It's something else Rambles...

Joe is in a position of authority here - a position Max has kept him in for years - the only reason I can assume for that is that Max believes Joe does his job well ... but come on...

"control over every aspect of the current set-up".

Your lines of reasoning are insane,

This time I will try to ask you to explain to me how come Joe has authority above Max?

The only logic I can see in your arguments remains that Max is either in control or out of control at your convenience.