Quote of the Week

“There is one group of Americans that will be putting extra relish on the grilled hot dogs this coming weekend — the CEOs of the Fortune 500, who have made out like bandits, despite (or more likely, because of) the great recession, which has provided them all sorts of excuses to fire workers.”
Pratap Chatterjee, CEO pay: their profit, your loss, Guardian (UK), September 1, 2010

Stat of the Week

Under current law, no paycheck income over $106,800 faces Social Security tax. This cap, notes Economic Policy Institute analyst Monique Morrissey, amounts to "a huge windfall for the rich and a terrible shortfall for the benefits program” — since 16 percent of all U.S. earnings fall above the $106,800 level.

Greed at a Glance

A quick update on avarice in America and beyond: Just what America needs: another ego-seum . . . The lavish rewards for America’s hospitality honchos . . . The global push for new taxes on wealth.

Executive Pay Scorecard

Top media outlets and business researchers annually release compensation surveys that detail executive pay levels over the preceding year. These surveys seldom sample the same corporations — or measure pay the exact same way — and, consequently, almost always generate somewhat different results. We sum up the latest top national and regional survey results here.