Tom: Executives in this country make around 85 times what the average worker earns. This is an extraordinarily large disparity, and ttherefore public resentment over the size of executives' salaries is justified. Martha: Such resentment is not justified, since wealth is created by taking risks and making decisions, actions most people prefer to avoid. Generous rewards for those who choose not to avoid these actions are both fair and necessary. Tom: I think you misunderstood me. I' m not saying that people resent that there is a large disparity here between executives' salaries and workers' salaries, but rather they resent that it is atypically large: in other countries executives earn only 20 or 30 times what the average worker earns.
The main point at issue between Tom and Martha is whether public resentment of the size of executive salaries is justified.