It never ends. The robbery of the great wealth of the nation. The Audacity of Greed of the CEO class is never quenched. On Friday, I wrote about the huge pay increases sweeping through the CEO class in the financial community. It's a cancer that is spreading again everywhere.
Let me start with this money quote, which should be repeated and carried everywhere around the country in a piece today by Gretchen Morgenson at The New York times:
“There has been a massive wealth transfer from middle-class America’s retirement accounts to the bank accounts of the privileged few. The social consequences of this wealth transfer bear scrutiny.”[emphasis added and needed]
It comes as a matter-of-fact statement of truth from Albert Meyer, a money manager at Bastiat Capital in Plano, Tex.
In a related piece, The New York Times today says this:
After shrinking during the 2008-9 recession, paychecks for top American executives are growing again — in many cases, significantly so.
Rarely has the view from the corner office seemed so at odds with the view from the street corner. At a time when millions of Americans are trying to hang on to homes and millions more are trying to hang on to jobs, the chief executives of major corporations like 3M, General Electric and Cisco Systems are making as much today as they were before the recession hit. Indeed, some are making even more.
The disparity is especially stark as companies are swimming in cash. In the fourth quarter, profits at American businesses were up an astounding 29.2 percent, the fastest growth in more than 60 years. Collectively, American corporations logged profits at an annual rate of $1.678 trillion.
Some "notable" examples:
On this year’s list, the highest-paid C.E.O. was Philippe P. Dauman of Viacom, who made $84.5 million in just nine months. (Viacom changed its fiscal year-end to September from December.)
Viacom has said that the compensation was inflated by one-time stock awards linked to a long-term contract signed last year.
Also at the top was Ray R. Irani, the C.E.O. of Occidental Petroleum, who took home $76.1 million last year, up 142 percent from the previous one. Last year, the board awarded Mr. Irani a $33 million cash bonus plus $40.3 million in stock awards, more than double what he received in 2009.
Mr. Irani is retiring this year, and Occidental has said that it has set higher hurdles that will significantly reduce executive pay packages.
Lawrence J. Ellison of Oracle, the software giant, followed close behind, with a $70.1 million payout, though that is down 17 percent from 2009. Still, Mr. Ellison’s fortunes are just fine: he had more than $26.3 billion in stock and other holdings in Oracle in 2010.
So, we can argue, rightly so about the depressing state of budget decisions made by the leaders of the Democratic Party--and the vast handing over of billions of dollars to the richest people in the country courtesy of tax cuts for the top one percent.
But, there is a robbery that happens every day in the workplaces of America.
The people who create value for companies--the hundreds of thousands of workers--get zippo, virtually no wage increases over 30 years, health care costs on the rise as they are forced to pay for less coverage, no pensions and a declining standard of living. Nada. Nothing. Zilch.
And millions of people lose their jobs because of the greed and incompetence of the people running the financial system and the economy as a whole.
And what happens?
The greedy and the incompetent do not go to jail. They do not lose their jobs.
Nope, they pass "go" and pick up even more wealth.
YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS UP.
So, by all means, challenge our elected leaders.
But, do not take your eyes off the culprits who draining us.