I'm not an employee of GM, but my family goes back four generations in the industry including working for the Big Three.

You obviously have a different perspective on what it means to be successful. Nothing wrong with that. I could care less what the average joe makes or how hard he works for a living because I don't want to limit myself to that. I want the best of everything. I want to push myself harder than anyone else and farther than anyone expects me to go.

Maybe it's a different philosophy up in Canada, but in America the one great thing about this country is that you are limited only by your own self-motivation to achieving greatness and wealth. A lot of those CEOs spend their formative years working their butts off and in the end their job security is actually worse than the people working on the line. I do not want an uneducated, unmotivated "average joe" responsible for a multi-billion dollar revenue producing, publicly-held, global corporation. I want someone who is willing to step up and take the bull by the horns, and I'm going to pay them well if they're successful.

 

Viva le Free Market! It made America the shining beacon that other nations have aspired to for generations. It also allowed competition among the world's auto companies, all vying for the North American market that has brought today's unprecedented level of automotive choice and capability. The entire globe is deeply in America's debt for creating such a dynamic, unfettered market. It has resulted in amazingly advanced vehicles for everyone in the world!

When 10% of the people control 90% of the wealth, it should inspire the remaining 90% to work like hell to raise themselves up. This is the formula that made the USA great.

 

Some of those 10% are not worthy of their job titles or salary. The execs all take care of themselves no matter what they do. I'm just saying that some execs should not be in the positions they are in. If they are not successful(ie Wagner-never was!), they should be fired like anyone else that screws up. And their winfall of a termination parachute should be torn up and filed under 13...not given to them for their lack of performance. I call that executive crime when execs can manipulate their own guaranteed contract.

 

Without a doubt, I agree...there is abuse at the upper executive level. But I can't help but believe that, save for the ones that are hauled into court for wrongdoing, we'll never know who the real baddies are, for we just don't have enough data on who's who and what's what down at OUR level.