If you were the CEO of a major corporation & your ideas helped make that company billions wouldn't you deserve?

Of course. That is why some CEO's make a lot of money and others make very little, just like professional athletes. Some make thousands others make many millions. Value given for value received.

But what people neglect to notice is that the reason we hear about massive bonuses being paid to CEO's and other company officers is the tax code. Changes to the tax code a few decades ago, limited how much an officer could be paid and still have their salary considered part of the expense of doing business. So, to avoid paying extra taxes, businesses began providing "stock options" and bonuses rather than simply paying higher wages. This type of "social engineering" via the tax code has caused a lot of harm, too.

The Auto Companies are a good example of the harm. When the top officers of these companies became dependent on high stock values to insure their own compensation, it shifted their focus from doing what was best for the company to doing whatever it took to keep the stock value high. So, whenever the Unions threatened to strike, the officers would give in and take money that should have been used to improve the company through reinvestment or research and development spent it for increased wages and benefits. Retirement benefits were especially a favorite because they would not have to be paid out for decades after the officers making the deals were long gone.

There are always unintended results when the Government gets involved.

*

Most people don't want to get into micromanaging salaries, even if they are often not fair and do not always go to those who deserve it.

But a wealthy person or a company that makes billions uses many more government services: the courts, the streets and roads, public utilities, natural resources, police protection, tax breaks, subsidies, foreign trade and the military needed to protect it, and they produce much more garbage and pollution and use more natural resources, than any average individual. So why shouldn't they pay more to support the extra infrastructure they use?

Yet while the average individual pays 25% in tax, and while CEOs who earn over $375,000, who are technically in the top 35% bracket, they pay only about 16% in taxes because their compensation comes largely in the form of dividends and stock options which when sold yield low taxed capital gains.

The bottom line is that the government, which protects and foster these guys income, costs more to run than it takes in, and it needs some extra tax revenue to keep going. We need to get it from the rich because they have all the money and can spare it. Taxing the poor is pointless.

Sure and we liberals don't get our feelings hurt when that happens. But when you are the CEO of a major corporation and you run it into the ground, you do not deserve millions in compensation after being bailed out by the taxpayer.

First, name half a dozen CEOs who have had ideas that made the company billions. They're not out there.

Second, every one should be paid in accordance with their ability and responsibility. But as our economy crumbled, CEOs took millions$ as golden parachutes while the company failed.

The vast majority of wealthy people in this country did not work for their money. Their dad, their grand dad worked for that money and left it to their kids.

Steve Jobs, for example, left his $billions in a trust fund for his family. And that's fine. But his wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren will take the millions$ that trust will earn and pay the same (or less) tax on their income than my son does working hard to support his family. That's just wrong. Having Steve Jobs as a father is a stroke of luck. it shouldn't mean you get a free ride on taxes for your entire life.

Funny, how no one ever thinks to spread the CEO's millions and Billions in salary and bonus among the people actually doing the work. What good does it do to have an idea, say a better car, if there is no one to build it?

Possibly, but that isn't what has been happening. Many CEOs have driven companies into the ground and still received millions in compensation and then they get ridiculously large golden parachutes when they are inevitably fired.

If I was a worker for a major corporation and my ideas and effort and work made that company billions wouldn't I deserve more than minimum wage?

If I was a billionaire shouldn't I pay taxes?

sure

but

if I am the CEO of a major financial institution and through my bad practices sent my business to the brink of bankruptcy, therefore threatening the entire economy of the USA, and I get bailed out by taxpayers-then I don't think I would deserve a bonus

do you?

I would rather make 2 million instead of 4 or 25 million so that I can keep americans employed. Is that what you mean?

CEO's get those multimillion dollar salaries by saving a company money by shipping jobs over seas.....not by creating billions in profit....