Chart of the Day: CEO Pay Is Still Growing

The Wall Street Journal reports that CEO pay was up yet again last year. Here’s the chart:

Big-company CEOs have seen a median pay raise of about 40 percent since 2010. Ordinary workers have seen a pay raise of 20 percent. Adjusted for inflation, that’s 25 percent for CEOs and 5 percent for ordinary workers.

And why not? After all, CEOs have been coasting along on a long wave of good economic times, and why shouldn’t they be rewarded for that? What’s more, in 2016 they helped elect a guy who gave them a big tax cut in 2017. Why shouldn’t they be rewarded for that too?

As for ordinary workers, they coasted along too, and they also voted for the tax-cut guy. Oddly enough, no one thinks they should be rewarded for that. Go figure.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate