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Why do people who get paid the most do the least?

humaninvariant.com · 1,736 words · saved by 1 readers

In No One is Really Working, I provide possible justifications for the high salaries of early-career professionals. This post presents a theory of "derivative levels" as a way to understand why certain roles and types of work are highly compensated. Both CEOs and professors are highly compensated, with different combinations of financial and social capital, yet neither appears to do much on any given day. Consider the average day of a CEO: And now consider the average day of a professor: Everybody who isn't a CEO or professor looks at these schedules and thinks to themselves, "These people aren't doing anything", followed by "I can do that." On most days, this is probably correct. The trajectory of Chipotle would not change if I was CEO for a day. College students around the world would still get their protein slop bowls that day, and life would go on. Some people consider this oppression: "Why do CEOs get paid more than I do, when they're writing leisurely emails and I'm digging ditch

2025-11-06 Why do people who get paid the most do the least? Third derivative work In No One is Really Working , I provide possible justifications for the high salaries of early-career professionals. This post presents a theory of "derivative levels" as a way to understand why certain roles and types of work are highly compensated. Both CEOs and professors are highly compensated, with different combinations of financial and social capital, yet neither appears to do much on any given day. Consider the average day of a CEO : Wake up Go to the gym Go to the office Get briefed by your assistant Re

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