CEO Pay Still On The Rise

We have archived dozens of articles discussing the explosive rise in income inequality in America. Income for the richest 1% has increased dramatically since Ronald Reagan was president, while income for the rest of us, the bottom 90% has petrified. 

The AFL-CIO's new website, Executive Paywatch, aims to shine a light on the criminal practices that enrich our nations corporate leaders at the expense of everyone else. 

[excerpt] According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. corporations held a record $1.93 trillion in cash on their balance sheets in 2010. But they are not investing to expand their companies, grow the real economy or create good middle-class jobs. Corporate CEOs are literally hoarding their company’s cash—except when it comes to their own paychecks.

• In 2010, according to data for 299 major companies from Standard & Poor's 500 Index shows that total compensation for CEOs averaged $11.4 million, up 23 percent from the previous year.
• CEOs at those 299 companies raked in a total of $3.4 billion. Enough to support 102,325 jobs paying the pitiful national median wage of $33,000.
• Average CEO compensation is 343 times that median wage.

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