American income inequality has skyrocketed, growing worse than it is in
countries like Pakistan and Ivory Coast.
Wealth inequality is worse than it was even in Ancient Rome.
Pay for chief executives at American companies grew 15 percent in 2011 while on the other hand, workers wages have been left behind.
In 1978, CEOs took home 26.5 times more than the average worker. They now make roughly 206 times more than workers. Since 1978, CEO pay at American firms has risen 725 percent, more than 127 times faster than worker pay over the same time period. Their "rewards" are substantially greater than stock market growth and the miserly 5.7 percent growth in worker salaries over the same period. CEOs at companies like Bank of America often pocket huge pay increases even as the company's stock price plummets and jobs are cut.
As pay skyrockets and tax rates fall for the richest Americans, the rising inequality has left the bottom 95 percent of Americans saddled with more debt than ever before.
Workers' wages aren't tied to productivity either. Despite substantial gains in productivity since the 1970s, worker pay has remained flat. According to Labor Department data inflation-adjusted wages fell 2 percent in 2011.
Debt has become an enormous problem for the typical American. Among the bottom 95 percent of earners -- most of us, in other words -- debt has risen to eye-popping levels. In 1983, the bottom 95 percent had 60 cents of debt for every dollar they earned, according to the IMF's research. By 2007, it had risen to $1.40 of debt for every dollar earned. Today, Americans owe some $704 billion in credit card debt, and more than that in both auto loans and student borrowing.
While Wall St berate any attempt to impose independent regualtion upon themselves, they are quick to oppose any extensions of workers' rights. Under federal labor law, employees have the right to join together to seek better pay and working conditions, with or without a union. If an employer tries to punish organizers, employees have the right to seek protection from the National Labor Relations Board. But employees still don’t have the right to be informed of their rights. Last August, the N.L.R.B. issued a rule requiring employers to post a notice in the workplace telling employees of their rights. The rule was prompted by the board’s finding that young employees, recent immigrants and workers in nonunion workplaces were generally unaware of the law’s guarantees and protections. The backlash was furious. The National Association of Manufacturers sued to block the rule in federal court in Washington, D.C. The United States Chamber of Commerce sued in federal court in South Carolina. It’s about industry’s attempt to delay rules whenever it cannot derail them outright. It is all about preventing workers from gaining knowledge to help them press their concerns and struggles.
Pay for chief executives at American companies grew 15 percent in 2011 while on the other hand, workers wages have been left behind.
In 1978, CEOs took home 26.5 times more than the average worker. They now make roughly 206 times more than workers. Since 1978, CEO pay at American firms has risen 725 percent, more than 127 times faster than worker pay over the same time period. Their "rewards" are substantially greater than stock market growth and the miserly 5.7 percent growth in worker salaries over the same period. CEOs at companies like Bank of America often pocket huge pay increases even as the company's stock price plummets and jobs are cut.
As pay skyrockets and tax rates fall for the richest Americans, the rising inequality has left the bottom 95 percent of Americans saddled with more debt than ever before.
Workers' wages aren't tied to productivity either. Despite substantial gains in productivity since the 1970s, worker pay has remained flat. According to Labor Department data inflation-adjusted wages fell 2 percent in 2011.
Debt has become an enormous problem for the typical American. Among the bottom 95 percent of earners -- most of us, in other words -- debt has risen to eye-popping levels. In 1983, the bottom 95 percent had 60 cents of debt for every dollar they earned, according to the IMF's research. By 2007, it had risen to $1.40 of debt for every dollar earned. Today, Americans owe some $704 billion in credit card debt, and more than that in both auto loans and student borrowing.
While Wall St berate any attempt to impose independent regualtion upon themselves, they are quick to oppose any extensions of workers' rights. Under federal labor law, employees have the right to join together to seek better pay and working conditions, with or without a union. If an employer tries to punish organizers, employees have the right to seek protection from the National Labor Relations Board. But employees still don’t have the right to be informed of their rights. Last August, the N.L.R.B. issued a rule requiring employers to post a notice in the workplace telling employees of their rights. The rule was prompted by the board’s finding that young employees, recent immigrants and workers in nonunion workplaces were generally unaware of the law’s guarantees and protections. The backlash was furious. The National Association of Manufacturers sued to block the rule in federal court in Washington, D.C. The United States Chamber of Commerce sued in federal court in South Carolina. It’s about industry’s attempt to delay rules whenever it cannot derail them outright. It is all about preventing workers from gaining knowledge to help them press their concerns and struggles.
86 million invisible unemployed in America
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