Compensation and Benefits

Compensation and Benefits
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The extremely rich, the middle class that has to work for a living to keep going and the extremely poor live in almost 3 different worlds and one from one container cannot understand the problems, activities of the another from the other class. Even a person that became extremely rich from extreme poverty but staying rich for a long period of time cannot understand not appreciate the problems of the poor.

Often time the example given in support of Capitalism is "A poor woman who has to go to work for that day's bread will go to work even if she has fever but with socialism when she has mild headache, she will stay home because of welfare benefits. Hence socialism induce laziness"

The example hides the fact that the rich have many benefits, sick leaves and over excessively compensated that when they get sick they have the luxury of not working for weeks or months.

Once again the argument to the rich's support is so what - They earned it! But the truth of the matter is most often the rich robbed it from the poor and middle class by having so many laws and benefits in their favor (Like extremely high compensation, larger corporate tax benefits and subsidy in land, infrastructure facilities, almost free technology transfer from government research works worth Billions of Dollars, Patent laws in Corporations favor, Tax benefits on expenses and so forth)

Through out the years the rich have brainwashed everyone through all forms of media that it was ok and just and lawful to get a extremely large share of the pie (Of Business profits to be taken away by them (as they take risk or use their Brain). By hiding profits and income as confidential information business owners / CEO s made it easy for them to walk away with extreme large share of pie without anyone questioning on noticing them.

In order to address these issues the following laws are essential.

1. Everyone takes risk in some form or other everyday so taking risk should not be a criteria for the amount of compensation as the laws are not about aiding gambling but to ensure a safe and meaningful way of life for everyone.

The average American income for individuals is about $40,000

and the mean income for individuals in America for 2008 is $43,000

and on an average 90% of American earn less than $2 Million in his/her entire life time.

So why let one individual take more than that amount in once single year?

(Counter Argument for everyone that states the person earned it because he/she brought about the profit hence deserved it:

If free market is operated on demand and supply then by the same token when profits go high, prices should come down and vice verse but in the business controlled markets when profits go down, prices go high and when profits go high the prices DO NOT COME DOWN but the excessive profit goes to the CEO and a selective few individuals. So in reality free market does not exist!)

CEO is not a ONE MAN SHOW. Without others a company does not exist. So when ever there are profits, the excess amount should go to a safety fund (for rainy days) and not to the pockets of the CEO. With these principles the following laws needs to be enacted:

1. No individual should be paid more than 35 times the average income of individuals in a company/corporation.

E.g. If the average salary of individuals in Corporation A is $50,000 per year then no one should be compensated more than $1.75 Million per year (All compensations put together like stocks, vacation pay, salary, Bonus etc)

The amount $1.75 Million per year was derived by 35 * $50000.

35 times is derived as reasonable value as most individuals work for about 35 years in their entire life. So this CEO or who every that gets the highest salary gets in one single year what an average American earns in his/her entire life time! Is this compensation not fair enough!

So if a person is CEO for 12 years with those 12 years he/she would have earned what an average American earns in 12 lives (Avathers if it exists!)

All medium and large corporations / companies * should have a safe fund (for rainy days and losing years) so that they can pay salary for all its employees for a period of 5 years ).

Note if the current laws have this safety fund then CEO s cannot / could not walk away with the huge compensation as well as there will not be any unemployment problem!

* That have either more than 50 employees or has revenue more than $10Million.

Justification: 50employees at $50,000 = $2.5 Millions. Multiplied by 4 to take care of other expenses hence $10Millions.

2. The full work day should be 7 hours per day for 5 days a week for ages between 21 to 45;

The full work day should be 7 hours per day for 4 days a week for ages between 46 to 55;

The full work day should be 6 hours per day for 3 days a week for ages between 56 to 60.

Note:

As people grow older their social responsibilities are more hence the need for gradually decreasing work hours but at the same level of salary/compensation.

3. Every individual should be able to retire at age 60 with a pension for next 20 years.

(If this law existed now and companies have to carve a budget for pension funds then CEO s could not have claimed efficiency and taken away huge (Tens of Millions every year)).

4. Every individual should be eligible for 24 days (2 day per month) of paid vacation per year apart from National holidays, individual birthday and marriage day.

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-Suresh