Do Aldermen understand how business works?

Obviously not, when they're complaining how much money a CEO makes in comparison to the company employees

Smith, an alderman in Chicago, presented posters at a city council meeting showing that Walmart CEO Michael Duke's $35 million salary, when converted to an hourly wage, worked out to $16,826.92. By comparison, at a Walmart store planned for the Windy City's Pullman neighborhood, new employees to be paid $8.75 an hour would gross $13,650 a year.

Smith's numbers could be a bit off. Equilar, an executive compensation research firm, calculates that Duke earned just south of $20 million in 2009 and $28 million in 2008, not counting millions of dollars in potential performance awards. But the alderman argued that there's still a "sad" contrast between Duke's compensation and the wages of his employees.

"How can you go to bed at night and sleep knowing you make this kind of money and the people working for you can hardly buy a package of beans and rice?" he asked in an interview with ABCNews.com.

Okay, Alderman, I looked it up ... I'd like to know "How you can go to bed at night when you're "stealing" $110K of taxpayer moneys to do your job?   (note that's the apparent value of the Alderman's job (not including freebies.. whatever you get in Chicago).  Especially when you decide to agree to cut administrative salaries (not your own?)
 

All but six of Chicago's 50 aldermen plan to accept a 6.2 percent cost-of-living increase that will boost their annual salaries to $110,556 Jan. 1. [2009]

Aldermen John Pope (10th); James Balcer (11th); Scott Waguespack (32nd); Tom Tunney (44th); Helen Shiller (46th), and Mary Ann Smith (48th) are the only aldermen to sign affidavits by a Sept. 15 deadline declaring their intention to forfeit the increase.

Forty-four aldermen declined to sign the affidavit from Budget Director Bennett Johnson, in part, because of the effect it would have on their pensions. Some were offended that Johnson even asked.

Hm... Mr. Alderman, how come I don't see you raising hell that you're getting a salary bump, when you approved a "never ending" guaranteed COLA increase.  (note that it states that the increaase can be 'turned down" but the Alderman/woman has to let it be known in writing.    

"Oh, I didn't vote for my pay increase, so don't get mad when we have to cut our staff salaries."

I'll give you credit, you didn't claim any 'gifts' over $5k   .. (and to think this started off to defend CEO's and somehow I got to blasting Alderman.. who'd have thunk it?).


I guess you do know how business works then, don't you Alderman?    Examine page 379 of their 2009 budget  I mean you have 150 assistants  (150?) with no listed salary... I take it they're making that equivalent $110K?