21 April 2019: Is wealth inequality a problem, and what are you doing about it?

Is excessively high CEO pay a problem? In 1965, the average ratio of CEO pay to employee pay was 20:1 (Forbes 2018), but today it is often 300:1 (Bloomberg 2019, Harvard Law School 2018).

Excessively high CEO pay may cause several problems. First, it promotes a false sense of  confidence and arrogance, among CEOs doing a mediocre job. As a small business CEO, I know how important it is to continuously ask my employees what they are doing. This not only makes the business run well, but minimizes the risk of a catastrophe that could put us out of business. But humility is difficult when receiving stratospheric salaries, and this failure to know what was going on has led to disastrous CEO failures at General Motors regarding ignition switches, Boeing regarding faulty software and in Michigan by our "business savvy" former governor regarding drinking water contaminated with lead and Legionella bacteria.

Second, excessively high pay may push CEOs to want even more (not logical, but that seems to be how it works) and to attempt to exert excessive control over government. This policy has been aggressively promoted by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and Detroit Regional Chamber, who sought to overturn voter approved referendums (emergency manager, minimum wage) and funded efforts to undermine democratic decision making by gerrymandering and voter suppression. 

Third, excessively high pay for management means there is less money available to pay employees, who often suffer miserably even when working full time  (Washington Post 2019).

Even some millionaires believe that this marked income disparity hurts our country economically (NBC News 2019). When employees reasonably believe the system is unfair, it hurts productivity and creates societal instability.

What do you think? If you agree that excessively high CEO pay is a problem, what are you doing to fight it. If you disagree, let me know why.

Please limit your responses to polite discourse that avoids partisan politics and name calling.