This is a continuing story about wage disparity reported in PolitiDose over seven years ago how wealth is being transferred from the middle class to the wealthy and continues unabated today. Now comes a report from the Economic Policy Institute as reported by the Huffington Post that the average chief executive in the 350 largest American companies made 17.6% more last year than in 2016. It represents a large increase for those already making millions of dollars a year.
Other findings by the Institute were as follows: (1) The average CEO pay at a large company in 2017 was $18.9 million. (2) That was 312 times the average workers pay in 2017 which increased only a dismal 0.3%. (3) CEO's are getting more because of their power to set pay, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE OR HAVE SPECIAL TALENTS OR MORE EDUCATION. (4) Trump's tax cuts were responsible for a $437 billion buy back of company stocks.
The proof is there for everyone to see who are willing to learn. The Reagan, Bush 43 and Trump tax cuts, did not expand or increase middle class income and in fact the income gap between those at the top and the middle class continues to widen and the transfer of wealth continues to take place. Productivity has increased over 70% in the last 30 years but the average worker, those responsible for the increase have not shared in the benefits of that increase in production. But the CEO's and their executives have seen big time increases in salary and bonus.
Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren said she will introduce legislation so that the average worker would have a better seat at the economic table of Corporate America and their CEO's and reap the benefits they are do. Hopefully, the democrats will take over control of congress in the November elections so the average worker will be represented fairly in income matters and change the massive ratio that now favors the top CEO's and executives over the middle class. The republican con game with the help of corporate America and the wealthy has to come to an end.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
