Ben & Jerry's - Good Guys

[Tiberius]

At Ben & Jerry's, the highest paid members of staff can earn a maximum of 5 times the amount of the lowest paid members of staff:

http://www.people.com/people/archive/art...61,00.html

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

How much does the lowest paid staff earn?

[Tiberius]

Hmm...apparently this ended in 1995, and it was a 1:7 ratio not 1:5. My bad. However, at the time it ended, the lowest paid worker earned $8 an hour, and the highest paid worker (COO) earned $150,000 a year. Profits were mostly reinvested into the company, and of course donated to charity.

IMO, the way a business should be run.

[Anomalocaris]

That reminds me of a statistic from the cold war: The highest ranking US admiral in 1990 makes 8 times as much as the freshest US naval recruit. The highest ranking soviet admiral in the same year makes 140 time as much as freshest soviet naval conscript, not counting extensive soviet flag officer perks impossible to value in a non-market economy.

[Tiberius]

I think that fact is very telling of the obvious problem of socialism: it doesn't deal with the problem of greed. It gives the government all the power, and thus whoever the government favours gets all the money. Anarchistic socialism might work, since it removes the whole concept of "power" from the system, but then, without power, you can't institute any economic system. So you're left with either corrupt socialism, or socialism that is only as strong as the number of people who follow it.

[leo-rcc]

The Carl-Zeiss foundation works in a similar fashion. It actively runs the Carl-Zeiss AG and Schott AG, which are in the business of making high quality lenses and glass manufacture. In the late 19th century this foundation (stiftung) was set up to ensure that the workers in their businesses were treated fairly, and that funds be put in the community of Jena (the city Carl-Zeiss has its factory) and into advancing natural and mathematical science in research and teaching (where their most funds are directed to, in the form of the University of Jena).

[Cinjin]

It is indeed nice to see some goodness once in a while. Especially in this country; where selfishness and greed are considered good old-fashioned American behavior.


http://www.civicrenewal.org/generous-ceo...-back.html

[Epimethean]

That reminds me of a statistic from the cold war: The highest ranking US admiral in 1990 makes 8 times as much as the freshest US naval recruit. The highest ranking soviet admiral in the same year makes 140 time as much as freshest soviet naval conscript, not counting extensive soviet flag officer perks impossible to value in a non-market economy.

Such as very attractive females willing to do anything to be desired.

[leo-rcc]

At Ben & Jerry's, the highest paid members of staff can earn a maximum of 5 times the amount of the lowest paid members of staff:

http://www.people.com/people/archive/art...61,00.html

Btw, how accurate is this still? As Ben & Jerry's ice cream is taken over by Unilever a few years a decade ago.
edited after check

[5thHorseman]

'I think that fact is very telling of the obvious problem of socialism: it doesn't deal with the problem of greed'

True that, what's the good alternative?

Please do not say right wing libertarianism, it too breeds greed, just financial.