[Reeses]

Those who play on class envy do have a point when they describe the excessive salaries paid to corporate office executives who have little to do with the day to day creation of wealth for the company.

That's a leftist talking point. It's remarkable how much of a company's success really does depend on the CEO. Look at Apple and Steve Jobs. When Jobs kicks the bucket, Apple will implode. Look what's happened to Microsoft, Wal-mart, GM, HP, on and on, now that their founders are no longer in charge.

The other problem you touch on is how public corporations and their stock option incentives encourage short term thinking rather than long. The Koch brothers on average grow their business 18% year after year because they have a huge advantage: they are a private company and are free to think long term. The stock options given to managers of public companies are defective incentives. There has got to be a better way.

[redgolum]

Which is ironically, an argument against huge firms (see Chesterton).

And part of human nature. Few enterprises, large or small, survive past the third generation.