Of Rich Assholes and Rich Good Guys

Let me say right off the bat that this isn't a 'hating' entry..well kinda but not really (when are my blog posts not filled with some measure of criticism?).

There has been a ton of news these days concerning executive pay, class warfare, the 99%, etc. If I was a betting man I would say that this is more so because there is a fair amount of change going on in the tech world and it's an election year... I will also make the disclaimer that my perspective is that of a 32 year old, left-center leaning male that works in the tech industry. That being said let the bias begin!

Marissa Mayer just signed a pretty sweet deal with Yahoo, and I discussed my reservations about her lack of concern about her health/well being of her child in a previous blog post (shameless self-promotion I know). I'm sure that the deal was very much tilted in Marissa's favor because let's face it...Yahoo sucks (I can't remember the last time I visited the site...maybe on accident a few years ago). Still, the scope of the deal has me considering contrary examples of CEO generosity, my attitude about CEO pay in general, examples of good/bad CEOs. equality in general.

Let's start with the bad shall we?

I read the biography of Steve Jobs a couple months ago, and in a word he was a flaming asshole. Here are some rationalizations for that thought:
1)  Abandons daughter but names computer after her - what a prick (especially now that I have a daughter)
2)  Is a horrible boss - locks early employee out of stock, takes credit for everything, as a raging asshole
3)  Ignores the advice of doctors to get cancer surgery - because he's smarter than health professionals
4)  Knew about labor issues with his suppliers - Only until recently has this started to get traction
5)  iPhone 4 has reception issues - You're using it wrong...stupid asshole customer
6)  Contributes $0.00 to charitable pursuits - I'm gonna leave this little gem right here:

Now for the good news:

1) I read a great article about a certain CEO of Lenovo giving his bonus to his junior employees...this warms my heart just enough to remember that there still is decent leadership out there.
2) This is an oldie but a goodie - Japan Airlines CEO cutting his pay, taking the bus and eating in the cafeteria with his fellow employees - nothing says 'I'm with you' like really being with your fellow workers...unlike Howard Schultz who bought a new jet while simultaneously laying off some people....nothing says screw you like buying a new jet to take your family to Hawai'i after handing out pink slips (and the whole Sonics thing).
3) I don't think that I have ever read anything bad about the CEO of Valve, Gabe (awesome name) Newell - From paying a sick employee to get better (got better and made Portal 2), not really being anyone's boss and being a good guy in general. 

Equality in general - I get the feeling that the financial game in this world is becoming increasingly rigged to favor those that are doing the rigging: The Libor Scandal, Politicians pushing for less oversight/regulation/shooting down a competent consumer watchdog, ever increasing CEO pay, and an increasing GINI coefficient in this country. You know that the US in trouble when our GINI coefficient (measure of income equality) is higher (and growing faster) than mother f'ing Laos.

What to do about these problems?

Maybe we need a political system that is more about coming together to solve the massive problems that are much larger than any on country, political ideology or individual: drought, financial crises, population explosion, climate change, drug resistant pathogens and water shortages. I would also argue that we need more compassionate and pragmatic leadership (like Gabe (again, love the name) Newell and Charles Schumer) and less idolizing world class pricks like Jobs and the Jersey Shore.