It's easy to save the world when you've already taken care of yourself. But, we rely on these mavericks -- the wealthy who realize they can make a difference -- to do what we cannot on our own. So, it comes as a relief that Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MSFT) believes executive compensation is still too high.

It's a murky topic, and some forms of regulation, Gates believes, won't help. In a discussion on philanthropy at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan, where many of the people Gates criticized send their kids for early education, the former CEO and still rich guy cites the $1 million executive salary cap required by law in 1993 as a big mistake. While compensation has to be controlled, he believes this measure backfired and thinks that other, similar efforts are doomed to fail now.

Continue reading Rich still too richly compensated according to richest of them all

Rich still too richly compensated according to richest of them all originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Scott Boras on why Major League Baseball is better without a Salary Cap originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Does Major League Baseball need a salary cap? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most people in the United States and for sure shareholders of losing companies have been railing against executive pay for many years. It is generally agreed the salaries, bonuses, stock options, deferred compensation, and retirement packages have become ridiculous and do not reflect anything other then the "good ol' boy network" operating at its worst.

Compensation committees substantiate their decisions in a fashion that outlines plausible deniability not merit, value or truth. They do not reflect shareholders, employees, or customers best interest. They reflect a tight knit group that has to pay and pay big so that they can get theirs in the next round.

This brings me to the National Basketball Association and its use of the salary cap. We just witnessed an NBA finals where the better team won (Boston Celtics in six games) and that is the nature of the game. It's five on five, the best player does not take every shot and the best player cannot defend the other team by himself.

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Business should have NBA type salary cap

Sunday Funnies: Business should have NBA type salary cap originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart employs nearly as many people as the U.S. government, and its 1.3 million "associates" are so often the source of pity to the nation's economists. They make so little, it's said, they often can't afford to shop in their own low-priced employer's stores.

That makes news that starting pay will rise at about a third of Wal-Mart's U.S. stores, big. Wal-Mart says the range of starting hourly wages will increase an average of 6% but gave no details such as example starting pay. Additionally, the retail chain is instituting new wage caps on each type of job.

Interestingly, the Wal-Mart spokesperson responsible for this news spun the caps as a positive (paraphrase thanks to the AP): "the wage caps give current associates an incentive to move up to higher positions if they want to make more money." Umm... sure. Now employees must get more responsibility if they want more money, I suppose. In the abstract, it's a good thing, but having managed lots of people I've learned that not everyone is cut out for responsibility; the new caps will limit the lifetime earnings potential of thousands upon thousands of employees.

The Wal-Mart wage has new min and max originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Aug 2006 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.