SOME HARD FIGURES ON CORPORATE GREED

According to the AFL-CIO, the following facts emerge regarding America’s largest corporations and their top executives:

  • At least 55 of the largest corporations in America paid no federal corporate income taxes in 2021 despite enjoying substantial pretax profits in the United States. This continues a decades-long trend of corporate tax avoidance by the biggest U.S. corporations, and it appears to be the product of long-standing tax breaks preserved or expanded by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as well as the CARES Act tax breaks enacted in the spring of 2020.
  • In 2022, CEOs of S&P 500 companies received, on average, $16.7 million in total compensation. This was the second-highest level of CEO pay in history for S&P 500 Index companies. It was 324 times more than then median pay of the average employee.

The AFL-CIO notes that the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay is important. A higher pay ratio could be a sign that companies suffer from a winner-take-all philosophy, where executives reap the lion’s share of compensation. A lower pay ratio could indicate the companies that are dedicated to creating high-wage jobs and investing in their employees for the company’s long-term health.

For full details, see AFL-CIO website items: Corporate Greed and Executive Pay Watch

 

 

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