Wages & Politics

For some time I have trying to figure out some justification for the enormous salaries/bonuses/other compensation being given to some of the people on Wall Street. I have come to the conclusion that it is politics. From a technical standpoint, I don't think any of those people who are getting millions of dollars a year or any more qualified than any number of other people. They don't "deserve" their huge bonuses and whatnot, they were simply able to convince someone to agree to give them the money. They are essentially con-artists.

For people who work for a living, the amount they earn is generally in some way related to how difficult their task is, how much time it takes, and their level of responsibility. Grocery store checkers may make $10 to $20 an hour, Doctors and lawyers may make $100 to $200 an hour, and I don't think anyone begrudges them their earnings.

The more responsibility that comes with a job, generally the higher the pay. You don't want the guy who is cutting you open, or landing your plane, to be worried about how he is going to pay the plumber.

People who are making millions of dollars a year are not getting paid for what they do. They are getting paid because they convinced someone to give them the money, and that's politics. Some people are just natural born political animals, they are easily identified in any group of people. They are the ones who care nothing for whether the job gets done, or how well it's done. They only care about who gets credit for it, and they will go to great lengths to see that they get the credit and someone else gets the blame. Lying and flattery are their stock in trade.

We all do it to some extent, but for most people it is a very small piece of their personality. For political animals it is the be-all and end-all of their existence.

Just like every other line of work, there are good and bad people in positions of power in this country. There may even be some good people making tons of money, but I think the only way you can justly "earn" huge amounts is because of the vicious, cut-throat thugs you have to deal with.