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Jeremy Lin and liberal confusion, ignorance, hypocrisy

By: jermane2020 (Diary)  |  March 7th, 2012 at 07:02 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Economist Greg Mankiw provides an excerpt from economist Kenneth Rogoff’s excellent point regarding liberal confusion, ignorance and/or hypocrisy regarding wide income disparity between top earners and others.

What amazes me is the public’s blasé acceptance of the salaries of sports stars, compared to its low regard for superstars in business and finance. Half of all NBA players’ annual salaries exceed $2 million, more than five times the threshold for the top 1% of household incomes in the United States. Because long-time superstars like Kobe Bryant earn upwards of $25 million a year, the average annual NBA salary is more than $5 million. Indeed, Lin’s salary, at $800,000, is the NBA’s “minimum wage” for a second-season player. Presumably, Lin will soon be earning much more, and fans will applaud.

Yet many of these same fans would almost surely argue that CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, whose median compensation is around $10 million, are ridiculously overpaid. If a star basketball player reacts a split-second faster than his competitors, no one has a problem with his earning more for every game than five factory workers do in a year. But if, say, a financial trader or a corporate executive is paid a fortune for being a shade faster than competitors, the public suspects that he or she is undeserving or, worse, a thief.

http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2012/03/rogoff-reflects-on-jeremy-lin.html (link there for full piece by Rogoff)

I would only make one note, to be thorough. There is a possible objection to high CEO income if there is a reasonable argument in some case that it is resulting from poor corporate governance (e.g., CEOs sitting on each other’s boards and scratching each other’s backs) in conflict with the interest of shareholders. That said, that is not the crux of liberal’s objection to high CEO salaries. They just think it’s “unfair”.

Also, in my effort to bend over backwards to be fair, some liberals do object to high salaries earned by athletes. But I agree with Rogoff that there are a heck of a lot of ‘em that don’t object, at least not nearly enough to get worked up over it, let alone squat in a park for days and weeks (and yes, I do mean a double entendre with the verb “squat”)

COMMENTS

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  • Repair_Man_Jack

    -nt

    • kowalski

      Portraying a CEO talking about how their company is using FedEx and printing on the back side of recycled paper. Then some underling in a meeting comes up with:

      “What’s the executive compensation list?” and the CEO jumps across the table like his life is endangered, snatches the paper out of her hand and eats it.

      It’s a big favorite among the commies at Democratic Underground.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo5eXKGODIo

      • kowalski

        Got paid well for thinking that ad up. And they should have.

        • acat

          have no idea what their peers or bosses are earning.

          Hint – the salary survey sites are routinely wrong.

          Mew

          • kowalski

            It’s a great ad, pitch-perfect for the Occupied Times we’re about to be living in, and I hope they all become millionaires as a result of being associated with it. Or at least get the chance to keep trying. :)

          • acat
          • A_CAT
            Now you will have time to catch up on your reading list.
            You’ve been Rick-Trolled (cue the Rick Astley music)

            http://disqus.com/A_CAT/

            http://patterico.com/2012/03/06/hello-super-tuesday/#comments
            http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/03/fox-news-gop-candidate-jobs-forum-from-ohio/#comment-603485
            http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/02/obama-hits-the-gas-prices-double-in-just-three-years-due-to-his-failed-insane-policies/
            http://www.therightscoop.com/president-reagan-why-we-must-fight/
            http://patterico.com/2012/02/29/obama-lies-about-romney-being-a-liar/
            http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/03/un-to-propose-regulations-of-water-and-food-for-earth/
            http://www.therightscoop.com/newt-gingrich-full-interview-on-greta/#disqus_thread
            http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/03/oh-give-it-a-rest-obama-compares-himself-to-gandhi-video/#comment-602585
            http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/03/good-grief-romney-urged-obama-to-embrace-individual-mandate-in-obamacare/#comment-602546
            http://minx.cc/?post=327180
            http://minx.cc/?post=327114
            http://minx.cc/?post=327184

          • acat

            Bring it.

            Mew

          • texastaxpayer

            Was that list of links things they had posted in your guise? How freaking creepy is that?

          • acat

            of how far some of the losers on the internet will go.

            Mew

          • texastaxpayer

            If you see me start advocating liberals let me know…. Lol…

          • snowshooze

            Golly. You in DIRECT confrontation? No, usually, you stick to points and it NEVER get’s personal.
            In this case,.. golley.

          • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

            Also your other account.

          • acat

            Guess I got under someone’s skin.

            Mew

          • lineholder

            Wow, you definitely rubbed somebody’s fur the wrong way there, ‘cat.

            Hope the mods set this one down, though. A_CAT has no legitimate business here.

      • jermane2020

        I’ve seen that ad before, and you are quite correct to point it out as an example of the sick thinking that I am talking about (as are the better minds of Mankiw and Rogoff). The ad presumes that there are a heck of a lot of people who are eager to see high executive pay as some weaselly rip-off of everyone else working at the company. It’s just lame beyond words.

        • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

          Also your other account.

          Notice a pattern, dear reader?

          • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

            his Dad’s dog in first. Feral cats indeed.

      • 6eorge Jetson

  • kowalski

    I don’t begrudge any of them their money. Sports stars earn what they earn through negotiations and because they *earn* a lot of money for their respective sports. In most cases CEOs do the same. The talent search required to find good CEOs in complex businesses is lengthy and difficult.

    There’s a little problem with the fact that CEOs have structured agreements wherein they get paid based on milestones that occur sometimes when companies are going broke – but all of those agreements are known in advance as well. Even for the Obama CEOs who were paid while their companies were about to go bankrupt I still don’t believe in violating those contracts or making them forefit their compensation. They worked in good faith and earned the money they agreed upon.

    We start doing this to people who have agreed salaries and bonus packages that are hammered out in lengthy negotiations and pretty soon people are going to be coming for everyone’s property.

    The other day a woman sold a Chicken McNugget on eBay for something like $8,000 because it resembled George Washington. Well, what a piece of luck, and good for her. That’s what the market bore. Similarly, Ayres and Dorhrn auctioned off their dinner and the auction was won by Tucker Carlson and Matt Labash from the Weekly Standard. They noshed with them because they won the auction and paid the money.

    http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/06/the-daily-caller-dines-with-former-terrorist-leaders-video/

    People have to get off this kick of blaming CEOs for the world’s problems because of executive compensation agreements. Even if they go into crazy pipedream ventures like Solyndra, they tried. You could take all of their money and not pay the outgoing suck at the Department of Health and Human Services for a month.

    As far as sports stars are concerned, yeah it might gall Comparative Literature majors from Wellesley that a guy who can consistently sink baskets is worth a lot more than their Lit. Crit., but that’s why so many of them go to law school, isn’t it?

    The day someone starts telling CEOs that they don’t deserve what’s in their compensation agreements for demonstrated milestones is the day this country has become Communist. I don’t care which side of the Ditch you’re on. I don’t want those CEOs money back.

    • kowalski

      I think: “Jesus, that’s great.” Let’s make the economy better so more people can watch him play and he can make $100 million a year.

      Fact is that in America more people should have the ability to make $1 million a year or more and not have the government try to take it all away from them. That’s what’s wrong with Britain! Look at what it’s done to them!

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