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Op-Ed: Rewarding the MVPs of the Business World

http://www.aynrand.org/medialink/superbowlceos.shtml

REWARDING THE MVPs OF THE BUSINESS WORLD

Like quarterbacks who reach the Super Bowl, successful CEOs are
indispensable to their companies and deserve their high salaries.

By Elan Journo

As millions of Americans watch the New England Patriots take on the Carolina
Panthers, every minute of the game will be scrutinized, from all angles and
with action replays. But, amid the cheers of victory and cries of
disappointment, you won't hear a whisper of complaint from fans about the
players' multi-million dollar salaries--$3.8 million on average for starting
quarterbacks, and far more to exceptional players. No one doubts that the
players have earned it, that the MVPs are indispensable to their teams, that
it is morally proper to reward achievement.

reviled as overpaid fat-cats. Astonished at pay packages as large as that of
Dell Inc.'s Michael Dell--America's third-highest paid CEO in 2003--people
ask themselves: "How can the work of a paper-pusher be worth $82 million a
year?"

The answer is that successful CEOs are as indispensable to their companies
as Super Bowl winning quarterbacks are to their teams. They earn their
rewards.

How big an influence can one man have on the fortunes of the entire
corporation? Consider the impact of Jack Welch on General Electric.

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