Media clips
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US inequality statistics have been so startling in recent years that they have almost ceased to shock — but they could undergird America’s next financial crisis. That’s because consumers’ increasing reliance on debt in an environment of stagnant wages is leaving more American families financially insecure, to the point where even minor setbacks can be devastating. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank in Washington, highlights just how startling the income gap has become. (whole story)
Market Insider August 20, 2018 -
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute calls attention to the hardy perennial of how much America’s corporate titans make: bosses of the top 350 firms made an average of $18.9m in 2017. That’s a ratio of 312-1 over the median worker in their industries. Big bucks to be sure. And a big change since 1965, when the ratio was just 20-1. But what does it mean? And if there’s a problem, what is it, exactly? (whole column)
The Guardian August 20, 2018 -
In the world of CEO compensation, the concept of “pay for performance” is dogma: Chief executives supposedly need those high potential payouts — average CEO compensation, including realized stock options, rose to $18.9 million last year, according to an analysis released Thursday by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute — to ensure they have the same goals as investors, to keep them from jumping ship and to motivate them to spend all those hours jet-setting around the globe managing their sprawling domains. When Tesla announced a new pay package that would tie CEO Elon Musk’s compensation entirely to performance metrics, the company explained, “This ensures that Elon will continue to lead Tesla’s management over the long-term.” As one University of Chicago professor wrote in a 2013 paper, “The market for talent puts pressure on boards to reward their top people at competitive pay levels in order to both attract and retain them.”
The Washington Post August 20, 2018 -
When I say wealth is concentrated, I mean concentrated. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute surveyed CEOs of the 350 largest US corporations and found that their average compensation in 2017 was $18.9 million, constituting a nearly 18 percent percent increase over the previous year. The average CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 312-to-1. That’s right, CEOs at major US firms make over three hundred times what the typical worker does. Furthermore, the top earners have pulled away from the rest of the rich. The CEOs surveyed made more than five times as much annually as other members of the top 0.1 percent. In sum, the report portrays of a breakaway section of the capitalist class whose wealth eclipses even that of their affluent peers.
Jacobin August 20, 2018 -
The income gap keeps growing. Chief executives at 350 of the largest companies in the U.S. now make 312 times more than their average employee, research from the Economic Policy Institute found. Compensation for CEOs keeps growing, The Hill reported Friday, while employee compensation stagnates. In 2017, CEOs made an average of $18.9 million, a 17.6 percent increase from the year before. Meanwhile, the wages of average workers increased just 0.3 percent.(whole story)
The Week August 20, 2018 -
The chief executives at the 350 largest companies in the United States reportedly earned 312 times more than their average employees last year, according to a new study released on Thursday. Research carried out by the Economic Policy institute, a think tank based in Washington, showed chief executives at these companies received $18.9 million on average in 2017, which is a 17.6 percent increase from the previous year. In the same amount of the time, the wages of average workers grew just 0.3 percent, according to the new study. (whole story)
The Hill August 20, 2018 -
CEOs for the largest 350 companies in the United States earned an average of $18.9 million in 2017, according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute. Why it matters: CEO pay in the United States has continued to grow the last few decades while worker wages have perpetually been frozen. The average wage for U.S. workers has only grown by .2% since last year and still trails behind inflation rates. The big picture: The disparity for wages between U.S. CEOs and workers wasn’t always this stark, Vox reports. The gap increased substantially once again this year and shows no sign of reversing. (whole post)
Axios August 20, 2018 -
And the inequality is getting worse, in and out of the tech sector. While CEOs at the 350 biggest U.S. companies earned an average pay of $18.9 million in 2017—a steep 17% increase from the previous year—wages for the average U.S. worker grew just 0.2% during that period, according to a new study by the Economic Policy Institute.
Fast Co.Exist August 20, 2018 -
The latest evidence came Thursday from the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which found that CEO pay at the biggest American corporations skyrocketed another 18 percent in 2017, to a lofty average of $18.9 million, much of that fueled by stock options and buybacks. And hey, everybody deserves a raise, right? But here’s the thing: While CEOs have seen their salaries soar 72 percent during the comeback from the Great Recession — 2009-2017 — the average workers has gotten a measly 2 percent raise, according to the EPI.
Common Dreams August 20, 2018 -
Not that it comes as any particular surprise in the era of Trump, but there’s a new report out from analysts at the Economic Policy Institute that documents a remarkable new surge in pay for American CEO’s in 2017. The report finds that: “…in 2017 the average CEO of the 350 largest firms in the U.S. received $18.9 million in compensation, a 17.6 percent increase over 2016. The typical worker’s compensation remained flat, rising a mere 0.3 percent. The 2017 CEO-to-worker compensation ratio of 312-to-1 was far greater than the 20-to-1 ratio in 1965 and more than five times greater than the 58-to-1 ratio in 1989 (although it was lower than the peak ratio of 344-to-1, reached in 2000). The gap between the compensation of CEOs and other very-high-wage earners is also substantial, with the CEOs in large firms earning 5.5 times as much as the average earner in the top 0.1 percent.” (whole post)
The Progressive Pulse August 20, 2018