So, yesterday was full of news of tea parties. You would think that paying taxes was a sin greater than . . . well, the sin that has no name? But was any of that anger directed at real thieves? People who do pick the public's pocket? The sort of people that a blog about them gets the tag "crooks, thieves, and miscreants"?
As part of its Executive PayWatch website, the AFL-CIO gives us 10 case studies on CEOs gone Wild! And at the expense of those of us who are at the bottom of the scale - many of whom are the people who work at these companies.
Here are a few examples.
Take Wal-Mart.
Executive Physicals: Wal-Mart Stores
Employees of the world’s largest retailer have a strong incentive to stay healthy. Only 48 percent of Wal-Mart workers were enrolled in Wal-Mart’s health care plan for its employees, according to an internal company memo, compared with 68 percent for most national employers. Some 46 percent of Wal-Mart employees’ children were either on Medicaid or uninsured. To put that in perspective, 11 percent of children in America were uninsured in the Unitd States in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Meanwhile, the CEO of Wal-Mart and top executives receive an annual “senior executive physical” examination paid for by the company.
Or how about Tyson Foods?
‘Golden Parachute’ Severance Benefits: Tyson Foods
Workers laid off by companies in these tough economic times are lucky if they receive more than their last paycheck and their legal right to extend health care benefits they pay for, but chief executive officers at many of America’s largest companies often receive a “golden parachute,” or a generous severance package, when they depart. Richard L. Bond, president and top executive of Tyson Foods Inc. until Jan. 5, stood to collect more than $14 million in severance.
There's lots more over at the website.
And let us not forget the work done by United for a Fair Economy (UFE) in this area. Take a look at its latest annual report on Executive Excess – comparing the pay of top CEOs to average workers. UFE's position is:
We believe that the lack of pay equity in the US can be addressed by changing the rules. The better informed average workers are, the more they will be empowered to generate changes.
The UFE website also includes assessments of Obama's tax program, and it identifies areas where improvement in existing taxes is needed.
OK, so now that we are done with Tea Parties, let's move on to U Parties. Let's look at parity and fairness for you and you and you.
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