While CEOs lay off thousands, rake in millions, “A new report concludes that chief executives of the 50 firms that have laid off the most workers since the onset of the economic crisis in 2008 took home 42 percent more pay in 2009 than their peers at other large U.S. companies” and reveals that:
“five of the 50 top layoff leaders received taxpayer-funded bailouts. American Express, for example, gave CEO Kenneth Chenault $16.8 million in 2009, including a $5 million cash bonus…but…has laid off 4,000 employees since receiving $3.4 billion in taxpayer bailout funds…”.
Meanwhile, yesterday, USA Today reported that “Despite record federal debt, Uncle Sam isn’t having any trouble staying afloat. Neither are most large corporations…”
“U.S. corporations are sitting on more than $1 trillion in cash, more than the government is spending on the massive federal stimulus package that Congress approved in February 2009. Earnings are strong, according to Standard & Poor’s, especially in technology and for raw materials producers.”
Contrast wealth of U.S. corporations with the plight of “consumers and homeowners…[who]…are drowning in the USA’s great ocean of debt…are going under at record rates”.
“They used to tell me I was building a dream…I was always there right on the job…
They used to tell me I was building a dream with peace and glory ahead…
Why should I be standing in line just waiting for bread… Hey, brother, can you spare a dime…”
Given record unemployment and a housing market that may not have yet hit bottom but the compensation of layoff leaders is at the top, USA Today defies reason in attributing the difficulty of “consumers and homeowners” in part “to their own greed” – particularly when the Institute for Policy Studies calculates: Continue reading “Hey, brother, can you spare a trillion – nation’s Corporations singing a different song”