In 2015, the average chief executive at the largest corporations in the U.S. earned 276 times what a typical worker made ― about $15 million, a new paper from the Economic Policy Institute reports.
Chief executives certainly have demanding jobs ― requiring long hours, boorish appearances on CNBC and earnest declarations of their social commitment ― but are these positions 276 times as hard as yours?
In 2015, the average chief executive at the largest corporations in the U.S. earned 276 times what a typical worker made ― about $15 million, a new paper from the Economic Policy Institute reports.
CEO pay has risen along with the income of other members of the top 1 percent of earners in the U.S., while the incomes of everyone else have stayed fairly flat.
Some argue that pointing out the obscenely high pay of CEOs is meaningless ― it’s a juicy headline number but doesn’t really impact the average American. EPI makes the opposite case, arguing that CEO pay has essentially become a tax on the rest of us. All that money could be put to better use.
The paper recommends reinstating higher tax rates at the very top, setting higher corporate tax rates for companies that have higher ratios of CEO-to-worker pay, among other solutions to reinstate the balance.
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