10/29/2008 09:55:57 AM 
(4) 
(4) From the FirstMatter newsletter.
Anyone have any more up-to-date data?
Posted by Ed Cotton
NYT infographic
Hi Ed, link to a NYT infographic from 2006: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/08/business/pay.graphic.jpg Also: Maybe the relative demand has changed like Noah says but there's also the question of whether CEOs earn their keep.
Posted by Eugene on 10/29/2008 06:01 PM
Hi Ed, link to a NYT infographic from 2006: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2006/04/08/business/pay.graphic.jpg Also: Maybe the relative demand has changed like Noah says but there's also the question of whether CEOs earn their keep.
Posted by Eugene on 10/29/2008 06:01 PM
Thanks Eugene
Eugene, thanks for tracking down better info. Sure, there's a good question about relative demand. Then there's the stresses and strains CEO's are under- plus rising compensation that's linked to a stock market boom which over inflated the salaries. However, the point here is when you look at the most recent data- the gap is pretty huge.
Posted by ed cotton on 10/29/2008 11:54 PM
Eugene, thanks for tracking down better info. Sure, there's a good question about relative demand. Then there's the stresses and strains CEO's are under- plus rising compensation that's linked to a stock market boom which over inflated the salaries. However, the point here is when you look at the most recent data- the gap is pretty huge.
Posted by ed cotton on 10/29/2008 11:54 PM
CEO comparrison to average employee pay.
This information seems to draw a better comparison, as well as throws in some international context, but is no less dramatic: In 1980, the average American CEO made 45 times what their employees made. By 2003, they were making 254 times what their workers made. After 8 years of Bush, they now make over 400 times what their average employee makes. How this can happen at publicly held companies is beyond reason. In Britain, the average CEO makes 28 times what their average employee makes. In Japan, it's only 17 times!
Posted by Mike Cox on 11/03/2008 08:18 PM
This information seems to draw a better comparison, as well as throws in some international context, but is no less dramatic: In 1980, the average American CEO made 45 times what their employees made. By 2003, they were making 254 times what their workers made. After 8 years of Bush, they now make over 400 times what their average employee makes. How this can happen at publicly held companies is beyond reason. In Britain, the average CEO makes 28 times what their average employee makes. In Japan, it's only 17 times!
Posted by Mike Cox on 11/03/2008 08:18 PM
It appears you don't have Flash installed.
Hey Ed, not entirely sure the point of the stastic. At first glance, I expect it's to show the disparity in pay and say this is crazy (but maybe not), but on the other hand couldn't you say that the demand for factory workers was a whole lot higher in 1965 than today (and, for that matter, that the demand for CEOs was probably lower, as I expect there were fewer companies at that point).