Annoy a liberal – use facts and logic

Here’s a quote from a letter to the editor of the latest issue of Fortune from a guy named Howie Goldfarb, president and CEO of Sky Pulse Media: “Between 2003 and 2006 earnings [of the Fortune 500] rose about $350 billion. If these 500 corporations had given the increase during those years to workers, who had negative real earnings during that time, we never would have needed a bailout, and more people would be current on their debt.”

There are many different directions you could go with that statement (shouldn’t profits of a corporation, by definition, be returned to shareholders, not workers?), but let’s stick with.... right, so it’s your employer’s responsibility to make sure you live within means.

Comments

[Abi]

If by 'negative real earnings' (poor phrasing) he means that the earnings of the workers were decreasing in real terms whilst the profits of the corporation were increasing, then he has a point. That's incredibly unfair. If the corporation is doing well then ethically it should really make sure the wages of its employees at least stay level in real terms.
It seems to me that every worker is a part of the corporation and a contributor to the success of that corporation. Whilst there may be no strictly logical reason (unless you count encouraging loyalty and high morale throughout the workforce) to pass a share of that success on to them, surely it's only fair.
I agree that it's an individual's responsibility to live within their means but a system that makes sure the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is doing society no favours.