They have used us, taken from us, even poisoned us. They flood Capitol Hill with lobbyists and use dark money to buy politicians. Regulations are a minor nuisance, resulting in fines costing pennies on the dollar, and the government looks the other way when antitrust laws are broken to gobble up the competition into giant monopolies. Corporations and their greedy CEOs are among the most destructive forces in the quest for the American dream.
One billionaire CEO launched his fiancée into space and bought himself a yacht so big that it came with a second smaller “more practical” yacht while paying his workers so little that they need federal aid to survive. Their work conditions are so unforgiving that some have resorted to urinating into bottles because there isn’t time for proper bathroom breaks. And when the workers try to organize for change, illegal union busting follows.
If somehow that isn’t enough to convince you that corporate greed is out of control, let’s look at the history of CEOs hoarding ever more money for themselves while giving next to nothing to their hard-working employees.
In the 1960s, when the middle class was strongest and a single income could afford a family and a house, the CEO to average worker pay ratio was 21. Today, it is 290.
But that’s the CEO's average. It gets much worse at many corporations, up to a ratio of over 10,000 to 1 (note that median and average are different calculations).
If you’d like to explore this chart further: https://aflcio.org/paywatch/company-pay-ratios
Since 1978, CEO pay has increased by 1085%, while worker pay has risen only 24%.
This is even though worker productivity has increased over that same time. Since 1979, hourly worker productivity has increased by 86%, but their wages have only increased by 32%.
There are numerous ways to show how greedy CEOs have become and the damage it has caused. What can we do to turn this around?
Raise the top income tax rates. When income taxes are higher on wealthy CEOs, taking as much money home is less advantageous than investing it back into the business. In 1968, when the minimum wage peaked and the middle class was strongest, the top tax rate was 70%, and the corporate tax rate was 50%. Today they are 37% and 21%.
Empower workers. It isn’t a coincidence that as union membership has declined, wage inequality has soared, and the middle class has eroded away. Workers need a seat at the table. Unions provide that. Giving workers representation on corporate boards would also.
Enact tax penalties for excessive CEO-to-worker pay ratios. Low wages are causing higher government spending to meet people's basic needs, so companies should shoulder more of the tax burden.
Companies with a CEO to median worker ratio higher than 250 to 1 should incur an additional 14% tax rate, which brings their corporate tax rate back up to what it was before the Trump Tax Cuts lowered it from 35% to 21%. Companies with a ratio in excess of 500 to 1 should incur another 15% tax, bringing their total to 50%. The ratios for increased taxation should be reduced by 15 and 30 annually for the next decade, bringing them down to a final value of 100 and 200.
Making these changes will not be easy. In 1971, only 176 companies were represented by a small number of lobbyists. By 1980, there were 2,445 companies and 9,000 lobbyists. Today, there are over 13,000 lobbyists. In 2010, the Citizens United ruling opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate political spending. In 2024, dark money topped $1 billion, and Super PACs spent $2.7 billion to influence elections.
While corporations have money and influence, they don’t have ballot numbers. A CEO gets just one vote, and every worker gets one vote. The people have the power to change corporate influence, but to do so, everyone needs to get involved, and they need to see past the well-funded misinformation that makes working-class people be against unions, higher minimum wages, and appropriate taxation of the wealthiest Americans.
Corporations responded to a call to arms in the 1970s. They organized, worked together, and changed the system to their benefit. It is time for working-class and middle-class Americans to do the same. We must end this new Gilded Age and usher in an age of progress and prosperity for the American worker.
https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2023/#fig-a
https://www.epi.org/productivity-pay-gap/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-drivers-peeing-in-bottles-union-vote-worker-complaints/
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/citizens-united-explained
Redirect Your Anger
Americans are frustrated at the difficulty of making ends meet. Campaign promises about tackling inflation, lowering prices, mass deporting migrants, and using tariffs to solve our problems likely won one of the closest presidential elections in US history.