Thank you, thank you, thank you for exposing this and putting it in the strong and proper prospective.

And:

Thank you very much for shedding light on an area that the average person does not have time to investigate. We are often asked to contribute to St. Joseph's and GBMC's foundations. The huge salaries are truly excessive. Baltimore is not Paris, London, or Rome and while a charming city in some ways, these salaries in some part explain the enormous number of multi-million dollar homes listed each week in the Real Estate Section. I always wonder who lives in these homes? Now I, in part, know! I also have a question about the "need" for hospitals to advertise so much especially on the radio. This must also be very costly. Does one really shop for a hospital? Don't the doctors' admitting privileges, and patient's geographic convenience determine the choice of hospitals in most cases. I hear ads all the time as if one is considering surgery the way one might consider buying or replacing a car. I have asked two doctors and they just shrug and say that is how it is done. Shouldn't one's doctor or specialist keep up on the better medical centers for say women's health, or pediatrics, or hip replacement etc. Why would Arundel Medical Center be trying to attract patients from the entire WBAL listening area when it reaches up into DE and PA? Why would someone from Towson choose to go to AA County for medical care when traffic is so bad in this Baltimore area? It seems like a cost hospitals could reduce and simply promote themselves within the medical specialties of their respective regions. I am sure there are so many other ways medical costs could be cut. Excessive pay for CEO's is one good way to begin. I am sure dedicated CEO's could be found with compensation packages around $300,000 - $500,000 depending on size of institution.

And:

Just to play devil's advocate on attracting CEOs, depending on what hospitals mean by "qualified", they may need millions to pull in what they would consider a quality CEO.

Back to reality. I do not believe for a single second that any donors to non-profit hospitals like JHH are ignorant about the fact that the CEOs make millions. Many of the higher-end donors that donate in the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars are attracted by things like the high-amenities wing at JHH, and participate in lavish fundraising gatherings. I've been to some, having been married to a JHH employee, and the donors wouldn't have attended had the event been a cheap hoe-down in a horse barn. Any donors' claims of ignorance are a load of road apples.

And:

Your case arguing that executive salaries for non-profit executives is a good one, but it left me with some questions. For example, you did not make the case for paying non-profit executives less than those of profit making corporations when the responsibilities and duties are comparable. Both have fiduciary responsibility: the non-profit executive to the mission of the organization and the for-profit executives to the corporation's bottom line. The Red Cross is not a good example; it has not always fulfilled its mission well.

The State of Maryland is a $12-13 trillion enterprise. It's CEO's salary is $150,000, about that of a GS-15 employee in the Federal Civil Service. Stanley Black and Decker ($3B in sales), a company that you cited, pays its CEO many times this amount. Perhaps his salary would be a bit steep for a roughly median-sized state, and his salary plus bonuses surely exceeds his value to the company. But I am continually struck by how little some folks, with so much responsibility, are paid. Even when you count the Governor's "perks," the total is modest by comparison.

And:

Your misunderstanding or misrepresentation of non-profit status is downright shameful. Non-profit status has NOTHING to do with the salaries of the lowest, middle, or highest positions on the employment ladder at a non-profit. Yes, you covered yourself by pointing out that not-for-profit is a tax designation but the suggestion is that there is something untoward about employee earnings. For folks donating to any charity or not-for-profit enterprise, it is vital that they determine what per centage of donations actually go to the cause for which they are solicited and accepted. You want to talk about people living high on the hog and using only the money of others to do so? Start with the Obamas and then move on to Pelosi, Reid and company!