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
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