GRAPH: An Average CEO At America’s Big Corporations Earns 200 Times The Salary Of A Navy SEAL

[sasha031]

After the killing of Osama Bin Laden at a compound in a suburb of Islamabad, Pakistan, much of the nation’s focus has turned to the men in our military who were responsible for the raid. The combat team that attacked Bin Laden’s compound was composed of an elite unit of Navy SEALS.
As economist Dean Baker points out, ABC News did a feature story about the SEALs to highlight the sacrifices those enlisted in the unit make. ABC compared their base salaries of $54,000 a year to the average annual salary for teachers. Baker notes that perhaps their salaries should be compared to Wall Street CEOs who earn tens of millions of dollars.

In the wake of their successful assault on Osama Bin Laden’s hideout, ABC News did a short feature on the Navy Seals. The report tells us that the people who hold this highly demanding and dangerous get paid about $54,000 a year. It then adds that:

“The base salary level is comparable to the average annual salary for teachers in the U.S., which was $55,350 for the 2009-2010 school year, according to the Digest of Education Statistics.’ That is one possible comparison. There are other possible reference points. For example, the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan both pocket around $20 million a year.
Data from the AFL-CIO’s Executive Pay Watch finds that the average 2010 CEO compensation at an S&P 500 company was $11,358,445. ThinkProgress has demonstrated this gap in compensation visually:

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/05/05/average-ceo-navy-seal/

[rfranklin]

1. My hero, the CEO!

Truly courageous! They make the tough decisions! They destroy the bad unions! They deserve every penny!

[cloudbase]

6. When you're at risk of a

paper cut, you can't be paid nearly enough.

[Initech]

8. That reminds me of a dialogue on 30 Rock

Jenna and Tracy are having a debate on who has it more difficult in society - women or black men and Alec Baldwin gives his response:

"I'll tell you who has it the most difficult in society - white males. We make the unpopular decisions that make everyone else's life miserable."
"I'm a white male and I disagree with that statement."
"No Kenneth that's because you're not a white male by trade, your personality paints you more as an inner city Latina female."

:rofl:

[liberal N proud]

2. America is truly deranged

[Drale]

3. Well to be fair most people don't join the armed service

because they are going to bank on it. I think they should make more and defiantly CEO's should make far far far far far far far less though.

[tridim]

4. Same deal with actors who play Navy SEALS.

Like Charlie Sheen for instance.

[robinlynne]

5. Know what, nobody should earn 200 times anyone else. the CEO of costco

created a policy in his company: The ratio between the best paid and least paid can never go beyond 1:12.
So if a CEO wants a bonus, every worker earning 12 times less than the CEO, or less, gets a bonus.
he has a company full of happy employees, a booming business, and happy customers. It seems to me that if everything were run this way: noone can receive more than 12 times anyone else, you would have "happy capitalism". or fairer capitalism.

[Bragi]

7. DU seems momentarily gripped by manic militarism /mt

[Initech]

9. None of those fuckers deserve salaries that high.

And the next person who brings up that "oh they work harder than you" talking point gets the Rocky treatment from Jackass 3. :evilgrin:

[Posteritatis]

12. Hey now, the SEALs do and they get more than I do!

;)

[Initech]

14. I meant the CEOs.

[mmonk]

10. Well one is the boss.

[lpbk2713]

11. The poor CEO's could actually break a sweat at the golf course.

Certainly that worth a million or two right there.



:sarcasm:

[MindPilot]

13. SEALs make almost as much as teachers?!

Well, then, clearly they are responsible for the deficit! Good thing they aren't unionized and soaking the taxpayers for health care and pension benefits like those other parasitic public employees!

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

15. Cenk did a segment on this, and I really appreciate his work

but what I wish it had been was a comparison of the ceo's and an administrative worker, or a grocery cashier or a senior buyer at Macys or some such, and I wish he would go even further and take a mid level worker, making $55,000 (which is DAMN good pay in todays world), and look at salary minus

mortgage (or rent)
commuting costs (train or bus pass, or auto expenses)
food
health/car/home/life insurance costs including all out of pocket expenses
child care costs
savings for retirement
savings for kid's college
savings for emergencies


Now, that would be eye opening.