CEO pay hikes double!
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| Wed, 07-28-2004 - 2:15pm |
Corporate Library survey finds median raise for S&P 500 CEO was 22.18% in 2003.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/28/news/economy/ceo_pay/index.htm?cnn=yes
The CEO's at the nation's largest companies saw their raises more than doubled in 2003 as the median raise handed out by S&P 500 companies to their top executives was 22.18 percent, according to a study by The Corporate Library.
The watchdog group said that stock options and awards of restricted stock drove the larger pay hikes. But most elements of the pay -- base salary, annual bonuses, restricted stock, long-term incentive payout, value realized from stock options and total compensation -- showed increases. The only type of compensation not to show a gain was the value of stock option grants during the year.
"This double-digit rise in pay shows that calls for pay restraint appear to be being ignored," said the statement from the group.
It said four S&P 500 companies -- Apple Computer (AAPL: Research, Estimates), Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates), Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL: Research, Estimates), upped their CEO pay by well over 1,000 percent.
The compensation for all CEOs, a total sample of 1,429 companies, show median pay increases of 15 percent, up from 9 percent increases in 2002. The median is the pay increase at which there are the same number of pay increases that are greater and that are less.


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Should we care that the wealthy are getting more wealth? The average man is too busy trying to make ends meet. Our democracy is a sham.
Inflation-adjusted wages fall again in June
Down six of the last seven months
With today’s release of inflation data for June, EPI analysis reveals that real hourly and weekly earnings have fallen for six out of the last seven months (see the figures below).
The average hourly wage of blue-collar (production) workers in manufacturing and non-managers in services was $15.65 last month (these workers represent about 80% of the private-sector workforce). When the recovery began in November 2001, their real wage was $15.69, slightly higher than the real value in June 2004 (see Figure 1). For weekly earnings, the relevant values are $530.17 in November 2001 and $525.84 last month, as shown in Figure 2 (the larger decline for weekly earnings is due to a loss in hours worked per week). In other words, after adjusting for inflation, both hourly and weekly earnings are below where they were when the current recovery got underway.
There are three factors contributing to the decline of real wages in the current labor market. The first and most important factor is the lingering effect of the formerly jobless recovery. Though employment is growing again, considerable slack remains in the labor market. The unemployment rate, for example, at 5.6% in June 2004, is at the very same rate as in November 2001 when the current recovery began. Under these labor market conditions, with an oversupply of workers relative to employers’ demands, there is little pressure to bid wages up.
Second, the quality of the net new jobs appears to be putting downward pressure on wage growth. Specifically, industries and occupations that are adding jobs most quickly pay less than those growing more slowly. There is considerable confusion on this point. For example, analysis published by factcheck.org reported that more job growth has occurred in sectors paying above the median wage than below that wage level.1 But this is not what drives wage growth. Instead, the average wage is driven up when high-wage sectors grow faster than average and vice versa. Over the past year, industries and occupations growing faster than average pay 7% less than those that are growing more slowly.
Finally, faster inflation in recent months has meant that nominal wages need to grow faster to beat price growth. Yet, because of the factors noted above, nominal wage growth has slowed sharply, from an annual average of 2.9% in the second quarter of last year to 2.1% in the same quarter this year. Inflation over this same period has accelerated from 2.2% to 2.8%. Thus, even if inflation were back to its level of a year ago, wages would still be stagnant at best, with real wage growth far behind the growth rate of productivity.
Although employment has thankfully begun to rebound, the persistent effects of the longest jobless recovery on record continue to take a toll on wage growth, meaning working families have to work more hours to lift their real incomes.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_07162004
This is most discouraging for people in the job market.
Americans' incomes fell for two years.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/29/news/economy/income/index.htm?cnn=yes
Maybe but concentrate on yourself, you'll find it more productive and rewarding.
"The average man is too busy trying to make ends meet."
Speak for yourself. The average man is doing just fine.
"Our democracy is a sham. "
It isn't a democracy. A democracy would be a disaster.
Do we ever get tired of class warfare and class envy?
If and when I get to be in the top 1% I'll try and get in the top .5% and then the top .1%.
Do CEOs get paid too much money? Maybe.
Does the board of directors for those companies allow it? Yes.
Are they getting paid too much? Maybe.
Are they all out to protect themselves? Probably.
Are they out to get "us" the average man? Nonsense.
What will happen to companies that overpay their executives ignoring what makes good sense? Failure.
If an executive turns around a billion dollar company does he deserve 50million bonus?
Heck yea...
Do I hope he is my friend? Better believe it.
Woe is me...poor middle class me....greedy rich people...come on...let's get over it.
Are the rich greedy, no more than the average man...they just have more to work with.
Quit worrying about what they are making and go out and make it yourself.
Hard work and determination will go along way...having a friend at the top doesn't hurt either.
Go ahead...flame away...won't change the fact that the rich are rich and some people are still crying about it.
This is exactly what's wrong with America! To much concern with self and not enough concern for the other.
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To you it maybe class warfare, to me it is the well-beinging of my country. It is disgraceful that in American children go to bed hungry, that the elderly can't afford health care--but hey if your fine, why worry.
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And if he runs the company into the ground he still gets the bonus. Don't kid yourself executive pay isn't linked to performance.
"Speak for yourself. The average man is doing just fine."
Says you.
"Do we ever get tired of class warfare and class envy?"
This has nothing to do with class warfare, envy or jealousy.
"People need to start having more personal responsibility."
Tell that to people who have seen their companies move to India, China or Mexico.
No, this isn't a flame.
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