http://www.aflcio.org/corporatewatch/paywatch/pay/index.cfm
2006-10-09 06:34:39 · 9 answers · asked by Eric Inri 6 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
http://www.scnazarethky.org/ccr/CEOpay.htm
2006-10-09 06:50:01 · update #1
The way you frased the question using the term "average", the results will be skewed by the compensation of the CEO. A better term would be "median" meaning that half the workers make more and half make less.
The answer is a little difficult to quantify, because CEOs receive a ton of perks from their companies that are not even considered compensation.
The heads of the 500 largest companies in the U S received a total of 5.1 billion dollars in compansation. That works out to an average of 10.1 million each. They received an average pay raise for the year of 54%. How about that?
Who received the most? Terry Semel of Yahoo over $230 million.
Perhaps it is not fair to pick on Mr. Semel, but I can't help it.
How much money did Yahoo earn in 2005? $1.896 billion. So what % of earnings was his compensation? 12.1%. He received 12.1% of the profits of the company in compensation.
Companies in general do not report what the average wage per employee is but the railroads do so we can use them as a representative sample. Average wage of a railroad employee is $87,000. It is somewhat unfair to use that number also for Yahoo but let's do it anyway. So we arrive that Mr. Semel made 264,367 times the wage of an average railroad worker. The CEOs of the top 500 companies in America made 11,609 times the wage of the average railroad worker. Remember the average includes the CEO, even for railroads.
2006-10-09 07:40:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The good old boy board of directors scratch each others backs. As long as a company can stay competitive in the market and keep the shareholders content, the management will give themselves all the money they can just because they can. Then management will tell the public we have to make cuts so we can stay competitive but at the same time they get a pay raise.
Back in the 1980's the oil companies made huge cuts in job positions because they said they had to be competitive. They started contracting most of their maintenance work instead of having their own company people do the job. The middle class got axed while management made more income. The contracting companies offer few benefits with lower pay and not much job security - similar to what just happened in the aerospace industry.
It's a lot cheaper and more profitable for a corporation to give to charities and look good in the public than keep employees.
I think it is fine for a CEO or manager to earn all the money he can as long he or she is really worth it to the company in the long run. I don't care if they make 10 billion dollars a year as long as they earn it.
2006-10-09 10:24:03 · answer #2 · answered by Kuntree 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CEO's can make or break a company. If the company is successful and the stock rises, the CEO will get rewarded. But CEO's seem to make lots of money. Now I am jealous and my feelings are hurt. Why did you bring up this question? Now I am depressed. Where is my medication?
2006-10-09 06:44:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Greed. Plain and simple. The CEOs aren't earning their money, they are 'rewarded' with stock options and bonuses whether the company does well or not.
Until the shareholders start to complain, it won't end. The Board and the CEO are 'tight'... so a couple of million here and there isn't so bad. I know 'personally' one company that rewarded their CEO with a $600k bonus AND >$15Million in stock options and then told the employees the company hadn't done well enough for a cost of living increase.
The system is broken.
2006-10-09 06:47:00 · answer #4 · answered by words_smith_4u 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Because our government owned, liberal teacher union controlled education system has produced a bunch of zombies that don't have basic skills.
Fewer people available that can actually do the job means higher pay.
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2006-10-09 06:43:43 · answer #5 · answered by Zak 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Like it or not, CEOs are more important than average workers.
2006-10-09 06:39:40 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
inflation, america prints more money, with only so much specie (gold and other junk) to back it up and so the money has to become less valuable otherwise america could print 100000000 dollars for everyone and theres nothing any other country could do about it.
2006-10-09 06:36:29 · answer #7 · answered by N T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
your source is a union site?? what do you think they are going to say... the average worker has just become too lazy...Zzzzzzzzzz
2006-10-09 06:37:54 · answer #8 · answered by steinwald 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
good question
2006-10-09 06:36:20 · answer #9 · answered by Who 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋