September 15,2010
£l?e
'jJùrtlanÒ (Observer
-
O pinion
Page 17
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A small distance/travel charge
may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I sm all H allw ay)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - Pfz7/z
O ther Services)-. $25.00
I MMMM V W SH W R■ ■ ■ M N N
«S
Planet CEO vs. Planet Worker
Closing the distance
between two worlds
gains appears to be petering out, it has cre
ated a record stash o f cash for big corpora
tions.
According to a new report by the Institute
by C huck C ollins
for Policy Studies that I co-authored, a bunch
Rem em ber the Great Recession?
o f that cash is going to a handful o f CEOs.
For m ost A m ericans, it's an unforgettable And the CEOs who have slashed the most
nightm are that lives on. But for the ch ief jobs have actually gotten bigger paychecks
executive officers o f som e o f our nation's th a n C E O s w h o h a v e re ta in e d th e ir
biggest com panies, it's a distant memory.
workforces.
These CEOs live on Planet Platinum, where
CEOs at the 50 firms that have fired the
profits and paychecks are in a parallel uni m ost w orkers since the onset o f the econom ic
verse.
crisis in 2008 paid them selves nearly $12
In 2009, the paychecks o f CEOs at the m illion on average in 2009. This is 42 percent
biggest U.S. corporations averaged 263 times higher than the average CEO pay at the 500
the com pensation o f U.S. workers.
largest com panies.
Here on M ain Street, Planet Earth, m any
For exam ple, Fred Hassan, CEO o f drug
Am ericans are living with the reality o f in com pany Schering-Plough, took home $49.6
creased econom ic insecurity, eroding sav m illion in 2009, even as the com pany laid o ff
ings, and anxiety about their jobs. In the last
16,000 em ployees in a m erger with Merck.
two years, as a result o f the econom ic m elt Hassan's one-year com pensation is equal to
down, over 8 m illion jobs were elim inated.
the benefits that a total o f 3,131 average
M any social observers believe the "long unem ployed A m ericans would receive over
shadow" o f this recession will be felt for a the course o f an entire year.
generation, with persistent high unem ploy
On Planet Platinum , com panies enjoy all
ment changing the life course o f today's young the benefits o f doing business in the United
adults.
States without having to pay for them. Thanks
On Planet Platinum , corporate profits and to tax dodges and overseas tax havens, sev
CEO pay have bounced back. U nfortunately, eral com panies pay their CEOs more than
this isn't translating into new jobs. In fact, they pay in total federal corporate income
m any com panies are pursuing a business taxes. For example, Occidental Petroleum paid
strategy o f boosting profits while shedding its CEO Ray Irani $31.4 m illion in com pensa
w orkers at a shocking pace. W hile the ben tion in 2009. This was double the $ 18 m illion
efits o f this strategy in term s o f productivity it paid in corporate incom e taxes that same
year.
Com panies like O ccidental benefit from
o u r rem ark ab le in fra stru c tu re o f roads,
bridges, and technology.
They're protected by our m ilitary, policing,
and judicial system s. But they pay only a
fraction o f the taxes that people on Main
Street, Planet Earth pay because o f tax loop
holes and subsidies.
Efforts to reform runaw ay executive com
pensation have been slow in coming. Thanks
to the recently passed financial reform legis
lation, shareholders will now have a "say on
pay"
But we still have a long way to go to close
the distance betw een the two planets where
CEOs and ordinary w orkers live. Congress
should enact several proposals that have
trem endous public support.
One w ould cap CEO pay at com panies that
receive governm ent bailouts at the level o f
the U.S. president's salary o f $400,000 per
year. A nother w ould limit a corporation's
ability to deduct excessive CEO pay as a
business expense when it exceeds 25 tim es
the average w orker at a com pany.
Realigning the interests o f CEOs with their
em ployees and the rest o f our country would
be good for the econom y and national morale.
At a tim e when we should be pulling together
to strengthen our shared econom ic futures,
no one should live on another planet.
Chuck Collins is senior scholar at the
Institute f o r P olicy Studies.
Area/Orientai Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Orientai Rugs (Wool):
$40.00 Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $ 10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $109- $139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $ 5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
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