August 06, 20151,000+ Views

Top CEO Salaries Revealed, the World Responds

In a world of 1%, Occupy Wallstreet, and many Americans angry with wealth inequality we got some pretty big news today.

In a new just-approved rule the world must come clean about their pay. Companies must now disclose the pay gap between workers and the CEO. USA Today states:
The average CEO of Standard & Poor's 500 companies were paid 216 times more than the median employees at their companies, according to a USA TODAY analysis of worker pay data from Glassdoor.com and CEO pay data from S&P Capital IQ.
Some CEOs making up to 800 times more than their workers. 

I’m going to sum up the two responses I’m hearing the most:
It’s cool, yo

I mean they are the CEOs for a reason right? Now I know exactly how much they make and what it’s like to be them. It’s good that they are sharing this information, because if I believe in a world with less wealth inequality, then I can know what companies are working for that as well!
It’s not cool, dawg

You are revealing private information, and this rule is useless! The private information that is reveals could lead to a bad reputation for the company, and is also a shaming tactic for the CEOs that worked so hard to get where they are and deserve more pay!
Personally, I think it’s actually a good idea to disclose this information. It puts the company in perspective, and really reveals how worker-minded the company says they are.

Essentially it puts their money where their mouth is...

Food ･ Movies ･ Travel ･ Photography

“Smile until you feel better. I call it Kimmying."

11 Likes

2 Shares

14 Comments

Suggested

Recent

shannonl5

Looking over these comments, I think it's a little bit odd (and perhaps revealing) that this information wasn't shared in the first place. I understand that we don't live in a culture where it's encouraged to discuss the amount you make. But at the same time, I think transparency about where the money goes in a large company is important. If you employ a lot of people and you're a publicly traded company, after a certain point that kind of information seems relevant to be disclosed. Maybe not exact figures, but at the very least the way the wealth is distributed. Especially in the example @nicolejb gave about Walmart, that company makes billions of dollars, but many of its employees have to rely on food stamps to survive, despite the number of hours they work. Cashiers, stockers, warehouse workers... Those aren't employees that are offered the mobility to "work their way up", but they do labor for the company that is essential. Yes, it is labor that requires minimal skills (though working customer service is by no means easy), and entry level does generally mean that those employees can be replaced. But the company also can't run without them. So why shouldn't they be able to work a 40 hour work week and make enough money to survive, when the CEO is making substantially more than that?

August 10, 2015

nicolejb

Thanks for explain more in-depth on how I’ve been feeling about this @shannonl5! I think it’s also a personal choice too. Workers should be able to look at the numbers and decided for themselves if they want to work for that company. And on top of it, I think it can show what real companies look like in America. Like if another organization wants to look at their model and go from there. Sometimes the CEO with the most money does not automatically mean success!

August 13, 2015

marshalledgar

@nicolejb I don't think it's anyone's business what anyone makes, to be honest. I don't see how a company's values has anything to do with salary. I think the publication of salaries creates more harm than good. Having or making a lot of money is all relative. So many people get worked up over salaries and golden parachutes, yet these same people couldn't care less that for every dollar that is printed, we owe $1.39 to the Federal Reserve, which is not a US owned or operated company. people should use their anger in more productive ways like dismantling the Federal Reserve than going after private information.

August 10, 2015

marshalledgar

I had to look the word Amelioration. LOL learning something new everyday. haha Thanks @jeff4122.

August 10, 2015

jeff4122

@marshalledgar that's really intelligently said. There's a distinction between 'wealth gap' - the amelioration of which is a worthy cause - and 'wage gap', which is a necessary consequence of capitalism.

August 10, 2015