[triceratops]

> you can't forget that much of the risk / responsibility should the business do poorly is on their heads

The worst outcome for any employee, exec or lowly serf, is the loss of their job. But it's far more devastating for a rank-and-filer to lose their job than for a highly-paid exec to lose theirs. So...no the majority of the workforce also takes on most of the risk should the business do poorly.

[volak]

Not true actually. The majority of employees do not get fired. Only a minority do

And the minority that is let go get 3-6 months of severance and unemployment benefits until they inevitably find a new job - which btw is far easier to do when you are not an executive of a floundering business.

[triceratops]

> The majority of employees do not get fired. Only a minority do

A minority end up fired but all of them potentially can be.

> And the minority that is let go get 3-6 months of severance

This is not written into any employment contract. 3-6 months sounds absurdly generous.

> unemployment benefits until they inevitably find a new job

UI benefits only offer partial wage replacement.

> which btw is far easier to do when you are not an executive of a floundering business.

Part of the reason execs get paid highly is to take on that risk. They have no excuse for not building up a healthy nest egg to get through periods of unemployment. Execs don't live paycheck-to-paycheck, or if they do, surely they should know better about managing money wisely. Otherwise why did they even have their jobs?

Execs also have way better personal networks for finding new jobs. Their friends are other execs in other companies. So it's not at all obvious that they'll be unemployed for longer than average Joe Pink Slip.