If the typical CEO of a large U.S. corporation clocks in at 9 am on January 2, by 3:37 pm that afternoon he'll have earned $58,260  the average annual salary for all U.S. occupations. In other words, in less than seven hours on the first workday of the New Year, that CEO will have made as much as the average U.S. worker will make all year." (Sarah Anderson, Institute of Policy Studies, 2022). 

(a) Do you believe or not that this economic disparity reflects the natural, fair, just results from the rule of a meritocratic society? Please reflect deeply and explain in one short paragraph. (b) Do you believe or not that gross, rising US (and world inequality for that matter) impact negatively our ecological crisis? Please explain briefly in one short paragraph. Second, please take notice of the following quote and respond: "Between 2008 and 2017, 466 of the S&P 500 companies spent around $4 trillion on stock buybacks, equal to 53 percent of profits. An additional 40 percent of corporate profits went to dividends. When more than 90 percent of corporate profits go to buybacks and dividends, there is reason to be concerned...stock buybacks don't benefit the vast majority of Americans...when a company buys back its stock, boosting its value, the benefits go overwhelmingly to shareholders and executives, not workers." (Senators Bernie Sanders Senator Chuck Schumer, New York Times, 2019). (a) Do you agree or not with this statement? Please explain briefly. 

(b) Do you believe or not that stock buybacks have unfortunately evolved into a scam of stock price manipulation? Please explain briefly. 

(c) Suppose stock buybacks are outlawed. What will be the consequences? Do you foresee or not devastating consequences for the American economy and society? Third, some analysts underline Ponzi-scheme similarities between the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX (2022) and Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities (2008). In your view: (a) Why do these crises recur? And (b) Why don't regulators, investors and citizens in general learn from them? Bonus: Please read and offer your best, deepest reflection: "Our Planet Earth is a living organism. Yet, unlike corporations, it cannot establish powerful lobbies to influence policies and regulations