Swiss to Vote on Guaranteed $2800 Monthly Income for All Adults

Did you ever stop and wonder why there aren't more CEO's in the world? Ever wonder why the turn over rate for big company CEO's is really relatively low? The answer is easy, because few people have what it takes to be one.

The POTUS is not a CEO. The U.S. Government is not a corporation. The parallel is apples and oranges.

So let Switzerland enact their law and let those willing to be CEO's for $185K per year become CEO's....then let's see how long the company lasts....

I used think similarly about CEO's and big wigs, until I started working for them and understand what all goes on behind the scenes with them and running corporations. The pressure is immense, not only internally, but from the stock holders. Imagine your entire livelyhood rests on the whim of the other board members for day to day work and decisions, but is also at jeopardy from the stock holders if they even think you made one little mistake and cost them any money. It is the veritable dancing man gig. You're fine as long you are dancing in a manner they like, but one misstep and you're done, rarely any second chance.

Yeah, I know they get severance "packages" and all that, but when you dance on the edge of the sword every day it comes with the territory.

Now, I also understand that many are going to say, but this guy/gal already has X millions of dollars in personal wealth, they have enough and don't need any more.

While on the surface this might appeal to most, be very careful with it. In a free society, the idea behind this freedom comes, generally without the limit of "need". To begin defining that for things that fall within those bounds is to instantly remove those freedoms and set a framework for more degradation.

The thing is, the big wigs and the rich will continue to be so, regardless of how much we clamor on about them. If you start squeezing them, those millions, and billions will become less effective at increasing opportunities in our markets...and yes, the effects ARE trickle down.

That's not to say the rich should just be able to do what they want, but they should not be penalized simply for the fact they are rich any more than you should be penalized for your income level, or what you drive, or where you live, etc.

 

True, not all CEO are created equal. You've got great ones, good ones, average, below average, and so on. Same with most any profession you care to gauge, I'm sure.

So, OK. Will Switzerland drive out their best talent? As long as there is an alternative, that is a distinct possibility. Such a law will also create incentive for fraud - try to limit people's ability to succeed in some way and a portion of them will inevitably seek to get around it by dishonest means.

It's hard to argue against this and be in favor of the free market as opposed to government-managed crap that will likely come crashing down eventually due to overhead and other problems.

People are clearly upset, though, that the rape of trickle-down has apparently slowed considerably, leading to this growing wealth gap. We see the Swiss taking a step to try and counter it, but as with high taxes, it's likely to backfire in some way. I don't know if anyone knows how to fix this trend... Not that I see anyone letting the market work to correct it on its own. I would like to see that tried.

 

Why?

Most people who show glimpses of any real talent in school actually do get free rides to college. It's not frequent, or isn't reported in the news often, because that sort of talent isn't common.....

We don't "need" to do anything of the sort, the colleges clamor over themselves to try to pick these kinds of people up.

 

Maybe you don't understand. Where they keep what they already have is irrelevant. If you tell them they aren't making 10 million anymore and instead now get paid 185K, they're going move to another company (obviously not in Switzerland) to continue making that 10 million, or more.

I don't know, nor have I ever heard of anyone who voluntarily took a 91.5% pay cut because they loved the company they worked for so much.

 

Only the best of the best get free rides. Which makes sense for the schools trying to improve their legacy but not for a country trying to improve the number of skilled labor in the country. C students should be getting free if not cheap education as well.

In industries desperate for educated workers such as computer programming they will gladly hire a C student if they can prove their worth in the field.

 

Exactly. You're investing in your future.

Cancel your Netflix subscription, give up the nightly 6 hour YouTube/Facebook veg-fest, and accept the fact you wont be able to buy that new iPhone.

Put in the hard work for 2-4 years, reap the benefits of your sacrifice, and then enjoy how much better life is when you earn your way.

 

Add me to that mix of those who worked their ass off to get it. My parents weren't even middle class, they were dirt poor. I can remember them trying to decide which piece of furniture to hock at the pawn shop on a Friday to have some money so they could go out for a dinner for the two of them on Saturday.

I also didn't make perfect financial decisions in my life either, even though I knew what it would mean. In some cases I opted for that instant gratification, but when it came time to "pay the piper", as it were, I didn't scream and throw a tantrum because it wasn't "fair".

Still, no scholarships, no parental financial backing and no loans, I made it through college...twice, actually.

Along the way of my career, I also learned about myself...I learned I don't want to be a big wig in a corporation and that I probably am not cut out to be one any way. That's ok, I am happy with the balance of income I have vs the amount of time, effort and tress I endure for it.

Would I like making millions a year, or having millions of dollars in general, absolutely, who wouldn't? I also understand, and accept that the only way I will have millions is if I win the lottery, or my investments keep splitting, then skyrocket in value.

I don't blame anyone for where I am, I claim the credit for it because "I" did it.

 

Here we go with the, if I did it 20-40 years ago, you should be able to do it today, BS.

 

this is mostly semantics welfare is already a guaranteed income for adults, extending the amount to higher minimum pay isn't a big step...and many countries have much higher taxes for the rich than the US does and the rich still don't leave...

 

I think Kuwait used to be the wealthiest per capita people on the planet. Might be Dubai now. In groups that small and decentralized, you can do some things that won't come close to working well in a nations of 300+ million.

 

I didn't live IN Switzerland, but I spent a number of years in Germany and visited Switzerland many times. Skiiing was great.

What's your point?

 

The skiing is great especially in Andermatt and in St Moritz...

 

I know it is "gone", maybe the sarcasm was lost on you.

Either way...

1. True, but it isn't the only profession in the world that pays that kind of money.
2. Yes, all high paying jobs are limited in number because not just anyone can do them, that has a lot to do with why they're high paying.
3. Your opinion, doesn't count. As much as we dislike lawyers in general, they are necessary. Those producers you speak of wouldn't exist without legal help. Not all lawyers are ambulance chasers or class action hounds.

 

People said the same thing that you just did back then too. That attitude - and the belief that things are different today and you can't do it on your own any more - are not anything new. There were plenty of people I went to school with who said the same thing back then. You probably met some similar people working as janitors or laborers today. They proved their claims right, but the rest of us did ok.

 

I Lebanese friend I had back in the 80's who lived in one of the arabian states he told me at that time every citizen in that country was guaranteed a job and and minimum income. He told me of elevator operators who made 40K a year just pushing buttons in elevators that any 5 yr old can operate by themselves. The state was wealthy enough to employ every citizen, providing a livable wage and job, certainly a better system than welfare for doing nothing...

30 million or 300 million the size off the nation shouldn't matter if the state bureaucracy can organize itself to do the job efficiently...

 

Your Lebanese friend sounds like and idiot.

 

he's an engineer and I have no reason to question his integrity, highly intelligent and honest...

 

Well you should doubt his integrity.. He's a liar.

 

Yes, any specific profession will have all the manner of performers as you outlined above, it's just the nature of being human. Fortunately, other humans are aware of this and typically bad ones don't stay at the helm very long.

Absolutely it is a distinct possibility. For $9,900,000 more per year in salary, I'm pretty willing to pick up and move almost anywhere (there are exceptions, like the middle east countries, for example).[/QUOTE]

I agree with you in general. People are upset, that's a fact, but the problem isn't the rich people, really. WHY has the trickle slowed? Let's see. Executives are till getting paid the same as they were when the economy was "good"...or even a bit more. Corporations, on the other hand overall aren't doing quite as good. So what does that mean? The rich big wigs are socking away their money, they're putting into savings, or investments outside. The corporations are not going sock it to the, for a lack of better term, more important people that are managing to keep the company going. The corps are not going to grow, or invest discretionary funds into new or expanded projects/products/services. The money is still there, it's just not moving. Why?

Let's face it, as much as we value ourselves and others as humans and people, the lower end of the worker jobs are not nearly as important. The reason being, it is easy and quick to find replacements with little to no impact on the company.

 

A "C" student deserves a free ride why?

If they can prove their worth...that's true for ANY job.

 

Right!

I mean, a bachelor's degree is 4 years. Holy crap, you can't pay attention in class or spend the time to do your homework, and reign in your impulses and desire to buy the latest (*)(*)(*)(*) for 4 measly years?

To listen to these whiners, you'd think they're going to be going to school for the rest of their lives.

We live in a "push button" society now, I want it all, I want it right now, and I don't want to have to "sacrifice" to get it.

 

Lol, spoken like a true lazy couch potato.

What is your excuse for not being able to do it?

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So are you suggesting we move to those countries, or alter ours to match how they do things...you didn't make that clear.

 

It's not just the size and population, but what they're sitting on that makes it possible...that and the fact their oil/gas is nationalized.

That particular little microcosm of a society is very much an exception and not the rule.

 

It is different. I was there too. You could work at a minimum wage job pay for school, and your own expenses without too much difficulty since tuition was very cheap, especially at local colleges. A person could also get work, but not just work, a job that paid as good or better than jobs with a college degree. So you could earn more and pay for schooling pretty easy from the 1960's to the 1990's, if that was your goal.

You need a full time minimum wage job today just to cover basic necessities (rent, food, transportation, etc...) and there are not that many opportunities to find better jobs for the taking. If you don't get a degree you are most likely going to be stuck in minimum wage territory for a long time. And with the new Obama care corporate welfare plan, even those basic jobs are going to be part time, casual labor, no benefit jobs. That is the difference. And it is a big difference.

I didn't say it couldn't be done, there are grants, scholarships and yes even loans (which is not a very wise choice unless you have a job already guaranteed) but in almost every case when you hear somebody say, "I did all by myself without any help from anybody else", they didn't. Nobody is working their way through college with a fast food paycheck supporting them and their tuition, as a soul source of income.

However if you are living at home, working two or three jobs taking a part time schedule at the local Jr college, you might get an education by the time you are 30, and you should be commended for the effort however you are going to be about a decade behind your peers who graduated earlier.

 

Did it, worked my butt off, wouldn't want to do it under today's conditions is all I was saying. I'm just being honest, which makes you the opposite.