I have neither the time nor the inclination to bat this back and forth. You simply do not seem to understand a basic truth: You can make numbers SAY ANYTHING you want them to say. You have no idea what is included or LEFT OUT of the figures you're relying on. Also, the % of what a CEO makes compared to the federal budget has nothing to do with the discussion. It's so ridiculous, I dismissed it out of hand.

Also, those are just the top guys. If you add in their underling high executives, you have a whole helluva lot more. But then you have some poor guy (or gal) making $15,000 a year on minimum wage (if they're lucky enough to be eligible for the Federal Minimum Wage).

What I'm saying is the gap between what these CEO's make and what the average Joe makes is obscene. And you're constantly whining because of their taxes. Oh, whoa is me, Madame Wife of Executive may have to do without the $5 million villa in Spain and settle for one that costs a measly $3 million. Poor abused wealthy people.

The last 3 years I worked, there were no raises for us because of the economy. The company had the money for the raises, but it wouldn't have "looked good." So, when gas prices went up, heating oil went up and some food prices went up, we had to tighten our belts because it wouldn't have "looked good." And BTW, those were the words of the Director because I asked the question. I saw the financial report (as did we all) in our annual meeting and so I asked and that was his answer. Had there been other jobs out there, there would have been a mass walkout on principal. And then they could have paid our replacements 5% more than they paid us plus spent all the money recruiting and then training them, etc., etc., etc. In our industry, raises were usually stingy anyway. The only way you could get ahead was to make a lateral move to another company. But the executives didn't tighten THEIR belts.

And the gap widens. And people who can't put food on their tables or pay for medical care for their kids are getting angrier.