"The top 1% have the best houses, the best educations, the best doctors, and the best lifestyles, but there is one thing that money doesn't seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99% live. Throughout history, this is something that the top 1% eventually do learn. Too late."
Stiglitz is concerned about the 1% of the population in the United States who take home almost 25% of the nation's income; who control 40% of the nation's wealth.
--------------------------------
Alan Joyce, the chief executive of Qantas, in the news over a shock lockout of airline employees and grounding of the fleet thought to have cost the airline millions of dollars, has trimmed the Aussie carrier of more than 1000 workers this year. His ostensible reason?
The airline is uncompetitive and losing money - $200 million a year in its international operations, he says.
In fact, across the entirety of its activities, Qantas is one of the more competitive airlines in the world and last year earned profits of $552 million. So from its perspective, the board of directors could justify rewarding Mr Joyce, even as industrial relations in the company reached a new low.
As the chief executive played hardball over staff conditions and remuneration, they awarded him a 71% salary increase - to $A5 million.
The ordinary folk whose daily grind keeps the airline in the air - from pilots to cabin crew and ground staff - were not amused. Who can blame them?
The boss destroys the livelihood of hundreds of workers and tries to materially downgrade that of thousands of others and is rewarded extravagantly by "the system" for so doing.
No wonder people are increasingly inclined to question "the system".
Otago Daily Times 2 November 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment