Class envy on display

A letter to the editor complained a CEO is paid $19 million and stated, "Who needs that kind of money?" The writer wondered, "So, this is how it works."

The answer is, in free market capitalism, yes, this is how it works. An employee is worth what an employer is willing to pay them. The company decided the CEO is worth the money. If I could hit a 90 mph fastball, I would be worth a lot of money.

The writer says the high CEO salary is paid by keeping a lid on the wages of the working people. This is not true. Wages are determined by how many people can do the job. A lot of people can work in a restaurant, be a teacher, a fireman, a plumber, so these jobs do not pay $19 million a year.

On the same day of this letter, it reported that a company was donating $100 million - thank you, free market capitalism - to the Ronald McDonald House, which is also a result of free market capitalism.

Don Mack

Geneva