The one percent.

Or, at least they want to be.

CEOs, Presidents or COOs, CFOs, Vice Presidents in charge of, Directors, all have the potential, with multiple interests, to join what are considered to be the “Elite.”

In the United Kingdom for 2020, you need to earn upwards of £175,000 per year, pre-tax, before you can join the club.

In the UK, the personal allowance before you start paying tax is currently £12,500 per year. Up to £50,000 you will pay 20% tax on income above personal allowance. Additional income above £50,000 will be charged a levy of 40%, and, a whopping 45%, on any extra above £150,000. To add insult to injury, if you do happen to be obnoxious enough to make more than £100,000 a year, the personal allowance drops by £1 per £2 of income above £100,000.

So, our one percenter, earning £175,000 per year, will puke up around £71,000 in tax and NIC’s. If they commit say, 4% of their pay to the company pension fund, they’ll return a measly £100,000, or thereabouts, for that year.

It’s no wonder the poor dumplings are on a frantic search for their friendly neighbourhood tax accountant, with offshore accounts and assorted loopholes in the bibles of tax legislation. How do they cope?

Wait. We were supposed to be talking about the executive. Sorry, got distracted.

Well. Up on the top floor, there are offices. Clean and private. The executive works in isolation. On the same floor, there will be a special toilet. The ultimate in toilets. And, this perfect, pristine bog-hole, is not for the likes of you.

In tangible terms, that’s the difference.

Yes, the executive makes the sort of money most people can only dream of. Yes, the contribution the company makes to their pension fund for them may well be six percentage points higher than yours. Yes, on the whole, their lives are measurably better.

Luxury homes, fast cars, tailored suits, private healthcare, and all the grey hair concealers they could ever want.

They attend the best meetings and meet the best people. Whatever the modern equivalent of ambrosia or manna from heaven is, it is theirs for the taking.   

Employment wise, however, the executive has the life expectancy of a Mayfly. Comparatively speaking.

Generally, their tenure may last anywhere from three to seven years. They may decide it is time to move on or, a head-hunter may spot their profile on LinkedIn, and make them an offer they can’t refuse. Equally, the shareholder might be unhappy with their performance and politely ask them to resign. Or, they may get caught with their hands in the till, and be politely asked to resign. Or, they might get caught with their hand up a secretary’s skirt, and be politely asked to resign.

There are all sorts of reasons an executive might be there one day and, suddenly, gone the next. Not the least of which is their sense of self preservation.

Don’t feel too bad for them though. Quite often they have other interests. Perhaps a consultancy or two will keep their heads above water. They may even serve on multiple executive boards, how else are they going to get those juicy compensation packages? But none would accuse them of a conflict of interest surely?

It’s important to remember that, the executive are not gods. Ambition and capability are not necessarily commensurate. As much as ability might be beneficial, it is the drive of personal desire that has propelled them to the halcyon heights of employment nirvana.

The fact of the matter is, the executive doesn’t know any more than you do. Probably less. When you are stood upon Mount Olympus with your head in the clouds, then the only thing you see, is your own light.

Fossil fuel and manufacturing companies, cheerfully, and with gay abandon, pollute the planet on a global scale. Tech giants invade your privacy and shrug off multimillion dollar fines like they were pocket change. Privatised water companies fail to meet antipollution targets, their efforts getting worse on a yearly basis. Household names in technology, provisions, and clothing rely upon lackadaisical health and safety practices, sweatshops, slave labour and animal cruelties to bring us the products we lust for. At a price we will pay. With mark up.

And, the executive is in charge of all of it. For the benefit of the shareholder. And you, of course. After all, we all want what they are offering don’t we?

In the UK, only around 320,000 of the nation’s “workforce” can be considered, “the one percent” earners. More or less.

Maybe it should stay that way. Given executive proclivities, we should perhaps be grateful that there aren’t more of them.

ALL HAIL THE SHAREHOLDER?