m. in Arlington, you are ignorant. The top executives at every publicly held firm are put in place by the board of directors...who are ELECTED by the shareholders--AKA, THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE COMPANY!! Next, if the worker doesn't like the way the greedy pig owner or executive is cheating him/her out of their fair share, they should seek other employment or start their own business and do it their way. What's stopping them? Only their own talent. Which is how the business owner got to where they are. No one is saying there aren't bad execs out there--but the free market weeds them out over time, and when the regulatory bodies are working they way they should, execs have the best interest of the firm and the shareholders in mind at all times. This is far more effective than government panels (who by the way truly aren't elected) which are riddled with corruption. Finally, how do you think execs get stock? It doesn't just magically appear. Most execs are granted stock as promotions/performance warrant. They can't just trade stock in the firm they work for anytime they want. The stock ties performance to pay. When the exec does well, all shareholders do well. My job, performance, and education say that I have far more than an elementary understanding of the economic situation. If you want to have a discussion about the MBS's, Credit-default swaps, and real-estate speculation bubble, I would be happy to engage. I'm sure you would learn something from me and my elementary understanding.

Only a fool would say that those who own the wealth are not those who produce it (with the exception of inherited wealth). There is a reason that the worker on the assembly line doesn't own the factory--maybe s/he doesn't want to, maybe s/he isn't smart enough, maybe s/he doesn't work hard enough...or maybe s/he will someday but isn't experienced enough yet. We all live in the reality of the decisions and choices we make, and are entitled only to what we can provide for ourselves. Those who own the wealth have taken the risk, put in the work and made the right decisions in order to get that wealth. Without them, the job for the assembly line worker doesn't even exist. They create wealth on some level for more than just themselves. Take away their wealth, and you take someone elses's too.