Two new articles on CEO pay

[AdmiralKanos]

Really, if the high executive pay argument were true, then there should be no quality CEOs anywhere in the world but America, since American CEO pay is so high compared to other countries. As it is, particularly in the banking industry, one would be hard-pressed to show that American CEOs are even as good as their counterparts in other countries, never mind being vastly superior.

[The Yosemite Bear]

And people wonder why Unions are still needed in the US.

no, that's a wrong analogy. Still we don't get any medical care in the majority of jobs unless you are in a Union over here, and things are kinda freaky how upside down and fucked up this country's economics are.

[muse]

I've worked at many places where I was responsible for things but was not given the authority to make any important decisions regarding those things. This has a pretty large negative impact on morale. You're telling me that I have to fix or improve something, but you won't let me change any of the policies, operating procedures, or methods involved in that thing! What am I supposed to do, use the Power of Prayer?

No, you fill out stacks of ISO9000 forms because if everything is fully documented to be in ISO compliance then it must be better, the ISO reps told me so! True story, I know of a company which equated improving something with filling out more ISO9000 forms on the thing or procedure that needed to be improved. You can guess how well that worked and what it did to employee morale.

[J]

Really, if the high executive pay argument were true, then there should be no quality CEOs anywhere in the world but America, since American CEO pay is so high compared to other countries. As it is, particularly in the banking industry, one would be hard-pressed to show that American CEOs are even as good as their counterparts in other countries, never mind being vastly superior.

Fact: In America, the financial industry CEOs have completely succeeded in buying off the entire government to benefit themselves, when the banks say "jump!" the government asks "how high?" In no other country have the bankers succeeded to this extent in corrupting the government for their own gain. Where else can CEOs use government bailout money for luxury spa trips and 8-figure bonuses? That's right, only in America.

By this measure, the American CEOs are far better than their foreign counterparts.

[Teebs]

Really, if the high executive pay argument were true, then there should be no quality CEOs anywhere in the world but America, since American CEO pay is so high compared to other countries. As it is, particularly in the banking industry, one would be hard-pressed to show that American CEOs are even as good as their counterparts in other countries, never mind being vastly superior.

I don't disagree with you, but you are assuming that there is good mobility between countries for CEOs.

[Slacker]

That's why the article cited an actual study done on the subject, instead of using A-Rod as its sole justification. Did you not bother reading past the first two paragraphs? A-Rod was used as an example, not a justification.

Which, if you had read the entirety of my post, I commented and agreed the remainder of the article made a very good point. I just don't think the very skewed economics of sports can be very easily applied to the rest of the world, and it doesn't make a good example.

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Regarding rate of return, one has to consider the additional profit margin a Yankees world series win gains the Yankees over what a Phillies win would gain the Phillies. The Yankees, as much as it disgusts me to admit, is a far more marketable brand over the entire globe than the Phillies or indeed any other sports franchise on Earth with the possible exception of the Cowboys or one or two soccer teams. The Phillies couldn't sell World Series t-shirts in the Dominican, for example-nobody would care-but I bet you good money there's Yankees World Series t-shirts right now being sold like hotcakes in Santo Domingo. So while the investment the Yankees made is certainly larger in an absolute sense for their 2009 win than the Phillies in 2008, one could probably make a case that the return is much larger.

Mind you, I'm a Mets fan-the last couple of years have been pretty painful to me, baseball-wise.