Key background: CEOs are also earning more than they ever had before. According to the Economic Policy Institute, chief executives at large companies make roughly $278 for every $1 a typical worker earns, up from $20 in 1965 and $58 in 1989.
Forbes
August 20, 2019
So far so good and perhaps unsurprising in light of a report by the Economic Policy Institute that says since 1978, CEO pay has risen 940 percent compared to just 12 percent for the average American worker.
Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality that we could safely do away with. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. This escalation of CEO compensation, and of executive compensation more generally, has fueled the growth of top 1.0% and top 0.1% incomes, leaving less of the fruits of economic growth for ordinary workers and widening the gap between very high earners and the bottom 90%. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more).
Diginomica
August 20, 2019
A recent analysis by Larry Mishel and Julia Wolfe at the Economic Policy Institute found that CEO compensation has risen 940 percent over the past four decades, after adjusting for inflation. The analysis put the average pay for CEOs at the country’s 350 largest companies at $14 million a year, or more than $17 million if we count the realized value of stock options.
The Washington Post
August 20, 2019
One example of the negative effects from the extreme focus on shareholders during the past four decades is the widening gap between average employee pay and CEO pay. A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that since 1978, CEO pay has risen 940 percent, while average pay for employees went up only 12 percent. The president of the EPI, Thea Mei Lee, will be speaking at ASBC’s summit. Other speakers include Chris Lu, Former Deputy Secretary of Labor.
Common Dreams
August 20, 2019
CEOs also have been beaten up about their pay. Their compensation is now 278 times that of an average worker, according to a survey of the nation’s 350 largest companies by the Economic Policy Institute. That’s up from 58-to-1 in 1989 and 20-to-1 in 1965.
Forbes
August 20, 2019
Wages for the majority of the American workforce have been stagnant for 40 years, while their health coverage and retirement security have eroded. At the same time, corporate profits—high by historical standards—are mainly being used to reward shareholders, including CEOs themselves. Their compensation has gone up 940% since 1978; typical worker compensation has risen 12% during that time, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Fast Company
August 20, 2019
Since 1978, CEO pay has grown by 940.3 percent at the country’s top 350 companies, even as the average worker gained only 11.9 percent in wages over the same four decades. So says the Economic Policy Institute in a study. Furthermore, such raises are not only unjustified but harmful at many levels for the rest of society.
Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality that we could safely do away with. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. This escalation of CEO compensation, and of executive compensation more generally, has fueled the growth of top 1.0% and top 0.1% incomes, leaving less of the fruits of economic growth for ordinary workers and widening the gap between very high earners and the bottom 90%. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more).
Nonprofit Quarterly
August 20, 2019
“Wages for the majority of the American workforce have been stagnant for 40 years, while their health coverage and retirement security have eroded. At the same time, corporate profits–high by historical standards–are mainly being used to reward shareholders, including CEOs themselves. Their compensation has gone up 940% since 1978; typical worker compensation has risen 12% during that time, according to the Economic Policy Institute.”
Inc.
August 20, 2019
There are a whole host of other variables to consider including determining at what age you want to retire, factoring in the market value of your investments, calculating the effect of inflation, etc. But the key is to start building your nest egg now. Don’t be among the nearly 50% of American families who, according to the Economic Policy Institute in 2018, had no retirement account savings.
Michigan Chronicle
August 19, 2019
The current $7.25 minimum hourly rate was set in 2009, right in the middle of the Great Recession. Since then, America’s lowest-paid workers have lost about $3,000 a year when you consider the rising cost of living, according to calculations from the Economic Policy Institute.
Another meta-analysis comes in a highly anticipated study published this month in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by economists at the University of Massachusetts, University College London, and the Economic Policy Institute. They studied data from 138 cities and states that raised the minimum pay between 1979 and 2016. The conclusion is that low-wage workers received a 7 percent pay bump after a minimum wage law went into effect, but there was little or no change in employment. The study also showed that it would not cost jobs, even in states with large shares of minimum wage workers.
VOX
August 19, 2019