Defining Greed

incher

lotto-dreamer wrote: »

It's not so much greed - it's more how skewed our society has become when a disproportionate monetary value is put on a footballer or banker way over that of a heart surgeon or an engineer or inventor.

Or a lot of healthcare workers, specially mental health. My sil does care work and has heaps of responsibility, is sometimes in physical danger, is on call far too often, and gets paid peanuts in my opinion. She's such a sweet person too!

Anyway, I digress. I agree that society is skewed in terms of financial rewards. I wonder how it will all work out in the next few years ...

Lakelady_2

Isn`t greed taking it all for yourself? I don`t mind what people earn I wish them all well.

The problem with the "greedy" bankers is that they are taking money given to their company to ensure the future success, solvency and employment base and using this money for their own ends.

joolsybools

PasturesNew wrote: »

I can't click on the poll. I don't think it's about how much, it's about how good the heart was that earnt the money, how it was earnt.

How many small people were trampled on to get it.

I agree. A person could earn loads and not be gready, they could be providing an extremely worthwhile service for a very reasonable price (e.g. counsellor, teaching new skills); its about how you treat your 'customer' and your staff (if you have any).

By the same token, people/companies can operate under 'charitable' ethics yet treat people like a piece of poo.

At least I hope all of this has caused a morality check for people...I believe in karma.

:A :A

Kev09

ukjoel wrote: »

but if you want the best people they cost more money.

This statement gets banded about all the time in this debate and it really annoys me, fact is when it comes to the bankers they were not the best people that's how they balls'd it all up end of story!

Generali

sdooley wrote: »

Assuming your friend writes insurance policies, what actuarial assumptions are used to determine that 'profit'? Or is that net of actually underwriting the entire risk? And was it entirely his own work or are some others actually responsible too?

People who run billion-pound public sector budgets don't earn a million a year either...

He writes reinsurance so when the contracts end he has a pretty good idea about what he's made or hasn't made. The only possible exception would be something nobody saw coming like asbestos which came close to destroying Lloyds of London.

treliac

Generali wrote: »

A good friend of mine made a net profit of over [FONT=verdana, arial]£180,000,000 for the insurance company he works for and will get a bonus of about [/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial]£1,000,000 or 0.55%. Is he greedy or successful?
[/FONT]

Is he married?

Generali

Cleaver wrote: »

I think you're playing Devil's Advocate Mr Rali.

I think you're right.

For such a rubbish poll, this has generated some interesting responses (I think anyway).

treliac wrote: »

Is he married?

Divorced. Cost him a packet.

Pont

Generali wrote: »

I think you're right.

For such a rubbish poll, this has generated some interesting responses (I think anyway).



Divorced. Cost him a packet.

.... and his telephone number is?!!!!

rl290

[FONT=verdana, arial]Greed has nothing to do with the size of your salary: someone earning the average wage may be "greedy" while someone earning millions may be quite a philanthropist.

Greed and success are not mutually exclusive: a greedy man can be successful or unsuccessful; a successful man may or may not be greedy.

So, I have been unable to answer you poll. You friend is certainly successful - good for him. Whether he is greedy or not is a totally separate matter.

R
[/FONT]

Masomnia

Perhaps this begs the question, are people with certain personality traits more likely to earn a higher salary?

Someone who has the ambition and drive to earn a six figure salary presumably has done things/said things one might consider 'greedy'?