Ceos Are Paid Too Much free essay sample

In today’s struggling economy, it is not hard to tell that the CEO’s of the largest corporations are making far too much money. They claim their paychecks are justifiable because of their company’s success and inherent to our capitalistic society; but as these corporations become richer they continue to undermine the efficiency of our country’s political system and the common good for our population as a whole. Furthermore, morality has become almost entirely absent in bigger business practice in order to pursue higher profits. Its obvious that restrictions must be emplaced in order to preserve the quality of life for the majority of U. S. citizens and prevent further misappropriation of political resources in favor of giant corporations over the American people. Over the last 30 years, the salary received by the average CEO has increased exponentially. The salary received by the average hourly worker, of course, has not. We will write a custom essay sample on Ceos Are Paid Too Much or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In 1980, CEOs were paid 42 times the average amount of money paid to hourly workers; by 2000 it had grown to a staggering 531 times. 1 Its clear that as revenue grows, the pay gap between worker and CEO grows exponentially as well. In a corporation that only generates $5,000,000 in annual revenue, the CEO receives 5. times the median pay of all other employees. But in a corporation that generates $2,500,000,000 in annual revenue, the CEO receives 91. 6 times the pay of all other employees. 2 The gap between the super rich and the rest of our population is wider than ever. This would not be such a monumental problem if the super rich did not have such a powerful voice behind the scenes of our nation’s politics. With billions of dollars of net worth, giant corporations are able to fund both political campaigns and lobbyists to ensure their agenda is given priority over other options. Giant corporations are making giant donations to political candidates, and these donations create an obvious conflict of interest between the elected officials and the corporations who funded them into office. In theory, the people of our nation choose the candidates elected in to office so that they will accurately represent the people’s interest. When large corporations make substantial donations to campaigns, they take the power away from the people. These officials are consequently conflicted whenever the interest of the people differs with the best interest of the corporations who funded their campaigns. Once elected, rather than objectively analyzing each option and choosing the one with the greatest benefit for the entire nation, as our political system should do, politicians make choices largely based on who they owe favors to while also causing the least amount of controversy. They are clearly motivated to acknowledge the donor corporations who helped get them in to office by shaping their policies to benefit the interests of those corporations. With so much money to spend, these massive corporations can actually invest in politicians. It is undeniable that corporations have significant, yet indirect, political influence. In this way, CEOs and politicians benefit at the expense of the American people. This is a fundamental flaw in the political system of our nation as well as an example of the potential corruption that comes with enormous profit. It must be corrected before it causes irreversible damage to our country. Undermining America’s political system is only a piece of a bigger problem when one considers the continuous pattern of immorality followed to obtain such profits. It seems there is nothing that won’t be done to increase profit margins. Hundreds of thousands of domestic layoffs, outsourcing to China, child labor use, and even purchasing materials from war-torn countries with inhumane conditions seem to be acceptable practice in the world of big business. Corporations like Enron have also been known to issue misleading financial statements or move accounts offshore to avoid domestic taxation. It is not uncommon to hear of pensions and health benefits cut from employee benefits while the CEO still earns his or her yearly bonus. In 2006, Wal-Mart sued a woman for $470,000 that they had spent on a medical plan provided for her in 2000, when she was still employed and suffered brain damage after being struck by a semi-trailer. Wal-Mart also has more than $420 billion in revenue. Also in 2006, the company Trafigura, which makes close to $80 billion a year, illegally dumped toxic waste close to one of Africa’s largest seaports and caused many people to get sick. At first, Trafigura denied allegations of dumping the waste intentionally but later were proven otherwise. These examples are not meant to support the idea that all big business are inherently evil, but are instead meant to instill caution of the potential injustices that may be pursued by giant corporations in the pursuit of saving money. While these examples are extreme, consider the lesser examples of injustice. Like the mom and pop donut shop that can’t compete with the three Dunkin Donut stores that pop up in the area. Or the countless businesses made obsolete by the wide variety and incredibly cheap prices offered by Wal-Mart. These giant corporations are going to exist, and their existence will replace a lot of small business. This is unavoidable, but we can at least hold these corporations to a standard of care provided to their employees and perhaps an annual donation to better the communities in which they prosper. It is evident that capitalism has proven to be effective in establishing an effective economy for our nation. In many ways, the freedom and beauty that we value so highly in our culture is due to our capitalistic structure. But it has also created a monster. And these monster corporations are sucking the beauty and freedom right out of our country. The relationship of corporate funding behind nearly all major political campaigns is clearly detrimental to the well being of our nation. Attention must be brought to the unjust influences that are shaping our laws; we have to unite as a nation and demand that policies are founded with the intent to ensure freedom and safety for all, rather than profit for the few. Restrictions must be emplaced to ensure hourly workers are paid adequately and that corporations act responsibly. Laws regarding overseas business practices must be re-evaluated in order to ensure basic human rights are not being violated.