CEOs Lay Off Workers, Get Higher Pay
Anyone surprised by this news?
A new report concludes that chief executives of the 50 firms that have laid off the most workers since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008 took home 42 percent more pay in 2009 than their peers at other large U.S. companies.
The report, from the Institute of Policy Studies, found that the 50 layoff leaders received $12 million on average in 2009, compared with an average compensation of $8.5 million for chief executives of companies in Standard & Poor’s 500. Each of the 50 companies examined in the report laid off at least 3,000 workers between November 2008 and April 2010.
I guess the classic answer would be “it’s between the companies and their shareholders,” but the issue goes deeper than that. This is companies harming not just workers but the United States economy in search of the quickest, shortest-term profit. It’s coming out of fundamentally twisted priorities – priorities corporations have worked hard to sell us on for more than a generation now but which did not reign during the post-World War II years so often invoked as an American ideal.
So it would be great to stop this exact practice. But it would be better to change the economy to work for all of us and for the nation.
More than 99 weeks ago CEO’s began taking millions of jobs from millions of hardworking Americans. Instead of aiding the economy and restoring jobs to Americans, these corporate leaders have greedily pocketed the would-be paychecks of millions of unemployed workers. The GOP points the finger of blame at the unemployed workers for not being able to restore their jobs in less than 99 weeks. It’s not hard to see the connection between the GOP and big business CEO’s and other corporate leaders since many are business owners and major GOP campaign contributors. How can we save America from the GOP corporate greed?
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