>But I fail to understand the argument that a CEO who didn't build the company from the ground up should receive less compensation.
No one said that any employee or contractor shouldn't earn as much as someone else is willing to pay.
If someone can persuade shareholders to give them zillions, more power to them.
One question was whether a CEO has taken more risks, and therefore has some kind of preferential status, as compared to a member of a collective bargaining unit.
Another question is whether the systematic attacks on unions have led our power structure to become skewed in favor of high earners at the expense of low earners, whose real wages have declined since the 1970's while those of high earners have skyrocketed.
Anyone who does not go overboard- deserves to.
Malcolm Forbes, Sr.