One man's trash

[Horse with no Name]

In 2008, David Steiner made about $6.2 million dollars as CEO of Waste Management.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10477374/waste-management-ceo-gets-62m-pay-package-for-08.html

I remember when I was growing up that people used to laugh at being a garbage man when they grew up.
This was invariably followed by "but they work for the city and have a good job and good benefits. It's a good living".
And it was.
I had a friend whose Dad worked for the city "sanitation department". I don't know what his salary was, but they had a nice little 3-bedroom house, drove good dependable cars, and the kids dressed nicely. They always went on vacation during the summer. Her mom worked part-time. They had a nice life.

On a garbage man's salary.

Nice thing was...when he worked for 20 years, he retired and received a pension from the city.

I don't know about you, but I am pretty darn certain that that the boss didn't come close to making $6.2 million a year.

According to these statistics, a garbageman in Texas makes an average salary of $28,800 a year. I would bet that the difference in the 30 years since my friend's Dad picked up garbage isn't that much.http://www.indeed.com/salary?q1=Garbage+Man&l1=texas

Privatization is a lousy republican idea. Take good paying, decent jobs with benefits from workers and contract to a company whose CEO will make millions and give the workers crappy benefits (if any at all) and lousy pay.

IMHO that is where our country took the first wrong turn.

Because by my calculations at $28,800....one CEO makes as much as 215 employees--and THEY are the ones doing the hard work.

In my America, there is something wrong with that.

Seems like pure garbage to me.

[SoCalDem]

1. That's the way it USED to be.

Men supported families by working at JC Penney or Western Auto, or at the Water Department, or as a salesperson at a department store/shoe store/drug store.

These were FAMILY-SUPPORTING jobs. Wives would sometimes work part time when the kids were in school or at Christmas time, but mostly it was Dad who was the "breadwinner"...and those incomes allowed for :
buying a small house
buying NEW cars from time to time
putting money in savings accounts
taking vacations
sending kids to college

[Bandit]

2. In Japan they have laws setting the ratio between the Head of the company and common workers

I believe it is something like no more than ten fold. If a worker makes $25,000 the President/head can not make more than $250,000. I could be wrong about the correct ratio but I am fairly certain about there being a Law about it.

[Horse with no Name]

3. I see nothing wrong with that.

I fully expect those that think capitalism is the best thing ever...to disagree.