, these idiot hippy tent-dwelling "1-percenters" are complaining about CEOs, when CEOs are not the real problem. The real problem stems from the fact that the West isn't developing new industries to replace the old labour class that is disappearing. We're not loosing our middle class because of "CEOs" or a "conspiracy among the top 1% of our society". We're loosing our middle class because we aren't replacing obsolete labour industries, with new ones. Our education sucks, our youth are largely un-motivated, we don't fund science, and we're not creating "new" middle class jobs.

I don't blame the CEOs for outsourcing labour to China. I blame every single lazy Westerner who wants a useless plastic pink flamingo lawn doiley from Wal-Mart, and isn't willing to pay more than $1.97 for it. I blame the lazy parents who feed their children 5 hours of television per day. I blame the blind consumerism that our masses engage in to hide their own lack of any mental creativity.

CEOs are a great scapegoat, but they're a lazy man's target. If we actually care about Western societies, we need to get comfortable with giving up a lot of our "useless crap", scale back our personal spending on garbage, and start busting ass to develop the industries that we want our kids to be working in 20 years from now.

rhd said:

CEOs are a great scapegoat, but they're a lazy man's target. If we actually care about Western societies, we need to get comfortable with giving up a lot of our "useless crap", scale back our personal spending on garbage, and start busting ass to develop the industries that we want our kids to be working in 20 years from now.

Click to expand...

The argument can be made that the mega corporations/CEOs should take that same advice.

How is the average Joe Blow going to create industry when they are out of work because of all the outsourcing of jobs in the area, and the price of necessities has almost tripled?? Or because their start up companies fail because giant corporations can offer the same services for 1/3 the price? Its not the peoples fault we became consumers. Corporate outsourcing has take all the jobs from the people, and they have profited hugely on it. They have manipulated the system to funnel the most money they can from the population. Its capitalism at its finest. They have it down to an art form. Only they have the control to bring back industry, and make incentives for people to prosper. But that will never happen, and thats BS. How much is enough? How many cars, houses, yachts, property, ect does one person need before they start thinking about other people other than themselves? The only people I see doing this is Bill Gates, and Sir Richard Branson.

I dont really side with those tent people. But I will say at least they are doing something. This country is filled with armchair quarter backs, me included, that do nothing to change a thing. EDIT: I do volunteer work for underprivileged children, so thats statement is not entirely correct..

I dont know about you, but most of the people I know have busted their ass their whole lives. It has nothing to do with laziness.

Well according to your post here concerning what these guys do I should be knocking down 1,000,000 right now :crackup:

I start laser work about 12:00am and turn the lights out about 3-4:00am

grenadier said:

Of course, everyone hates people such as donald trump and paris hilton, but I don't get the hate on CEOs. Sure, they often get multi-million dollar compensations, but they well earn them. They've busted their asses off to get where they are today, and although they might not be the best at what they do they are often the most dedicated.

Look at Billy Fucello, "mr huge". Sure, the man has a private jet. However, he goes to work at 5AM and comes home at 9PM. Often it's the same with most other CEOs. They work 70 hour weeks and have no time to for anything non-company related. If something is wrong, they along with the other board members must haul ass to the office and meet, NOW. Not tomorrow, but within 30 minutes.

That is certainly worth the million dollar paycheck.

Click to expand...

It's not just CEOs, it's anyone that makes decisions that affect our lives without even the slightest regard for the individuals they are impacting. The "We are the 1%" has been a new slogan, but this is an age-old battle. Nobody's going to win this war. There is no solution. Why can't we stop barking all these pipe dream solutions that have no tangible steps such as "busting ass to develop the industries that we want our kids to be working in 20 years from now". Don't assume there's going to magically be new industries just because we can see the need for them.

There comes a point when we have to humble ourselves enough to realize that there isn't a solution to everything. Sometimes we just have to accept and endure.

xoul said:

It's not just CEOs, it's anyone that makes decisions that affect our lives without even the slightest regard for the individuals they are impacting. The "We are the 1%" has been a new slogan, but this is an age-old battle. Nobody's going to win this war. There is no solution. Why can't we stop barking all these pipe dream solutions that have no tangible steps such as "busting ass to develop the industries that we want our kids to be working in 20 years from now". Don't assume there's going to magically be new industries just because we can see the need for them.

There comes a point when we have to humble ourselves enough to realize that there isn't a solution to everything. Sometimes we just have to accept and endure.

Click to expand...

I agree with most of the 1st part of you argument, but I dont agree with the last. Us humbling our selves is what put us in this situation. Not to be political but do you know it was one person who pioneered the fight for Sarah Palins resignation as Alaska's governor? That lady bombarded Sarah with lawsuits till she could not fight them financially anymore, and in the end resigned. There are 1000's of stories of one, or a small group of people that changed the course of history. We can change anything we want, we just need to get off our asses and do something about it.

Tech_Junkie said:

I agree with most of the 1st part of you argument, but I dont agree with the last. Us humbling our selves is what put us in this situation. Not to be political but do you know it was one person who pioneered the fight for Sarah Palins resignation as Alaska's governor? That lady bombarded Sarah with lawsuits till she could not fight them financially anymore, and in the end resigned. There are 1000's of stories of one, or a small group of people that changed the course of history. We can change anything we want, we just need to get off our asses and do something about it.

Click to expand...

Well, let me clarify - I'm not saying that change is impossible in every regard, just I don't think it is in this regard.

However, I still stand firm in my stance that there are some things that you yourself are powerless to change. Take for instance laws. It's generally common knowledge for a US citizen to know that he/she can write/call/email their respective senator and give them your opinion about a law you dont like or a law you would like to have. But your power stops there. Members of congress and the president ultimately decide what is and isn't law, some times (or most times ) even if they decision is unfavored by the majority of the people they represent. Even though they are required to listen to what you have to say, they're not required to heed it under any circumstances.

That's all I'm sayin'.

You'd be surprised how easy you can change a Senators mind thats up for re-election. The decriminalizing of marijuana, gay marriage, ect are all because of timing, and numbers. Somehow people are under the assumption there is not a lot we can do. But we put these people in office, and we can take them out just as easy. Politicians want people to be happy, thats how they keep their jobs. There is always a line of people who will do what you want for a chance to get into office. So there is really no excuse to not actively work to get the changes you want. You just need a large enough crowd.

Don't concern yourself with money people. I'm from Boston, MA. I'm only 30. When I was a kid, I remember snow. Not just a little snow but lots of snow. Snow so high it made it hard for my parents to open to front door of the house some times. Snow so high you could dig tunnels through it and make snow forts. It has not snowed once this year. New years eve was 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Population of earth has gone from 1 to 7 billion people in just 200 years time. Global warming and over population will destroy this earth soon. Like soon as in with in the next 50 years. So forget money. Go get laid, buy some 1watt lasers, smoke some weed, and drive a motor cycle in New England in January! THIS IS THE END

rhd said:

This "we are the 99%" mantra has always struck me as... well, stupid.

A mantra for idiots.

Click to expand...

I am the 53,205,017th richest person in the world

That puts me in the top 0.88%

Should I apologize now?


See where you really fit in
If you are not living alone yet, plug in your family income

Global Rich List

Peace,
dave

joncosta said:

Don't concern yourself with money people. I'm from Boston, MA. I'm only 30. When I was a kid, I remember snow. Not just a little snow but lots of snow. Snow so high it made it hard for my parents to open to front door of the house some times. Snow so high you could dig tunnels through it and make snow forts. It has not snowed once this year. New years eve was 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Population of earth has gone from 1 to 7 billion people in just 200 years time. Global warming and over population will destroy this earth soon. Like soon as in with in the next 50 years. So forget money. Go get laid, buy some 1watt lasers, smoke some weed, and drive a motor cycle in New England in January! THIS IS THE END

Click to expand...

No it isn't...... Its the BEGINNING of change....
The sky is NOT falling...:beer:

Besides... what does that have to do with CEOs...:thinking:

Jerry
(11100-419-37164)

Dave, i'm envious, now .....

I placed in that page the net income of the last year (excluding all the taxes, bills and expenses, ofcourse), and got this reply:

"You are the 1,427,052,668 richest person in the world! - You're in the TOP 23.78%
richest people in the world!"

Now, considering that our actual official thief (gov) increased all the taxes and bills, for the 2012 .....


EDIT:

joncosta said:

..... THIS IS THE END

Click to expand...

No, it's not ..... i plan to live other 100 years, at least, so don't dare to turn the world off before that day ..... don't even think about it, or i will bite you, ok ? (J/K )

lasersbee said:

..... The sky is NOT falling...:beer:

Click to expand...

..... not YET ..... :eg: :eg: :eg: