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Page A4
May 25. 2005
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Robber Barons
on Steroids
sHvs vs °
i
AV ï - d ' i A '
CEO salaries up 54 percent,
while worker pay shrinks
by
H olly S klar
How would you like a 54 percent
pay raise? T hat’s how much pay
jumped last year for the chief execu­
tive officers of the 500 largest U.S.
companies, reports "Forbes” maga­
zine.
Worker pay is shrinking, the
economy is stalling, the trade defi­
cit is growing and the stock market
is below 1999 levels, but CEO pay is
still in steroids.
The highest paid CEO in 2004
was Yahoo’s Terry Semel, who
hauled in $230.6 million. That’s more
than $4 million a week.
Yahoo is on the "Lou Dobbs
Tonight” list of companies “send­
ing American jobs overseas, or
choosing to employ cheap over­
seas labor, instead of American
workers.”
It would take the pay of 7,075
average American workers to match
the pay o f Yahoo’s CEO.
W illiam
M cG u ire
of
UnitedHealth Group, the nation’s
leading insurer, was the third-high-
est paid CEO on the “Forbes list.
His pay of $ 124.8 million could cover
the average health insurance pre­
miums of nearly 34,000 people.
CEOs win big even when the
company loses. Merck, for example,
had to pull its Vioxx pain medication
off the market because it increases
stroke and heart attack risk, and
Merck stock was down 28 percent
last y ear, but then-C E O Ray
Gilmartin got a supposedly perfor­
mance-based bonus. His total 2004
compensation was $37.8 million, he
received new grants of 90,000
shares o f stock and 25O,(XX) stock
options, and he’ 11 make more annu­
ally in retirement than average work­
ers earn in their lifetimes.
CEO pay averaged $ 10.2 million
in 2004, counting salary, bonus and
other compensation such as exer­
cised stock options and vested
stock grants.
Full-time worker pay averaged
just $32,594. That’s 11 percent less
than 1973’s average worker pay,
adjusting for inflation, although
worker productivity rose 78 per­
cent between 1973 and 2004.
In 1973, CEOs made 45 times as
much as workers. In 1991, they made
140 times as much and last year,
CEOs made more than 300 times as
much as workers.
W hile workers are having a
tougher time making ends meet,
CEO freeloaders expect perks such
as lifetime use of company jets,
chauffeured cars, company apart-
Making matters worse, CEOs
to “the golden years.”
earning
more than their fair share
CEO robber barons are increas­
are
being
rewarded with huge tax
ingly stashing their loot in guaran­
cuts.
teed pensions, deferred compen­
W orkers and their families are
sation, guaranteed consulting fees
paying
the biggest price as CEOs
— no actual consulting necessary
milk
theircompanies
and our coun­
— and other postretirement perks
try
like
cash
cows.
and compensation to avoid share­
Holly Sklar is a co-author o f
ments, club memberships, sports
W hile worker pensions are in­ holder scrutiny and sidestep the
“Raise
the Floor: Wages and Poli­
tickets, financial planning, personal creasinglyunavailableor unreliable, new rule for companies to treat stock
cies
That
Work fo r All O f Us. ”
assistants and more.
CEO retirement gives new meaning
options as expenses.
* It would take the pay of 7,075
average American workers to match
the pay of Yahoo's CEO.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■I
____________ THE____________
Irony in Filibuster Fight
SPINAiCOLUMN
Republican move offensive to people of color
V iolating Senate rules in order
necessary votes
E d ito r ’s note: The
to overturn Rule XXII is espe­
Racial
filibusters
fo llo w in g le tte r fr o m
continued in the cially unacceptable to us today in
th e
C o n g r e s s io n a l
1970s, even for light o f the repeated and dispro­
Black C aucus to S e n ­
extensions o f the p o rtio n a te use o f filib u s te rs
a te M a jo rity L e a d e r
V oting Rights Act against the nom inations o f Black,
W illiam Frist, R-Tenn.,
and o f Title VII o f H ispanics and w om en nom inees
e x p resses the C B C ’s
th e 1964 C iv il in the Judiciary C om m ittee dur­
opposition to the elim i­
ing the p rio r a d m in istra tio n .
R ig h ts
A ct.
nation o f the filib u ste r
D espite President C linton’s col­
a n d the nom ination o f Melvin L. Watt, chair, S outhern D em o­
laboration w ith Sen. O rrin Hatch
ju d g e s w ith extrem ist Congressional Black c ra ts alm o st a l­
w ays led the racial and the resulting confirm ation of
views on civil a nd h u ­ Caucus
f ilib u s te r s , b u t some judges, 60 Clinton nom i­
m an rights.
they
w
ere
alw
ays
joined by some nees w ere denied hearings or
As the Senate m oves for the
conservative
Republicans.
W e votes in the Judiciary C om m it­
first tim e tow ard possible elim i­
tee. W e expressed our deep con­
nation o f the filibuster, the 43 recite this history to em phasize
m em bers o f the C ongressional that m inority rights in the Senate cern at the time that a large por­
Black C aucus believe that we are no less im portant today than tion o f those who did not em erge
from the Com m ittee were nom i­
have a special obligation to ex ­ they w ere when the Senate in­
nees o f color and w om en.
sisted
on
the
rights
o
f
the
m
inor­
press our unanim ous view that
W e have looked closely at the
ity
that
delayed
each
and
every
Rule XXII providing forextended
records
and expressed view s o f
debate on all Senate m atters m ust attem pt to enforce the 14th and
the
disputed
nom inees. W e op­
15th A m endm ents for a century.
be m aintained.
pose
their
confirm
ation to the
T he filibuster w as system ati­
The Senate insisted that the
m inority rights o f Senators were cally used when Senate minority federal judiciary because their
absolute w hen the filibuster was rights meant the denial o f the docum ented views on civil and
used for a 100 years alm ost ex ­ rights o f African Americans. W e constitutional rights are so ex­
clusively to defeat the hum an cannot and will not stand dow n treme that they have been dis­
rights o f A frican A m ericans. w hen Senate m inority rights are credited and rejected by m ost
D uring all those years. Rule XXII proposed to be over-ruled against A m ericans and because o f their
was so im penetrable that despite a Senate m inority that seeks to dem onstrated hostility to the dis­
the d o c u m e n te d ly n ch in g s o f p ro tect the rig h ts o f A frican cipline o f judicial precedent and
6,000 A frican A m ericans and the Am ericans. T oday, when a m i­ to the laws C ongress has passed
open and notorious denial o f the nority o f Senators seeks to pro­ to protect w orkers, w om en, per­
right o f A frican A m ericans to te c t A frican A m ericans from sons w ith disabilities and the en ­
vote, proponents o f their rights judges w ho have opposed their vironm ent.
Y ou and o ther se n a to rs are
finally ceased trying to enact even rights and laws critical to their
e
n
title
d to d iffe r w ith us on
advancem
ent
toward
equality,
the
the m ost essential bills - anti­
particu
lar nom inees. T h e m em ­
proposal
to
use
an
unprecedented
lynching legislation after three
bers
o
f
the C o n g ressio n al B lack
attem pts in the 1920s and 1930s procedure to jettison the Rule for
C
au
cu
s
b eliev e that w e are e n ­
and anti-poll tax legislation after the first tim e would be particu­
larly offensive to people o f color. titled to re q u e st th at y o u re ­
three attem pts in the 1940s.
All o f the m ajor legislation that W e believe that the unbroken spect the S enate ru les th a t have
today bars racial discrim ination tradition o f fair treatm ent for the never favored the S en ate m a ­
in voting, em ploym ent and hous- Senate minority must be respected jo rity , even in the face o f the
ing w as passed after filibusters, regardless o f the identity o f the tra g ic c o n se q u e n c e s th a t w e
know all to o w ell.
requiring cloture to obtain the m inority or o f its issues
Fairless Square
A recent recom m endation
to the Tri-M et Board of D i­
rectors recom m ended e s ta b ­
lish in g a fare system in the
F a rele ss S quare system to
stop terro rists.
But in reference to the Span­
ish train bom bing, those ter­
rorists paid to get on to the
train they destroyed, so the
argum ent d o e sn ’t hold any
validity or any logical premise.
W e Pacific Green Party m em ­
bers believe it would be silly to
impose a fare in the Fareless
Square and prefer the c u r­
ren t F areless System to he
p reserved as is.
In addition, we also support a
system that is Fareless for se­
niors, disabled and youth. We
believe that expanding the mass
transit system in services is vital
in reducing traffic congestion,
lowering air pollution and in­
creasing business and job pro­
ductivity.
Dale C. Chambers
Northeast Portland
An ongoing senes of questions and answers about America’s natural healing profession
Billy R. Flowers
Part 8. CONSTIPATION:
The backing up of body’s sewage system.
Q
: Nothing has ever really never completely eliminate every­ even four bowel movements after
helped my constipation. thing in our colon (large intestine). the first adjustments on his or her
This causes the colon to back up spine. A man with FBSS (failed
What can Chiropractic possibly
and spread toxic poisons through­ back surgical syndrome) went
: Asanaturalform ofhealing, out the body. This can lead to ev­ home and had 12 bowel move­
ments that night. And he claimed
there is much a Chiropractic erything from sinusitis to allergies
he w a sn ’t even co n stip ated !
to arthritis.
and the improved lifestyle we rec­
W hatever questions you might
ommend can do to remove the Chiropractic can help to alleviate
have about health and healing,
immediate distress and long term this problem by gently turning
you’ll find that Chiropractic is
health hazards of constipation. nerves back on in the colon and
often the answer. Call us for an
But before we begin, you should small intestine. It is not uncommon
appointment today.
for
a
patient
to
have
two,
three
or
u n derstand th at c o n stip atio n
do?
A
takes two approaches. The first is
the tight, sometimes painful feel­
ing in the lower back area. The
second and more insidious type
is what we call “hidden constipa­
tion." This is when we seemingly
move our bowels regularly, but
Flow ers’ Chiropractic Office
2124 N.E. Hancock Street
Portland, Oregon 97212
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