$90k is about the top of what anyone in a non-profit should be making - these are public service enterprises right? No justification for pulling down corporate bucks.

I'd be happy is this DJ is the highest paid person at KEXP.

I fear, however, that his management gets paid even more - with much less justification.

I think there's a big point to be made aside from the regular plea for donations, the non-transparency of KEXP's operations, the dang large salary earned from a state-owned license, and other issues that have been broached already; the big issue in my mind is this:

What the fuck does John Richards do that deserves a $90,000/year salary?

Do I think he should work for free? Well, when I worked at a university-owned radio station, I did, so I'm a bit biased. Given the bizarre organizational situation that KEXP is in, that's admittedly unrealistic, but I don't think it's quite kosher for someone that works for an organization that gets a large portion of its funding through listener donation to earn nearly $100k a year. If he doesn't like it or doesn't appreciate the concerns, let him move on to a different station that will pay him whatever he thinks he's worth. Honestly, I don't get why this person is so irreplaceable.

I agree Joshua - all this talk of people deserving big bucks because they could get them elsewhere - or because we have to pay it to lure people who already get it elsewhere - is bullshit.

This year it also resulted in recruiting a new UW president for a scandalously large salary for a state employee. What's he do to deserve that?

It's all just a self-perpetuating system whereby the people who already earn big bucks can pay each other even more. It's a pyramid scheme for those in power.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who would kill for the opportunity to do just as good a job - or even better - for less.

But they're not "qualified" by having already been accepted into the charmed circle of recruitment targets.

There outta be a law limiting salaries to, say, 10 times more than the minimum wage.

Is any human being worth more than ten times another - or even that much?

Quality, experience and professionalism come at a premium and random college students frequently can't reliably meet those standards. This goes for a lot of so-called "easy" jobs.

If you work for nothing, people tend to value you and your work as such.

Some of us have more self-respect than that and don't apologize for it; sorry if you don't.