My good friend and former classmate Dennis Stewart sent me a chart showing U.S. executive pay at 400+ times that of workers while other countries' executive pay was a fraction of that compared to their workers.
I agreed with him that this seems exorbitant. (However, I then read the University of Virginia study at http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/uploadedFiles/Darden/Faculty_Research/Research_Publications/Matos%20USCEOsPaidMore_2012_09_20.pdf and found much less to agree with.
Coincidentally, our local paper carried an article on disappearing middle class jobs in the U.S. That got me thinking even more.
Let's hypothetically say we cut executive pay substantially. Would that mean more jobs for unemployed workers? Not necessarily. Our paper's AP story noted the tremendous incorporation of technology into U.S. business and industry--so the lost jobs will never come back.
The reduced pay might mean higher pay for existing workers or lower prices, but neither would change all that much. More likely, the extra money would go to owners (shareholders) or to capital investment in additional technology. Neither bodes well for higher pay or for more jobs.
It is not as easy as we think.High executive pay and workers
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