How can this country go on with the CEO of MacDonalds earning $9 million per year?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

Something has to happen. The problem is the Republican controlled House.

Obama spoke tonight on mininum wage.

C'mon Democrats we have to push!

[virgogal]

1. Peanuts ! Dustin Pedrioa,Red Sox,7 year contract--$100 million.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

2. This country has a problem

why are so many million flying around and yet ordinary people have to beg and scrape. Sports people are not ordinary neither are CEOs. Something has to change.

[virgogal]

3. It's absolutely obscene !

[Rosa Luxemburg]

4. Yet ordinary people seem to accept that they earn so much.

Not just in this country. Ordinary people seem to think they deserve such high salaries? The owners of the clubs profit.

[Agnosticsherbet]

5. According to Forbes, he doesn't even rate in the top 100 for 2012.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2012/12/ceo-compensation-12_rank.html

1 John H Hammergren McKesson 131.19

and

100 1Richard K Templeton Texas Instruments 15.36

I'm surprised this guy hasn't approached Congress for fiscal relief for his low wage scale, for a CEO.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

6. What's to be done?

[Agnosticsherbet]

7. The founding father's would not limit a man's success while living...

but believed in heavy taxes at death because they saw inherited fortunes nothing more than the development of a form of landed aristocracy.

So first, we should take the vast proportion of wealth that would be transferred at the end of a life. After all, it is living in a free system that allowed them to prosper. What is not used in their life should be returned to the system after they die.

Corporations should not be allowed to deduct from their taxes as expenses pay and compensation above 500% of the lowest paid worker in the company.

We should return to the tax rates paid in the 50's, and make sure that the loopholes are removed from the tax system.

Rather than set minimum wage at a specific level, set it for a percentage of of a CEO's pay.

Require companies to return a part of percentage of their profits as profit sharing to every employee. They all contributed to the success of a business. They should be fairly compensated.

Abolish all anti union laws and encourage the developments of unions in all businesses. IF McDonalds and Walmart had to deal fairly with all employees it would be different.

[mucifer]

8. Most of The founding fathers believed it was ok to buy and sell and torture people.

[Agnosticsherbet]

10. Humans are complicated. The point was that they approved of death taxes.

that would remove money that a man earned in life and return it to the state after he died. That is one solution. Take most of the money amassed by the rich when they shuffle off this mortal coil and return it to the nation to help the poor.

[DFW]

28. Careful--that can be categorized as an easy way out

There were no income taxes until the 20th century. The founders of the country never had the cushion of an income tax It takes a more compelling argument to justify inheritance taxes if the money in question has already been taxed once as income. Otherwise, just taxing someone who has done well down to a degree of wealth decided by other people will create capital flight and a loss of creative incentive. An all-powerful state is only good if it is run exclusively by benevolent people. Otherwise you get another Dick Cheney spending all our money on state projects (e.g. Iraq) that benefit only him and his cronies.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. It would be nice to have cooperatives

http://www.co-operative.coop/membership/

profit sharing with workers is the key thing

[Agnosticsherbet]

11. I agree to that. The CEO is not the only person contributing to success.

Without all his workers he would be begging for money on a street corner. A lot of that comensation should be given to his workers.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

19. Sharing

it makes sens eto share the profits

[KharmaTrain]

13. The Government Doesn't Determine The Salary...The Stockholders Do...

...and they're the ones who need to be focused upon. In some cases these people don't even know they're stockholders...members of pension funds and bond funds who have managers oversee their stock and votes. There's a need to develop a greater stockholder awareness program and to mobilize the many "regular" folk who rely on these corporate stocks for their retirement funds to take a more active interest in their investment. It's been done before...change from within can happen...

[Paulie]

14. No, the hand picked by the CEO board of directors compensation committee does

A board made up of fellow high paid CEOs. Most stocks are held by institutionals, the CEOs of said companies via options and by senior execs of said conpanies. And you don't get a proxy for Index ETFs...

[KharmaTrain]

15. Time To Push For Changes...

...I understand and probably didn't emphasize enough how the boards are stacked and that the "average" stockholder is far removed from anything that goes on other than seeing a dividend in their statement. Some of those large institutionals are union and other pension funds that have acted in the past to force corporate boards to be more accountable and/or responsible. Disinvesting millions in a corporation can make a board take notice...

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

23. It's the tax code...

During the Reign of Terror of the Great Communist Dwight Eisenhower, we had a top rate of 94% that kicked in for salaries above (in today's dollars) about $2 million. No CEO was paid more than that because, really, why would you? Knowing that the government was going to take 94% of the salary, it was effectively a salary cap on executive compensation.

[KharmaTrain]

24. Few Paid That Rate...

...and your point is well taken. The real changes began in the 80s when the tax codes were loosened and more "creative" compensation packages came about. Between deferred payments, stock payments and off-shoring the amount taxed dropped to below "Warren Buffet's secretary". I'm all but sure the reason Rmoney never released his returns is that it would have showed he paid little to no taxes and will continue to do so. Those are the major deadbeats but this horse seems to be way out of the barn...even if the tax code is revised it will never pass this dysfunctional congress with much if any raises in the upper brackets.

Cheers...

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

25. You're absolutely right...

We can't even do the routine stuff any more with this Congress. Doing something even mildly progressive (like reasonable student loan rates) is off the table.

[KharmaTrain]

26. They're Punishing You Kids...

...I'm sure this obscene vote is payback for the under 30 vote going overwhelming for Democrats. Yet another short-sighted move by the rushpublicans I hope will hurt them for years and decades to come. It's amazing...my first year at school in the early 70s (including room and board) is less than one credit hour at a JC today. Predatory lending still runs rampant out there and it's gonna get worse when the long anticipated rise in the prime rate.

The downside is I expect under 30 voting to be down next year...one of the bigger groups that stay home in mid terms. I hope I'm proved wrong, they have a lot on the line...

Cheers...

[BluegrassDem]

12. I find it somewhat ironic that McDonald's is catching all this heat NOW that they have a black CEO

McDonald's have been paying the same wages since its inception, but now they have a new CEO and he happens to be African-American, all hell is breaking loose. Now all of a sudden, the McDonald's CEO is overpaid while the workers starve. And also, all of a sudden, their food is really bad for us and something must be done to stop them. Just very ironic...

[Bluenorthwest]

16. So his company should be left uncriticized? Forever? He's had this job for over year which is

not exactly 'new' nor 'new now'. People have been organizing against McDonald's crappy food,low pay and marketing to kids for years and years, this is not 'all of a sudden'.
Do you have any metrics you'd like to offer? Are minority executives and their companies off limits to all criticism for all time? Or do they get 3 free years? Is it proper for IRS to audit or for health department to inspect McDonald's? Should all of that be put aside?
What exactly are you claiming here?

[1StrongBlackMan]

18. All should be condemned …

Not just the Black guy.

Think that was the idea behind the post you were responding to.

[1StrongBlackMan]

17. Shhh …

Lest you be accused of pointing out, yet another example of how race plays out in this country … er, … I mean, lest you be accused of making this about race.
Funny … These are getting nary a mention:

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/morning_call/2012/04/wendys-paid-ceos-21m-last-year.html

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/burger-king-gives-ceo-pay-hike-amid-revitalization

Even though each pays it hourly workers the same $8.00/hr.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

20. Yikes!

[1StrongBlackMan]

21. Yep ...

Are you seeing a pattern here?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

22. To be fair...

McDonald's a very profitable corporation -- compared to those CEO's who pocket multi-million dollar salaries while their companies hemorrhage money. And McDonald's at least makes a product that people want to buy, as opposed to hedge fund managers who make money by rearranging other money.

Still a little unreasonable, no doubt. But I've seen worse.

[FrodosPet]

30. If he were to split that $9 Million equally amongst all 500,000 McDonalds employees

Everyone would have a 35 cent per week ($18 per year) raise.

[StanGr]

27. They could start by serving actual food.

[Jamaal510]

29. If I were

as rich as the CEO of Micky D's, Papa (Porta)John's, or any other fast food chain, I would have no problem boosting my employee's wages. I honestly don't get what their deal is. They are already filthy-rich. They can still easily afford life's essentials and have plenty of cash left over for a vacation or a rainy day if they were to give their employees raises. Why not be nicer to your workers for a change and make them have a higher opinion of you?
I guess that is just the silly far-left liberal Democrat in me talking, though.

[budkin]

31. Because Freedom