by Kelly Donivan

Created on: October 23, 2009

The current economic times have awakened my recall of the buzz words from my first economics class over twenty years ago. Business cycles, supply and demand, and psychology are what make capitalism the economic system in America. The media continues to cover stories of inflated CEO salaries and yet those are the same companies that are receiving government money to stay solvent. Just what do these executives "do" that warrants these astronomical salaries? There is the claim that without the millions in bases pay and all the perks of the use of a company plane, stock options and a vacation home, the company won't get the best and brightest individuals to work for these companies. I don't believe that is at all true. Just what do these executives "do" to "earn" all this money? How are these salaries justified? How much is too much? What I see is greed, pure and simple.

What or whom determines the value of a person's tasks or efforts? For some people, it is the physical effort expended to complete the task, for others, it is the level of education, talents and amount of experience; for others it is the risk involved in the job or the level of responsibility. Geography and work conditions also play a role. Add in the glamour or lack there of in a job, that will play a role in what a job pays. Economics principles and psychology are intertwined in putting a dollar value to a job.

I have always questioned why athletes are paid outrageous amounts of money to play a game. I realize that this is their "job" and these people are talented in their particular sport, but I don't see their "skills" being worth million dollar contracts. Perhaps it is because this is the only activity that they know how to do. I see these millions of dollars as money that should be banked and invested well for the future. Instead, these people live extravagant lives and their love of the paper with dead presidents gets them drawn into behaviors that lead to their downfall. How do these athletes continue to command high salaries? They are merely entertainers and the "game" is just another performance. The fans allow this to perpetuate. Stop going to professional sporting events and this industry will feel the effects. This is where the psychology takes over. These athletes don't have to worry, because sports fans, many of whom are the working class will continue to attend your events and pay your salaries.

Movie "stars" and other artists are operating the same way, but they don't play

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