Fortune magazine released its annual list of the country's 500 biggest companies this week, and it turns out to have been a good year for corporate America. In 2011, the Fortune 500 generated a combined $824.5 billion in earnings -- an all-time record, and a 16 percent jump from the previous year. The report echos others indicating corporate America is experiencing boom times. U.S. corporate profits returned to pre-recession levels, according to the International Institute for Labour Studies released Friday, hitting 15 percent of gross domestic product.
17.2 million households, including 3.9 million children are food-isecure. 46 million people (15%) below the poverty line. 43 percent of households, some 127.5 million people -- are liquid-asset poor, meaning a sudden loss of income, caused, for example, by a layoff or a medical emergency, they would fall below the poverty line within three months. Twelve and a half million people are still out of work. Most new jobs that have been created lately are low-paying food and service sectors.
Those too-big-to-fail banks -- whose assets now exceed half the size of the U.S. economy (The big five held $8.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2011, equal to 56% of the US economy. In 2007, ahead of the financial crisis, the largest banks' assets amounted to 43% of US output) don't seem too bothered by the continuing slump for workers. Nor are the the Wall Street firms particularly concerned about the poor, having themselves earned more in profits so far under President Obama than during all eight years of George W. Bush's presidency, according to The Washington Post. The securities industry earned $82.52 billion in profits during the first two and a half years of Obama's presidency, compared to $77.17 billion total under President Bush
In fact, many have benefitted on the backs of workers that in some cases are underpaid or at risk of losing their jobs. Among the largest companies on Fortune's list is Walmart, at number two, which was recently hit with a $4.8 million fine from the government for allegedly failing to pay its workers overtime; General Electric, at number six, which may have paid an average federal tax rate of just 2.3 percent over the past decade, according to the group Citizens for Tax Justice; and General Motors, at number five, which amassed $9.1 billion in profits last year and recently froze pay for its work staff of 26,000. Lockheed Martin, which recorded $2.6 billion in profits last year and offered buyout plans (voluntary redundancy pay-offs) to more than 6,000 employees; and Pfizer, which took in $10 billion in profits and announced plans to lay off more than 16,000 workers.
Even without hiring many more workers, companies have still managed to profit. That's because major corporations have been squeezing more out of their employees while letting their workers' inflation-adjusted wages fall. Meanwhile, worker productivity has spiked over the past few years as employees worked harder. "Most of the productivity gains have gone to corporate America and stock prices," Kathy Bostjancic, director for macroeconomic analysis explained "The income gains are going more to corporate America and the top line than they are going to the worker."
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17.2 million households, including 3.9 million children are food-isecure. 46 million people (15%) below the poverty line. 43 percent of households, some 127.5 million people -- are liquid-asset poor, meaning a sudden loss of income, caused, for example, by a layoff or a medical emergency, they would fall below the poverty line within three months. Twelve and a half million people are still out of work. Most new jobs that have been created lately are low-paying food and service sectors.
Those too-big-to-fail banks -- whose assets now exceed half the size of the U.S. economy (The big five held $8.5 trillion in assets at the end of 2011, equal to 56% of the US economy. In 2007, ahead of the financial crisis, the largest banks' assets amounted to 43% of US output) don't seem too bothered by the continuing slump for workers. Nor are the the Wall Street firms particularly concerned about the poor, having themselves earned more in profits so far under President Obama than during all eight years of George W. Bush's presidency, according to The Washington Post. The securities industry earned $82.52 billion in profits during the first two and a half years of Obama's presidency, compared to $77.17 billion total under President Bush
In fact, many have benefitted on the backs of workers that in some cases are underpaid or at risk of losing their jobs. Among the largest companies on Fortune's list is Walmart, at number two, which was recently hit with a $4.8 million fine from the government for allegedly failing to pay its workers overtime; General Electric, at number six, which may have paid an average federal tax rate of just 2.3 percent over the past decade, according to the group Citizens for Tax Justice; and General Motors, at number five, which amassed $9.1 billion in profits last year and recently froze pay for its work staff of 26,000. Lockheed Martin, which recorded $2.6 billion in profits last year and offered buyout plans (voluntary redundancy pay-offs) to more than 6,000 employees; and Pfizer, which took in $10 billion in profits and announced plans to lay off more than 16,000 workers.
Even without hiring many more workers, companies have still managed to profit. That's because major corporations have been squeezing more out of their employees while letting their workers' inflation-adjusted wages fall. Meanwhile, worker productivity has spiked over the past few years as employees worked harder. "Most of the productivity gains have gone to corporate America and stock prices," Kathy Bostjancic, director for macroeconomic analysis explained "The income gains are going more to corporate America and the top line than they are going to the worker."
Source
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