[Ansteorra] Gas prices

[John Atkinson]

On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 10:38 PM, Michelle Dodd
<lygabrielerdb at hotmail.com> wrote:

> My point was that they get paid very well for making those decisions. They don't need such hugh bonuses for doing their jobs. And We certainly don't need to hear about them. That is NOT 'ignorance of basic economics'. And I greatly doubt there are many, if any, here that get comparable bonuses. I am only one of many that is tired of hearing of their profits and bonuses in one sentence and how bad off they are in the next.

There are laws which mandate disclosure of financial details.  You
don't like them, feel free to write your Congressman and demand that
corporations be allowed to keep their books secret.  But keep in mind
that those laws exist because they are intended to help prevent the
sort of financial shennanigans which leads to ordinary citizens losing
investments, retirement funds, and jobs when companies go belly up due
to fraudulent activity.  You hear about them because the media reports
them based on these mandatory financial disclosures.  If you don't
like it, feel free to complain to appropriate media outlets.

As for bonuses, I get a huge bonus when I actually do my job--in the
neighborhood of $1,000 a month, and the whole paycheck becomes
tax-free.  My baseline salary, in other words, only pays me to
_practice_ doing my job.  I also get an amazing amount of free gear,
living quarters, and free food.  I also got a signing bonus, and each
time I signed a contract extension I got another bonus.

Slighly more relevant, anyone know what the profit margin on a
shipment of olive oil from the Levant to France was during the 13th
century? And if the ship's captain got a bonus upon delivery?

Ioannes Dalassenos
mka John M. Atkinson
-- 
"Thousands of Sarmatians, Thousands of Franks, we've slain them again
and again. We're looking for thousands of Persians."
--Vita Aureliani