Average CEO makes 430 times
By on Aug 30th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
Average CEO makes 430 times
the salary of the average production worker in 2004. Up from 301-1 in 2003. Up from 109-1 in 1990.
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The obsenities continue to roll downhill.
August 30th, 2005 at 12:30 pmWhat's amazing is that in Japan, that current CEO to avg worker salary ratio is closer to 55 to 1. This figure is what it used to be in the US back in the 1950's.
In the US, it's greed. Pure and simple. No long term vision for how more people can benefit. All that matters is "I. Me. Mine."
August 30th, 2005 at 12:42 pmno administration has ever exemplified that more.
August 30th, 2005 at 12:44 pmThe CEO's are real hard workers, don't you know.
August 30th, 2005 at 12:58 pmAnd by God that is the way it should be.... If it was up to me I would be charging those lazy worthless good for nothings for the air the breathe.
You know at this rate we are going to prove the anti capitalist right.
August 30th, 2005 at 1:01 pmThe employees work for "the Company".
CEO's work for stock valuations.
Two different goals and outcomes these days, unfortunately.
August 30th, 2005 at 1:05 pmAny link to the fact that "official" poverty rates are on the rise?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050830/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/census_poverty
August 30th, 2005 at 1:08 pmDisturbing. This trend is caused by stock compensation, which not only is too heavily skewed towards senior management but also causes too much emphasis on short term profit gains (causing companies to make unwise decisions on layoffs and outsourcing -- among other things).
I'm lucky enough to be a senior exec. in a serices firm where the salary spread is only 5 or 6 to 1 (I think serivces firms probably have less spread than mfg...). The stock compensation is too concentrated at the top, but not my call unfortunately.
August 30th, 2005 at 1:22 pmIt seems that greed knows no shame. Let's have another tax cut for the rich and vote ourselves a pay raise... and raise those middle-class' healthcare premiums while you're at it.
How are the conscious and the dilligent so easily enslaved?
August 30th, 2005 at 1:25 pmI'm no economist, but shouldn't inflation should be offset or slowed by ammortized production costs? Rising costs are just paying into the CEO's wallets.
These CEOs shouldn't have to pay estate taxes, either. Right? Disgusting and greedy.
August 30th, 2005 at 1:36 pmBack in the 60's (I know, ancient history for many here) the ratio was 65 to 1. Not only that but back then corporations paid a SIGNIFICANTLY greater share of the total pie than they do now.
Was Aerosmith right when they said "Eat the Rich"?
August 30th, 2005 at 1:58 pmAt the beginning of the 20th century, the nation's wealthiest were raking in their millions on the backs of the workers - unsafe conditions, long hours, low pay, and a "take it or leave it" attitude toward those who helped make the companies strong. Then came AFL-CIO, the government (OSHA) and legislation to disallow blatant exploitation of workers.
August 30th, 2005 at 2:02 pmI see a shift backwards today. Corporations are reverting back to the previous century, unions are losing membership (effectiveness), jobs are disappearing, poverty is on the rise, and the gap between the have and the have-nots is growing.
Socially, I see a regression in attitudes towards the less fortunate (less compassion and charitability), I see more of "I got mine, you're on your own," I see women's rights being threatened by growing conservatism, I see Republican pressure to elminate social programs designed to help the poor, sick, elderly, children, and minorities being underfunded and undermined.
The CEOs of today are the robber-barons of yesteryear. Today they have many friends in the Administration, and in Congress, and in the courts - between those three groups, the greedy will continue to make fortunes while the rest will have to settle for the falling crumbs from their banquet tables.
Nothing is wrong with capitalism basically, but something is terribly wrong with selfish, blatant greed. The religious leaders who would ordinarily have chastised the greedy, are now counted among them !
I hope Labor comes back strong after the split, geared to the new century. If it does, it could act as a natural counterweight to unlimited power of corporations.
Great article:
August 30th, 2005 at 2:06 pmhttp://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0801/p17s01-wmgn.html
So when do we stop the rape of the American workers by the Corporate executives?
August 30th, 2005 at 3:26 pmThere are self-feeding dynamics that lead to the continual increase in CEO pay and stagnation (or decrease) in workers' pay. During the CEO search, the (discredited) connection between compensation and talent is paramount: high $ = high talent level. Therefore, it offers above average pay (wages, bonus, stock, etc). And the candidate gladly takes it (or negotiates for even more, thanks to a pliant search committee or board of directors). The process repeats each time a CEO is hired, thus pushing up the average.
For normal workers, though, many companies look to "control" labor costs, and therefore outsource or try to find people who will work for the same or less than the predecessor. In most cases, the idea that more pay might lead to a more skilled and dedicated worker (see Walmart vs. Costco, for example) is ignored. And so the average is held down.
August 30th, 2005 at 4:10 pmI quit working for corporate America in 2001 -- I was laid off along with 3,500 other employees so the executives could obtain our shares of the company. They made millions from what was supposed to be a bonus for workers and just ended up being a dangling carrot for a greedy CEO and his cronnies.
I now work for a non-profit organization. Our CEO only makes about a third more than I do. And, I don't have to worry about the kind of dirty boardroom deals that cost me my last job.
I'll never work for a for-profit organization again. That's too bad for them -- but great for the community that directly benefits from what I do. More people should consider non-profits as a career choice.
August 30th, 2005 at 4:17 pmThese stats just show the growing inbalance between the upper class and the lower class. As the CEO makes more and more money the average production worker makes the same making the dividing line between these two very harsh. The upper class refuse to give up pay raises but the company also has the same budget so jobs are also cut due to the greed of these money hungry CEOs.
August 30th, 2005 at 5:12 pmThe gap between America's rich and poor is greater than in England. Think about that one for a moment.
I. Me. Mine. Gads! America the Great?
August 30th, 2005 at 6:06 pmWhat have you got against CEO's? Some of my best friends are CEOs. In fact I was once a CEO and, yes, I was on the "gravy train" so to speak, but I earned what I get...every million...50 of them, my accountants say.
But hey, I am just a country boy from Wyoming who made good under capitalism, proving that the trickle down theory proposed by Reagan is working even better under my, uh, I mean, the President's leadership.
As President Bush would say, "This is America! Why don't you go out and become a CEO, too?"
August 30th, 2005 at 6:32 pmGolly Dick, I guess you are right about that. Corruption sure pays (for the rich).
August 31st, 2005 at 10:51 amTable I. Population Growth Rates and Corporate Pay Disparities in Selected Industrialized Countries (numbers in millions)*
CEO to Avg. Worker
January 12th, 2007 at 6:15 pmJapan 16:1
Germany 21:1
U.K. 33:1
U.S. 120:1
This situation parallels the excesses and non-accountability of the late roman empire before it crumbled. American industry has run amuck with greed and lack of social accountability. This is but one statistic to site this sad fact. The late 1800's and early 1900's aw this same situation with robberbarrons earning $10 million/yr (tax free) and factory workers earning $500/yr. America was driven into depression and the federal government steped in to attempt a remedy. Either we will recover again in like manner or, like the romans, American industry will crumble.
February 3rd, 2007 at 10:30 am