Quote:
Originally Posted by valo403
Even phrased like that you're seriously underestimating how difficult it would be for anyone who is not born into money to crack into the 1%. I work at a large international law firm, the people I work alongside are all highly accomplished, highly motivated, and highly intelligent. They didn't go to art school, they didn't get useless degrees, they went to Yale, they went to MIT, they went to Harvard (note, this does not apply to me) and then they did it again to get their law degrees. The VAST majority of them will never crack the 1%. A comfortable life? Probably, depending on your definition. 1%? Unlikely.
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Providing my own bit of anecdotal evidence to support this point...
My company employs one of the absolute best Cisco network experts in the world. He didn't do a "useless" philosophy or arts degree but rather pursued a career in the business world. His time is in incredibly high demand, and he routinely works 60-80 hour weeks. There are
maybe only 100 other people in the entire country who can do what he does.
I don't know his salary, but I suspect it's roughly in the $150-175k/year range (including bonuses). That's a very comfortable living, and most of us would be fortunate indeed if we ever reached that income level in our careers. That doesn't make him part of the 1%, though.
Now, what would happen if he absolutely screwed up on the job and was fired? Do you think he'd get a multi-million dollar golden parachute? Absolutely not. So why do corporate executives who are fired after driving their companies into the ground? It's like they play by an entirely separate set of rules, and for the vast majority of people, probably even more than "the 99%", we will never have the opportunity to join their exclusive club no matter how competent, how hard-working, or how educated we are.
I have
zero problem with people earning large salaries if they deserve it, but I'd like very much to hear a compelling argument explaining why a corporate executive or investment banker can command a much higher salary, benefits package, and perks like golden parachutes while my colleague above cannot.