Friday, April 15, 2005
Starving CEO's Need a Break
According to Executive Paywatch, an excellent effort of the AFL-CIO,
And percentages of growth don’t tell the whole story, either. Terry Semel, the CEO of Yahoo! Made over $109,000,000 in 2004. Now, will somebody please tell me how it’s not obscene for any one person to make a hundred mil a year? Especially while 45% of the jobs created in 2004 paid an average of $16,000 a year, with no benefits? While Wal-Mart forces employees to work off the clock, this after paying the women 5-15% less than men doing the same job? Forcing injured workers back to the job? Busting unions?
Explain to the $6 an hour “temp” worker whose gig is about to end how a CEO deserves a hundred mil a year, or, hell, even the paltry average of 10 mil. While you’re at it, explain to me how capitalism is better than socialism, again. Explain that part about how capitalism and imperialism don’t mean essentially the same thing again, too. And go over again how redistribution of wealth and putting the means of production in the hands of the workers is bad. I think I was sick that day.
In 2004, the average CEO of a major company received $9.84 million in total compensation, according to a study by compensation consultant Pearl Meyer & Partners for The New York Times. This represents a 12 percent increase in CEO pay over 2003. In contrast, the average worker’s pay increased just 3.6 percent in 2004.
And percentages of growth don’t tell the whole story, either. Terry Semel, the CEO of Yahoo! Made over $109,000,000 in 2004. Now, will somebody please tell me how it’s not obscene for any one person to make a hundred mil a year? Especially while 45% of the jobs created in 2004 paid an average of $16,000 a year, with no benefits? While Wal-Mart forces employees to work off the clock, this after paying the women 5-15% less than men doing the same job? Forcing injured workers back to the job? Busting unions?
Explain to the $6 an hour “temp” worker whose gig is about to end how a CEO deserves a hundred mil a year, or, hell, even the paltry average of 10 mil. While you’re at it, explain to me how capitalism is better than socialism, again. Explain that part about how capitalism and imperialism don’t mean essentially the same thing again, too. And go over again how redistribution of wealth and putting the means of production in the hands of the workers is bad. I think I was sick that day.
