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Ford Lays off 30,000 Workers- Symptomatic of the Decline of the Middle Class

Published 07/11/07 Tom Rafter - Print Article
E-mail - editor@economyincisis.org

What did Ford do to remedy their 12.7 billion net loss in 2006, their announcements to cut 30,000 hourly positions and their decision to close multiple plants?  Well they didn’t take a cut from their CEO’s paycheck.

Ford gave its new CEO $28 million for four months on the job according to a recent CNNMoney report citing a proxy statement with the SEC.

With sales lagging, hundreds of thousands of blue collar jobs being cut, plants being closed and losses being reported across the board, the CEO gets an $18.5 million bonus!?  Something here doesn’t seem right.

The struggles of Ford and the surge in salary of the CEO is reflective of a growing trend in the American economy today, that of declining middle class wages and booming paychecks for the top 10%, and especially the top 1% of all income earners.

While in 2004-05 GDP improved 3.2% and productivity grew 2.1%, real market income fell .6% for those outside the top 10% in the income scale, the Economic Policy Institute reports, citing an Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty study.  Those in the top 10% saw their income grow moderately, and those in the top 1% saw it skyrocket as much as 16%, said the study.

The study says that the rich get richer, while the poor are getting poorer- that inequality is growing.  So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise when blue collar workers jobs are being cut and a CEO gets a jaw-dropping bonus.  Contact your local congressman and tell them that our workers deserve better than having their jobs cut in order to help subsidize a CEO’s paycheck.  That a thriving manufacturing base, that helped this country turn into the power that it was, should not be treated like second class citizens.

Click here to contact your Representative in Congress.

Unless the above article is already copyrighted, this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, EIC grants permission to use this article in whole or in part provided attribution is given, preferably in the form of a link back to EconomyInCrisis.org.

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Article Comments From Readers

guest says "ECONOMY" on 11/07/07
YOU KNOW WHAT, AMERICANS ARE IDIOTS,AND I MEAN IDIOTS,FORECLOSURES, MISLEADING STATEMENTS,GREED,THEFT AND WHAT DO WE DO NOTHING,A CEO THATS RIPS OFF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IS FIRED AND GIVEN A 200 MILLION DOLLAR SEND OFF, WE STUPID AMERICANS ARE A LAUGHING STOCK IN THE WORLD,AND THE WORLD CONSIDERS US IDIOTS, I MEAN GEEZ, YOU IDIOTS ELECTED THE HOWDY DOODY OF PRSIDENTS TWICE,AND GUESS WHAT, HE HAS DESTROYED AMERICA,HIM AND HIS CRONIES, YOU DESERVE EXACTLY WHAT YOU GOT,BECAUSE YOUR IDIOTS,WHAT A SHAME

guest says "ECONOMY" on 09/19/07
AND YOU KNOW WHAT/WE JUST KEEP ELECTING THESE A--HOLES,THAT LET THESE PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH THIS

guest says "Sorry but...." on 07/13/07
Nothings going to change until the crash that is now inevitable.
The American government has become a house of thieves.Look at Dick Cheney taking kickbacks from the Iraq war.
The public has been stolen blind, and will continue to get ripped off.
Look at the cost of medicine? Want to send your kid to college for $150K when it is nearly free in Europe.
Not only are corporations stealing from inside America, by insourcing low quality illegal Mexicans to undercut Americans. They are also pulling out the rug from workers and American families by deporting their jobs to China and India!
I hope I am wrong and that the thieves in corporate America and the government will be taken to task, but it is foolish to believe they are ever going to turn in their own criminals and suddenly become accountable.
As far as the death penalty or Life in Prison hard labor. Not going to happen. Look at Scooter Pie Libby! He got amnesty from Bush and his cronies paid the fine.

guest says "Salary caps of $1 Million retroactive for 25 years" on 07/13/07
Sinful and greedy CEOS are bankrupting their companies and taking way more than their fair share in compensation.
Case in point:
Lee Raymond: CEO of Exxon/Mobil retired in April 2006 with a $397 Million dollar bonus on top of his $51 million dollar salary. What did he do for Exxon/Mobil?
Oversaw the closure of gas refineries to ensure a bottleneck in supply and higher prices. Helped Exxon/Mobil keep $13 billion dollars from the Exxon Valdez disaster by foot dragging and court shopping for 17 years.
The only just response to recapture the misapropriated wealth is for Congress to impose a 25 year retroactive windfall tax. 100% tax on any excess income (above $1 million). Those who cannot/will not repay their tax obligation to society should be sent to prison for life. Hard labor or the death penalty.
Folks, the time for fooling around with thieving CEOs/CFOs and other high level executives is over. The public must now have revenge against the 25 year gang rape by these thieves:
Milken
Koslowski
Lay
Grasso
Cheney
Helmsley
Raymond
McQuire
Gates
and many more.
Justice demands action. Swift, strong and bold to correct the pillage of America since the Reagan error.