Company pay, and how much the boss gets, looms as a big deal in 2016 when the Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to require most public companies to disclose the pay ratio between chief executives and rank-and-file employees, notes Grumpy Editor.
The likely federal rule, not getting much media play, looms as another “rich” vs. “poor” action out of Washington.
Backers see the disclosures as a method to prompt management to cut CEO paychecks while raising lower-level workers’ pay.
The move is something that would be pretty much out of line a few years ago. Most workers then would say, “Who cares,” while focusing on improving their own job performances in efforts to reach higher salary levels along with new job titles.
Meanwhile, the SEC and others in Washington don’t seem to be concerned about growing lofty pay collected by most professional basketball, football and baseball players.
Latest example: Yasmany Tomas, 24, a baseball outfielder from Cuba, late last week was in the process of settling on $68.5 million in a six-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Major league baseball’s minimum annual salary next year rises to $507,500 from $500,000.
Keep in mind that for baseball, the “year” (including pre-season training) runs about eight months.
That makes company CEOs earning $1 million to $5 million over 12 months quite a bargain for overseeing companies with far-flung operations and hundreds, perhaps thousands, on payrolls.
FYI, IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE…
Heavy shopping over the Thanksgiving holiday and into this week follows consumer sentiment that has climbed to the highest level since July, 2007, finds the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index. In addition, the National Retail Federation expects a 4.1 percent boost in retail sales in the November-December period…Look for TV news tomorrow to focus on footage of cars splashing through water in the Los Angeles area as the first heavy storm since February is expected to dump one to two inches of rain…Media haven’t emphasized the fact that the looting, vandalizing and torching in the Ferguson, Mo. area last week affected about 60 businesses with a dozen destroyed, ranging from storage facility to hair salon…Despite federal attempts to curb its use, demand for coal to generate electric power has been on the upswing since 2012…Getting limited media mention: The Pentagon, with White House blessing, continues to release detainees from U.S. detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Five were released late this month, leaving 143 remaining, down from almost 800 after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, reveals The Wall Street Journal. Look for more to be turned loose this month…Nothing to growl about: The “cowardly lion” costume worn by actor Bert Lahr in the classic 1939 MGM film, The Wizard of Oz, fetched $3.07 million at an auction…Oops! A Los Angeles Times story reports a crane in Hollywood removes “iconic KTLA radio tower for renovation and relocation,” forgetting that pioneer station KTLA is in TV, not radio…Digital-influenced newspaper title: With the focus on digital growth, The New York Times in February gives former NPR executive Kinsey Wilson a new title --- editor for innovation and strategy…A new Rasmussen Reports survey finds only eight percent of likely U.S. voters rate Congress’s performance as good or excellent, unchanged from the prior two months.
Farewell to lady: University of Delaware’s student newspaper is taking “lady” out of stories that mention Lady Hens, the women’s sports team. Student editors claim use of “lady” is "inherently sexist," derogatory and redundant since hens are female.
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