From the Economic Policy Institute (http://www.epi.org/):
In honor of April Fools’ Day, we give you three charts that should be April Fools’ jokes—but unfortunately are all too real.
CEOs make 351 times as much as typical workers
From 1978 to 2020, CEO compensation grew by 1,322%, far outstripping S&P stock market growth (817%) and top 0.1% earnings growth (which was 341% between 1978 and 2019, the latest data available). In contrast, compensation of the typical worker grew by just 18.0% from 1978 to 2020.
The minimum wage is worth 21% less than in 2009
While pay for top executives is skyrocketing, low-wage workers are losing ground. A worker paid the federal minimum of $7.25 today effectively earns 21% less than what their counterpart earned 12 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.
Worker productivity has risen significantly—their pay, not so much
American workers are producing much more than they were 40 years ago, but the financial gains are not being shared equitably. Productivity and the typical worker’s hourly pay rose in tandem from 1948 until the early 1970s. Then, because of policy changes that began in the late 1970s, accelerated through the 1980s, and largely remain with us today, productivity and pay began to sharply diverge.
Together, these three charts tell a story of rising inequality and economic injustice that is so extreme it would be funny…if only it weren’t true. This April Fools’ Day, it looks like the joke is on us.
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