Maybe. Or maybe they start out in such positions. The thing is, not all people start at the bottom, and it would be interesting to see how many corporate leaders started out as "the guy that screws on the tail light". And even if all people would start out at the bottom and rise to the top, would it still justify all their privileges? The high wages and the insane amount of power they hold in a company? I dont think so. And even if a CEO runs the company for a year and fails... With all the rewards and bonuses he gets, he has enough money that would suffice you or me for years.

And just a note, CEOs that rise to that position dont own the company in most cases, but are employed by the owners of the company to lead it. As for the owners... Well, dont even get me started on them.

Over here the rights and duties of the employer and the employee are clearly defined by law. If an employee screws up bad enough that the employer has a valid reason to fire him/her, that will happen and the unions cant do shit. Unfortunately, the unions cant do shit about other things as well, like an employer getting outside his/her rights and demanding more from employee than is allowed.

Ok, moving on to Tim...

I was actualy shocked to hear that a factory worker over there gets 75 $ per hour. Thats the amount of money that I make in two days of work. But that aside, I hardly think that the guy who gets 75$ per hour would be a bigger reason for the high prices of cars than the guy that gets a couple of thousand $ per month + all the insanely high rewards. I mean, if we put all those numbers that we saw in the Blah thread together... A CEO gets more money than all the factory workers put together! Maybe if a CEO would get a regular wage, the cars could be much more affordable, without having to make cuts at the bottom, where it most hurts. Not to mention that 75$ is not a lot in a car that may cost a few thousand $ as a finished product. If it is 75$ per car anyway, because I can hardly imagine that screwing on a single component (like the now infamous "tail light") would take an entire hour. Havent you guys heard of norms?

Employment. Well, yes, you have to prove it. And you can work hard and try hard, but so can the other guy. Its a competition where there are few winners but many losers. And of course, the employer is the one that will ultimately decide who gets the job. And of course, I agree that we shouldnt go firing people because a new candidate has been found after the old one was already employeed. That is a matter of job security, and with it social security.

Social equality is in my opinion definately something that we should work for. From experiences in my country, social equality is a quarantee of a peacefull society, with considerably lower crime rates, suicide rates, ect. A society like we have now, with competition on every corner, and massive class divisions does completetly the opposite.
As for the pros and cons of a socialist system... Well, as far as Im concerned the worst kind of socialism is better than the best kind of capitalism. Its not all crazy Ivans with nukes, you know.

Moving on to Freeze... (3 on 1! It aint a fair fight! :D)

Ot goes back to basic capitalist economics. Thats not the only kind of economics, and as I said a lot of time before, it is not without alternatives. The thing is, that people of all proffesions contribute to the wealth of a society, and even though someones work might be valued less in terms of money, it doesnt mean that we can do without it.

		Head banger wrote:
		Strat, your right in the difference between decent wage and decent life.  A wage may help make a decent life, but its not the end all.  your right too that education by itsself doesnt qualify you for any job.  the work a person is willing to do is a part of them, and their character, but its sure not the only thing.  but, rarely do people rise to leadership positions, and hold them for any length of time without leadership skills.  some are learned, mistakes get made, but if you dont have the basic skills, you either own the company, or your daddy does.  and in those cases, if you dont know your shit, you fail, and the company does too.   unions, question, do your unions defend all workers who recieve dicipline?  even if they did do the wrong thing?  ours do.  they take dues and contribute them to political causes, without asking the membership, spend money on the leaders trips, not that they help the workers any.  today, a union is just like any business, selling a "service" not a physical product.  but they just sell, and are just there to make money, just as a business is.  in fact, the unionized office workers of a union near here went on strike to complain about the way they were treated there.       _strat_ wrote: You can open up another window, go to JP.com and have it right there... But anyway, I wanted us to relocate here, because this is the thread for it, and we were going on in a general discussion one. Ok, to the point: Value as a human being was not my point either. The point was that the education you need to have to do a certain job, does not automaticaly make you fit for that job. If we take a CEO, a manager, or even an ordinary boss, whats the thing you would expect from them? Well, expertise is one, and I grant you that can be pretty much learned. But what about the things like leadership abilities, organisational abilities, being a responsible person... etc.? Those things are a matter of character if they are of anything. And as I said the ONLY thing that a good education proves about you, is that you are willing to learn and work. There is MUCH more to a person, and much more to the work that the person does. The pros and cons of capitalism are actualy very much connected to the entire issue that we have been discussing lately. And it is connected to the next point as well: unions. Now, I dont know how your unions work, so I can speak for our unions, and say that they do a very good job, within their abilities in the current socio-economic system. They are always the first to point out corruption, and the first ones to defend the rights of the working class. I think that we would have it a lot worse, if it wasnt for our unions. As for life... We have choices, sure. But the thing is that in any society, our choices collide with the choices of others. The example that I gave earlier about five people applying for a job and only one getting it is perfect for this. All want it, but only one gets it. The choice is in the hands of the employer, not the candidate. Tho my comment was of course on how to value decent life, when I pointed out that we value it by the lives of the people around us, and that is also my argument for promoting social equality. Oh, and mybe we should talk about religion? We agree on that. Ok, now, ill probably stick around for awhile, but dont be surprised to have me MIA until next morning. Its pretty damn late here.      Deep Freeze wrote: OK strat, I will try to comment on your Blah post but, as you well know, I have a rather feeble mind and I cannot recall everything you mentioned. I agree that a degree does not automatically make you intelligent. I have met some "dumb-ass" college people, too. As for your value as a human being, I do not remember EVER saying anything about value. If I did, I need to apologize NOW because value was never my point. The pros and cons of capitalism are ANOTHER issue all together. I am aware of your opinion. I respect it. Don't agree with it, but then you and I rarely agree. That is OK. I do not care for unions. They had their time and did what they needed to do MANY years ago. They are as corrupt as the high-level corporate managers you so despise, in my humble opinion. And as for having a decent life, I believe your life is what you make of it.  I do not expect any corporation to do anything more than let me try my best and get as far as I can. I do not wish to be a CEO, either!  WAY too much work and responsibility for me! As I said, I like my weekends.