I do think CEOs can be worth more than one employee. But taking a more scientific tack I suggest we check out the sometimes maligned studies of intelligence in psychology.
An IQ is an Intelligence Quotient. It is the Mental age of the test taker divided by the actual age of the test taker, multiplied by 100. The astute of you will realize that average intelligence must be 100.
The basement of IQ scores seems to be around 50 IQ points. The highest IQ scores are around 200. There might not be a straight, linear relationship among scores, but I find it telling that psychologists use scoring that might imply that the very smartest people are only around twice as smart as the average person. And the average person is only twice as smart as the least gifted performers. I think this scale was chosen because it gives some harmony to the various scorers while still maintaining there are differences.
So, even though psychology is a soft science, I think psychologists played this like a lawyer or a gifted negotiator. The smartest people are worth only 4 times what the least gifted are worth. Shouldn’t salaries of CEOs versus the least paid in the company be only 4 times as big?
If you hadn’t heard, many CEOs make 1000 times the wage of their lowest paid employee. It wouldn’t bother me so much but every time there is a push on increasing the minimum wage, the CEOs cry foul. With costs of living, the lowest paid workers need to work two jobs or need some kind of handout from the government or charities.
Oh the work ethic of most CEOs is exemplary, perhaps they work 60 hours a week. But those lowest paid employees working two jobs are working 80 hours a week. Don’t give me the line that all you need to be successful is to be a hard worker. It doesn’t work that way because CEOs have gamed the system.
Sure not every CEO has come out against an increased minimum wage. But those rich CEOs are very likely to fund right wing think tanks that do come out against an increased minimum wage.
Shame on any CEO that somehow suggested that current minimum wages are fair. Let’s cap their wage at 4 times mimimum wage and then find a changed tune.
