Friday, November 04, 2011

It is all right to get rich in an honest way, but it is now quite common for people to get rich by being dishonest and they get away with it.


Most Americans don't begrudge great riches to anybody who works hard, takes real risks, and creates things of value. As evidenced by the positive outpouring for Steve Jobs, great entrepreneurs are still celebrated. But there is an implicit social contract that links rewards to effort and accomplishment. If many people now believe that corporate America has violated that contract, is it surprising? At many big corporations, the senior managers have seemed more interested in stuffing their pockets than building for the long term. Gargantuan pay packages are only the start of it. Think boards of directors packed with patsies, books cooked to juice earnings, potential whistleblowers silenced, golden parachutes, and finally taxpayers obliged to save expensively tanned hides. The thing that is really surprising is that it has taken this long for public anger to well up.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/04/one-percent-wake-up-call/?section=money_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_topstories+%28Top+Stories%29

3 comments:

Chee Ming said...

I think the more surprising thing is that Singaporeans aren't welling it up.

Lye Khuen Way said...

Yes, Singaporeans are still happily lost. No ? At least 60% were.

Anonymous said...

how many steve jobs got rich that way? only one. this means his way is not replicable. if it is not replicable, it is not a good way.

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